Belyi's theorem for complete intersections of general type (Q2396616)

Belyi's theorem for curves states that a smooth projective curve \(X\) over \(\mathbb{C}\) is definable over \(\overline{\mathbb{Q}}\) if and only if there exists a meromorphic function \(f:X \to \mathbb{P}^{1}_{\mathbb{C}}\) ramified over at most three points. This was the starting point of Grothendieck's theory of dessins d'enfants, in which he proposed the study of the absolute Galois group \(\mathrm{Gal}(\overline{\mathbb{Q}})\) through its action on Belyi functions. The result of Belyi was later extended to complex surfaces by \textit{G. González-Diez} [Am. J. Math. 130, No. 1, 59--74 (2008; Zbl 1158.14015)], where the role of Belyi functions is played by Lefschetz functions, that is, compositions of Lefschetz pencils \(X \dashrightarrow \mathbb{P}^{1}_{\mathbb{C}}\) with rational functions \(\mathbb{P}^{1}_{\mathbb{C}}\to \mathbb{P}^{1}_{\mathbb{C}}\). In this paper, the author follows a similar strategy to give a Belyi-type characterisation of smooth complete intersections \(X\) of general type over \(\mathbb{C}\) which can be defined over \(\overline{\mathbb{Q}}\). More precisely, it is proved that such a variety \(X\) can be defined over \(\overline{\mathbb{Q}}\) if and only if there exists a Lefschetz function \(X \dashrightarrow \mathbb{P}^{1}_{\mathbb{C}}\) with at most three critical points. Contrary to the 2-dimensional case, the general proof poses several technical difficulties which require new results on finiteness of maps to varieties of general type and rigidity of Lefschetz pencils of complete intersections.