The defect of the F-pure threshold (Q6851732)

This paper introduced and studied a notion called ``defect of the \(F\)-pure threshold''. For a Noetherian local ring \((R,\mathfrak{m})\) of characteristic \(p>0\), this defect is defined as \(\text{dfpt}(R):= \dim(R)- \text{fpt}(R)\), where \(\text{fpt}(R)\) is the \(F\)-pure threshold of the maximal ideal of \(R\). For a Noetherian \(\mathbb{F}_p\)-scheme \(X\), we thus have a function \(x\in X \to \text{dfpt}(O_{X,x})\). The main results of the paper established both global and local properties of \(\text{dfpt}\). For example, for a locally \(F\)-finite and \(F\)-pure scheme, they showed that the function \(\text{dfpt}(O_{X,x})\) is upper semi-continuous. If in addition \(X\) is \(\mathbb{Q}\)-Gorenstein and Cohen-Macaulay, then the function defines a locally finite constructible stratification. They also showed that this function satisfies Bertini-type theorems and studied its behavior under blowup of a closed point. On the local side, they obtained several results on \(\text{dfpt}(R)\) which are generalizations of the corresponding results on \(F\)-pure singularities: these include faithfully flat descent, smooth ascent, and the deformation property (under Gorenstein assumption). The main techniques of the paper is the use of differential operators of prime characteristic, a technical ingredient is a global version of Fedder's criterion of \(F\)-purity stated and proved via differential operators, this criterion allows them to obtain the global results on \(\text{dfpt}\).