Smoothings of schemes with nonisolated singularities (Q977108)

Let \(0\in C\) be a germ of a smooth curve and \(f_U:Y_U\rightarrow U=C\setminus \{0\}\) a family of smooth surfaces of general type over \(U\). Then \(f_U\) can be completed in a unique way to a family \(f:Y\rightarrow C\) such that \(\omega_{Y/C}^{[k]}\) is invertible and ample for some \(k>0\) and the central fiber \(X=f^{-1}(0)\) is a stable surface [see \textit{V. Alexeev}, Proceedings of the international congress of mathematicians (ICM), Madrid, Spain, August 22--30, 2006. Volume II: Invited lectures. Zürich: European Mathematical Society (EMS). 515--536 (2006; Zbl 1102.14023) and \textit{J. Kollár} and \textit{N. I. Shepherd-Barron}, Invent. Math. 91, No. 2, 299--338 (1988; Zbl 0642.14008)]. Thus the moduli space of surfaces of general type can be compactified by adding stable surfaces and it is important to know which stable surfaces are smoothable (this is related with the minimal model program). The purpose of this paper is to study the deformation theory of schemes with non-isolated singularities and to write some smoothability and nonsmoothability criteria.