On higher dimensional extremal varieties of general type (Q6178199)

\textit{T. Fujita} [J. Fac. Sci., Univ. Tokyo, Sect. I A 22, 103--115 (1975; Zbl 0333.14004)] and \textit{M. Kobayashi} [J. Math. Soc. Japan 44, No. 1, 145--156 (1992; Zbl 0766.14033), Theorem 2.4] proved that an \(n\)-dimensional variety of general type whose image of its canonical map is of maximal dimension, satisfies \(\mathrm{Vol}\ge 2(pg-n)\), which is a generalisation of Noether's inequality for surfaces of general type. In this article, the authors investigate the extremal varieties which lie on the line \(\mathrm{Vol} = 2(pg-n)\). These varieties are called Horikawa varieties, which are the higher dimensional analogues of Horikawa surfaces. The authors give a structure theorem for Horikawa varieties and investigate the pluriregularity. They prove the projective normality of the pluricanonical linear system. They also show that Horikawa varieties are simply connected. Moreover, they consider the deformations of Horikawa varieties. Furthermore, they show that when the canonical image of a Horikawa variety of dimension \(n\) is singular, its geometric genus is bounded by \(n+4\).