On smooth surfaces in \(\mathbb{P}^4\) containing a plane curve (Q2382950)

A well-known theorem of \textit{G. Ellingsrud} and \textit{C. Peskine} says that in the projective four-space there exist only finitely many families of smooth surfaces which are not of general type [Invent. Math. 95, 1--11 (1989; Zbl 0676.14009)]. The problem of giving an effective bound on the degree of these surfaces is still open. A related problem is that of bounding the degree of the smooth surfaces of \(\mathbb P^4\) which are contained in hypersurfaces of ``low'' degree \(s\). Hypersurfaces with \(s=2,3\) have been studied by Aure and by Koelblen, whereas Ellia and Franco considered the case of quartic hypersurfaces with isolated singularities. In the paper under review, the authors prove that, if \(S\) is a smooth regular surface of \(\mathbb P^4\), contained in a quartic hypersurface whose singular locus has dimension two, then \(\deg S\leq 40\). This theorem is obtained as a consequence from the following result: let \(\Sigma\) be an irreducible hypersurface of degree \(s\) in \(\mathbb P^4\), containing in its singular locus a plane with multiplicity \(s-2\). If \(S\subset\Sigma\) is a smooth regular surface, then its degree is bounded above by a function of \(s\). It is interesting to remark that these surfaces, if not contained in a hyperquadric, always contain a plane curve.