A geometric approach to the Jacobian conjecture in dimension two (Q855346)

The author continues his study of the generalized Jacobian conjecture which states that if \(X\) is a smooth affine surface over the complex numbers and \(\phi:X\to X\) is an étale endomorphism, then \(\phi\) is finite. It is known that this conjecture is false in general, but clearly this implies the Jacobian conjecture and since one is only interested in the case of the affine plane for the case of Jacobian conjecture, where the two conjectures are equivalent. In the present article, the author reduces the generalized Jacobian conjecture for special surfaces to the following conjecture which he calls the generalized Sard property: Let \(X\) be a smooth affine surface with trivial canonical divisor \(K_X\). Let \(\rho: X\to B\) be a fibration of curves whose general fiber has one place at infinity where \(B\) is a smooth algebraic curve and let \(\phi:X\to X\) be an étale endomorphism such that \(\mathrm{codim}_X(X-\phi(X))\geq 2\). The the image \(\phi(F)\) of a general fiber \(F\) is a smooth curve.