Fano-Mori elementary contractions with reducible general fiber (Q2493457)

Let \(X\) be a smooth complex projective variety whose canonical line bundle \(K_X\) is not nef. A contraction \(\varphi\colon X \to Y\), i.e. a proper surjective morphism with connected fibers onto a normal variety \(Y\), is called a \textit{Fano-Mori contraction} or \textit{extremal contraction} if it is associated to a face in the negative part (with respect to \(K_X\)) of the cone NE\((X)\) of effective \(1\)-cycles. A Fano-Mori contraction is defined by a linear system \(| m(K_X+\tau L)| \), with \(L\) a \(\varphi\)-ample line bundle, \(\tau\) a positive integer and \(m \gg 0\), and it is called \textit{elementary} if \(\rho(X/Y)=1\) (or, equivalently, if it is associated to an \textit{extremal ray}, i.e. to an extremal face in NE\((X)_{K_X<0}\) of dimension one). The integer \(\tau\) is \(\leq \dim X+1\), if \(\varphi\) is of fiber type (i.e. \(\dim X > \dim Y\)); it is \(\leq\dim X-1\), if \(\varphi\) is birational (i.e. \(\dim X = \dim Y\)). Elementary contractions with values of \(\tau\) close to the maximum have been studied by general adjunction theory. For instance, for the maximum values, \(\varphi\) is the contraction of a projective space to a point in the fiber type case, and it is the blow-up of a smooth point in the birational one. However, for lower values of \(\tau\) the situation is more complicated. Elementary contractions with \(\tau \geq \dim X-2\) have been classified by \textit{S. Mori} [Ann. Math. (2) 116, 133--176 (1982; Zbl 0557.14021)], \textit{T. Fujita} [Algebraic geometry, Proc. Symp., Sendai/Jap. 1985, Adv. Stud. Pure Math. 10, 167--178 (1987; Zbl 0659.14002)] and \textit{P. Ionescu} [Math. Proc. Camb. Philos. Soc. 99, 457--472 (1986; Zbl 0619.14004)]; the case \(\tau=\dim X-3\) has been dealt for \(\dim X=4\) by \textit{Y. Kawamata} [Math. Ann. 284, No.~4, 595--600 (1989; Zbl 0661.14009)] and \textit{M. Andreatta} and \textit{J. A. Wiśniewski} [J. Algebr. Geom. 7, No.~2, 253--312 (1998; Zbl 0966.14012)]. To proceed in the classification, i.e. to study either the case \(\tau=\dim X-3\) with \(\dim X \geq 5\) or \(\tau < \dim X-3\), the first step is to consider the general non-trivial fiber \(F\) of the contraction. In particular, for a divisorial contraction (i.e. a birational contraction whose exceptional locus is of codimension one) it is not easy to establish the irreducibility of \(F\). In this paper, the authors deal with the general non-trivial fiber \(F\) of a divisorial elementary Fano-Mori contraction defined by \(| m(K_X+\tau L)| \) for \(\tau \geq \dim X -4\). Using the vertical slicing technique, they reduce to study a non-elementary divisorial contraction \(\tilde{\varphi}\) of a variety \(\tilde{X}\) whose dimension is \(<\dim X\) and whose exceptional locus is a reducible divisor \(G\) contracted to a point. Then the study of families of rational curves covering the irreducible components of \(G\) allows them to show that the general non-trivial fiber of \(\varphi\) is irreducible, with an exception for \(\dim X=5\) and \(\tau=1\) which is discussed in detail. In particular, they obtain a different proof of the irreducibility of \(F\) when \(\tau=n-3\), a case that was studied by \textit{S. Nakamura} [J. Reine Angew. Math. 467, 51--65 (1995; Zbl 0832.14003)]. Finally, an example shows the effectivity of the result.