On surjective quadratic maps of \(\mathbb{P}^2 \) (Q6074734)

Let \(F: \mathbb{P}^2 \dashrightarrow \mathbb{P}^2\) be a rational dominant map given by quadratic polynomials (everything is over \(\mathbb{C}\)). In the paper under review, the authors establish a criterion for \(F\) to be \emph{surjective}, that is \(F(\mathbb{P}^2 \setminus B_F) = \mathbb{P}^2\), where \(B_F\) is the base scheme of \(F\). The criterion is formulated in terms of the length \(\ell(B_F)\) of \(B_F\). The most important cases are \(\ell(B_F) = 2\) or \(1\) (others being easy -- see Proposition 6 of the paper). In the former case, \(F\) turns out to be non-surjective, whereas in the case when \(\ell(B_F) = 1\) the map \(F\) is surjective iff its linear system \emph{does not} contain quadrics of the form \(l^2\) for some linear function \(l\) (see Proposition 16 in the text). The authors' arguments are geometric and are based on studying the Hironaka's hut corresponding to \(F\). As a corollary (see Theorem 20), the authors show that surjective quadratic maps form a Zariski open subset among all dominant self-maps of \(\mathbb{P}^2\), thus partially addressing the question rased in [\textit{A. A. Agrachev}, J. Sov. Math. 49, No. 3, 990--1013 (1990; Zbl 0719.58006); translation from Itogi Nauki Tekh., Ser. Algebra, Topologiya, Geom. 26, 85--124 (1988)]. The paper concludes with another intersecting criterion for surjectivity in terms of the discriminant curve of \(F\) (see Proposition 25).