Smooth divisors of projective hypersurfaces (Q2427590)

The purpose of this paper is to extend to higher projective spaces a result of \textit{G. Ellingsrud} and \textit{C. Peskine} [Invent. Math. 95, 1--11 (1989; Zbl 0676.14009)]. Specifically, the latter authors showed that the smooth algebraic surfaces \(S\) in \(\mathbb P^4\) satisfying \(K_S^2 \geq a \chi (\mathcal O_S)\) for \(a \in \mathbb R\) and \(a < 6\) lie on finitely many components of the Hilbert scheme of smooth algebraic surfaces in \(\mathbb P^4\). The argument of Ellingsrud and Peskine relies on a study of the sectional genus and the degree of a hypersurface on which the surface lies. The present paper considers the case of smooth codimension two subvarieties \(X\) of \(\mathbb P^n\), \(n \geq 5\). By studying the normal bundle of \(X\) in \(\mathbb P^n\) and the sectional genus, the authors first get some technical preliminary results. They then give two applications. The first says, roughly, that when the degree of the hypersurface \(\Sigma\) is bounded, then the set of the biliaison classes of smooth codimension two subvarieties of \(\Sigma\) is ``limited.'' Second, they show that the family of smooth codimension two subvarieties of \(\mathbb P^6\) is ``limited.'' Finally, they consider the case of subcanonical codimension two subvarieties \(X\) of \(\mathbb P^n\), \(n \geq 5\), i.e. subvarieties for which \(\omega_X \cong {\mathcal O}_X(e)\) for some integer \(e\). They prove several inequalities connecting the degree of \(X\), the integer \(e\) just mentioned, and the smallest degree, \(s\), of a hypersurface containing \(X\). For instance, they prove that \(s \geq n+1\).