Der Kodairasche Verschwindungssatz auf streng pseudokonvexen Räumen. I (Q793202)

This is the first of two papers concerning vanishing theorems on strongly pseudoconvex complex spaces. The aim is to prove the following main theorem: Let X be an irreducible reduced strongly pseudoconvex space and \({\mathcal E}\) a semi-positive locally free sheaf on X. Then \(H^ q(X,{\mathcal E}\otimes {\mathcal K}_ X)=0\) for \(q>0\). Here \({\mathcal K}_ X\) is the ''canonical'' sheaf on X, which has to be defined appropriately (\({\mathcal K}_ X\) coincides outside the singular locus of X with the sheaf of holomorphic n-forms, \(n=\dim X)\). - This theorem has been proved in the smooth Kähler case by Grauert-Riemenschneider (and also in a some more general situation if \({\mathcal E}\) is trivial). Note that it is not possible to reduce the general case to the smooth one by desingularization. The first part deals with a special case of the theorem, which may be viewed as the algebraic case, namely that X admits a Moishezon compactification such that \({\mathcal E}\) is extendable to this compactification. Then it is possible to prove the vanishing theorem using the Grauert-Riemenschneider vanishing theorem on Moishezon spaces [\textit{H. Grauert} and \textit{O. Riemenschneider}, Invent. Math. 11, 263-292 (1970; Zbl 0202.076)]. This special case is very important for the proof of the general case in the second part. At the end of the paper some generalizations in the non-reduced case are discussed.