Semi-orthogonal decomposability of the derived category of a curve (Q645225)

It is expected that the MMP for a variety \(X\) can be understood in terms of semiorthogonal decompositions of the bounded derived category \(D^{b}(X)\) of coherent sheaves on \(X\), and in particular that if \(X\) is such that \(D^{b}(X)\) admits no non-trivial semiorthogonal decompositions, then \(X\) is minimal in the sense of the MMP. In the paper under review, the author studies the existence of non-trivial semiorthogonal decompositions of \(D^{b}(C)\) for a smooth projective curve \(C\). If \(C=\mathbb{P}^{1}\) is a rational curve, it is well-known that \(D^{b}(\mathbb{P}^{1})\) admits a non-trivial semiorthogonal decomposition. If \(C\) has genus 1, then the Serre functor is simply the shift by 1, hence \(D^{b}(C)\) admits no non-trivial semiorthogonal decompositions. The main result of the paper is that if \(C\) is a smooth projective curve of genus \(g\geq 1\), then \(D^{b}(C)\) admits no non-trivial semi-orthogonal decompositions (Theorem 1.1). The key point of the proof is Lemma 2.1, proved by \textit{A. L. Gorodentsev}, \textit{S. A. Kuleshov} and \textit{A. N. Rudakov} in [Izv. Math. 68, No. 4, 749-781 (2004); translation from Izv. Ross. Akad. Nauk Ser. Mat. 68, No. 4, 117--150 (2003; Zbl 1062.18009)], which tells that if \(E\) is a coherent sheaf on \(C\) included in a triangle \(Y\rightarrow E\rightarrow X\rightarrow Y[1]\) in \(D^{b}(C)\), where \(\mathrm{Ext}^{i}(Y,X)=0\) for \(i\leq 0\), then \(X\) and \(Y\) are coherent sheaves. Using this, the author shows that if \(D^{b}(C)\) admits a semi-orthogonal decomposition \(\langle\mathcal{A},\mathcal{B}\rangle\), then the set of the closed points of \(C\) is a disjoint union \(C_{\mathcal{A}}\sqcup C_{\mathcal{B}}\), where \(C_{\mathcal{A}}\) (resp. \(C_{\mathcal{B}}\)) is the set of the closed points \(x\in C\) such that \(\mathcal{O}_{x}\in\mathcal{A}\) (resp. \(\mathcal{O}_{x}\in\mathcal{B}\)). The author shows that either \(C_{\mathcal{A}}=\emptyset\), or any coherent sheaf in \(\mathcal{B}\) is torsion. In the first case \(\mathcal{A}\) is trivial; in the second case every torsion free sheaf belongs to \(\mathcal{A}\), so that \(\mathcal{B}\) is trivial. The last section of the paper is devoted to prove that if \(X\) is a smooth projective variety whose canonical line bundle is globally generated, then \(D^{b}(X)\) has no exceptional objects. This is no longer true if one supposes the canonical bundle just to be ample: if \(X\) is a Godeaux surface, then every line bundle is exceptional, giving a non-trivial semiorthogonal decomposition of \(D^{b}(X)\).