Irrational Pencils on Non-Compact Algebraic Manifolds (Q4352155)

The author generalizes Catanese's isotropic subspace theorem to the non-compact case [see \textit{F. Catanese}, Invent. Math. 104, No. 2, 263-289 (1991; Zbl 0743.32025)]. In fact, the following logarithmic analogue is proved: ``Let \(X\) be a quasiprojective manifold and let \(\overline{X}\) be a smooth compactification of \(X\), such that \(Y:= \overline{X}-X\) is a divisor with normal crossings. Every maximal real isotropic subspace \(V\subset H^1(X,\mathbb{C})\) determines a logarithmic irrational pencil (i.e., a surjective holomorphic map \(f:X\to C\) with connected fibres from \(X\) to a quasiprojective curve \(C\) with first Betti number \(b_1(:=\dim H^1(C,\mathbb{C}))= \beta\geq 3)\). The genus \(g\) of a smooth compactification \(\overline{C}\) of \(C\) is \[ \frac 12\dim (V\cap H^1(\overline{X}, \mathbb{C})). \] \(C\) is complete iff \(V\) is contained in \(H^1 (\overline{X}, \mathbb{C})\); in this case \(f^*(H^1(C,\mathbb{C}))= V\oplus \overline{V}\), and in particular \(\dim(V)= \text{genus} (C)\). If \(C\) is non complete then \(V= f^*(H^1(C,\mathbb{C}))\), \(\dim(V)= g+g^*\), where \(g^*\) is the logarithmic genus of \(C\). In this way one has established a bijective correspondence between the set of maximal real isotropic subspaces \(V\subset H^1(X,C)\) of dimension \(\beta\geq 3\), which are not contained in \(H^1(\overline{X}, \mathbb{C})\), and the set of strictly logarithmic irrational pencils \(f:X\to C\) with first Betti number \(b_1(C)= \beta\).'' Then, a generalization of a result of Gromov and Green-Lazarsfeld on fundamental groups of algebraic varieties with few relations to open algebraic manifolds is given.