Effective algebraic degeneracy (Q848720)

Let \(X\) be a complex projective manifold of general type. A famous conjecture by Green and Griffiths claims that there exists a proper algebraic subvariety \(Y \subsetneq X\) such that every entire holomorphic curve \(\mathbb C \rightarrow X\) has its image in \(Y\), i.e., all the entire curves on \(X\) are algebraically degenerate. A positive answer to this conjecture has been given for surfaces by \textit{M. McQuillan} [Publ. Math., Inst. Hautes Étud. Sci. 87, 121--174 (1998; Zbl 1006.32020)] if the Segre number \(c_1^2-c_2\) is positive, but the higher-dimensional case is completely open. In [The legacy of Niels Henrik Abel. Papers from the Abel bicentennial conference, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway, June 3--8, 2002. Berlin: Springer. 543--566 (2004; Zbl 1076.32011)], \textit{Y.-T. Siu} introduced a strategy to prove the algebraic degeneracy in the case where \(X\) is a generic hypersurface of sufficiently high degree \(d\) of the projective space. Following Siu's strategy, several important results were established by the authors of this paper during the last years, e.g. \textit{S. Diverio} [Compos. Math. 144, No. 4, 920--932 (2008; Zbl 1193.32013)], \textit{J. Merker} [Ann. Inst. Fourier 59, No. 3, 1077--1104 (2009; Zbl 1172.32005)], \textit{E. Rousseau} [Ann. Inst. Fourier 56, No. 2, 397--421 (2006; Zbl 1092.58003)]. In the paper under review, the authors prove the first effective result for hypersurfaces of arbitrary dimension. More precisely they prove that if \(X \subset \mathbb P^{n+1}\) is a generic hypersurface of degree \(d\) at least \(2^{n^5}\), then all the entire curves on \(X\) are algebraically degenerate. Since the bound on the degree is rather far from the expected bound \(d \geq n+3\), they also refine their strategy to obtain better bounds if \(X\) has dimension at most six. The interesting introduction of the paper explains in detail how these very impressive results are obtained as a consequence of several technical and conceptual innovations.