On Fano manifolds with an unsplit dominating family of rational curves (Q1932480)

Let \(X\) be a Fano manifold, i.e. a smooth complex projective variety whose anticanonical bundle \(-K_X\) is ample, and let its index \(r_X\) and pseudoindex \(i_X\) be defined as follows: \[ r_X := \max \{m \in \mathbb N\;|-K_X = mL {\mathrm{\;for \;some \;line \;bundle \;}} L \}, \] \[ i_X := \min \{m \in \mathbb N\;|-K_X \cdot C = m {\mathrm{\;for \;some \;rational \;curve \;}} C \subset X \}. \] In 1988, \textit{Sh. Mukai} [``Problems on characterization of the complex projective space''. in: Birational geometry of algebraic varieties, Open problems, Katata 1988, the 23rd Int'l Symp., Taniguchi Foundation 57--60 (1988)] proposed the following conjecture: Let \(X\) be a Fano manifold of dimension \(n\) and Picard number \(\rho_X\); then \(\rho_X(r_X - 1) \leq n\), with equality if and only if \(X = (\mathbb P^{r_X-1})^{\rho_X}\). The conjecture has been generalized, with the pseudoindex taking the place of the index, by \textit{L. Bonavero} et al., [Comment. Math. Helv. 78, No. 3, 601--626 (2003; Zbl 1044.14019)]. The conjecture is known to hold up to dimension five and for Fano manifolds of pseudoindex \(i_X \geq (\dim X +3)/3\), see [Geom. Dedicata 147, 207--217 (2010; Zbl 1208.14033)] and references therein, and for \(\mathbb Q\)-factorial toric varieties [\textit{C. Casagrande}, Ann. Inst. Fourier 56, No. 1, 121--130 (2006; Zbl 1095.52005)]. In the paper under review, the conjecture is proved for Fano manifolds admitting an unsplit covering family of rational curves, with pseudoindex \(i_X= (\dim X)/3\) or of dimension six, and for any Fano manifold with \(i_X>(\dim X)/3\).