In
algebraic geometry
Algebraic geometry is a branch of mathematics which uses abstract algebraic techniques, mainly from commutative algebra, to solve geometry, geometrical problems. Classically, it studies zero of a function, zeros of multivariate polynomials; th ...
, the Kodaira dimension measures the size of the
canonical model
A canonical model is a design pattern used to communicate between different data formats. Essentially: create a data model which is a superset of all the others ("canonical"), and create a "translator" module or layer to/from which all existi ...
of a
projective variety
In algebraic geometry, a projective variety is an algebraic variety that is a closed subvariety of a projective space. That is, it is the zero-locus in \mathbb^n of some finite family of homogeneous polynomials that generate a prime ideal, th ...
.
Soviet mathematician
Igor Shafarevich in a seminar introduced an important numerical
invariant of surfaces with the notation . Japanese mathematician
Shigeru Iitaka extended it and defined the Kodaira dimension for higher dimensional varieties (under the name of canonical dimension), and later named it after
Kunihiko Kodaira.
The plurigenera
The
canonical bundle
In mathematics, the canonical bundle of a non-singular algebraic variety V of dimension n over a field is the line bundle \,\!\Omega^n = \omega, which is the nth exterior power of the cotangent bundle \Omega on V.
Over the complex numbers, it is ...
of a
smooth algebraic variety
Algebraic varieties are the central objects of study in algebraic geometry, a sub-field of mathematics. Classically, an algebraic variety is defined as the solution set, set of solutions of a system of polynomial equations over the real number, ...
''X'' of dimension ''n'' over a field is the
line bundle
In mathematics, a line bundle expresses the concept of a line that varies from point to point of a space. For example, a curve in the plane having a tangent line at each point determines a varying line: the ''tangent bundle'' is a way of organis ...
of ''n''-forms,
:
which is the ''n''th
exterior power
In mathematics, the exterior algebra or Grassmann algebra of a vector space V is an associative algebra that contains V, which has a product, called exterior product or wedge product and denoted with \wedge, such that v\wedge v=0 for every vector ...
of the
cotangent bundle
In mathematics, especially differential geometry, the cotangent bundle of a smooth manifold is the vector bundle of all the cotangent spaces at every point in the manifold. It may be described also as the dual bundle to the tangent bundle. This m ...
of ''X''.
For an integer ''d'', the ''d''th tensor power of ''K''
''X'' is again a line bundle.
For ''d'' ≥ 0, the vector space of global sections ''H''
0(''X'',''K''
''X''''d'') has the remarkable property that it is a
birational invariant of smooth projective varieties ''X''. That is, this vector space is canonically identified with the corresponding space for any smooth projective variety which is isomorphic to ''X'' outside lower-dimensional subsets.
For ''d'' ≥ 0, the
''d''th plurigenus of ''X'' is defined as the dimension of the vector space
of global sections of ''K
Xd'':
:
The plurigenera are important birational invariants of an algebraic variety. In particular, the simplest way to prove that a variety is not rational (that is, not birational to projective space) is to show that some plurigenus ''P''
''d'' with ''d'' > 0
is not zero. If the space of sections of ''K''
''X''''d'' is nonzero, then there is a natural rational map from ''X'' to the projective space
:
called the ''d''-canonical map. The
canonical ring In mathematics, the pluricanonical ring of an algebraic variety ''V'' (which is nonsingular), or of a complex manifold, is the graded ring
:R(V,K)=R(V,K_V) \,
of sections of powers of the canonical bundle ''K''. Its ''n''th graded component (for ...
''R''(''K''
''X'') of a variety ''X'' is the graded ring
:
Also see
geometric genus
In algebraic geometry, the geometric genus is a basic birational invariant of algebraic varieties and complex manifolds.
Definition
The geometric genus can be defined for non-singular complex projective varieties and more generally for complex ...
and
arithmetic genus.
The Kodaira dimension of ''X'' is defined to be
if the plurigenera ''P
d'' are zero for all ''d'' > 0; otherwise, it is the minimum κ such that ''P
d/d
κ'' is bounded. The Kodaira dimension of an ''n''-dimensional variety is either
or an integer in the range from 0 to ''n''.
Interpretations of the Kodaira dimension
The following integers are equal if they are non-negative. A good reference is , Theorem 2.1.33.
* The dimension of the
Proj construction
In algebraic geometry, Proj is a construction analogous to the spectrum of a ring, spectrum-of-a-ring construction of affine schemes, which produces objects with the typical properties of projective spaces and projective variety, projective varie ...
, a projective variety called the canonical model of ''X'' depending only on the birational equivalence class of ''X.'' (This is defined only if the canonical ring
is finitely generated, which is true in
characteristic zero and conjectured in general.)
* The dimension of the image of the ''d''-canonical mapping for all positive multiples ''d'' of some positive integer
.
* The
transcendence degree
In mathematics, a transcendental extension L/K is a field extension such that there exists an element in the field L that is transcendental over the field K; that is, an element that is not a root of any univariate polynomial with coefficients ...
of the fraction field of ''R'', minus one; i.e.
, where ''t'' is the number of
algebraically independent
In abstract algebra, a subset S of a field L is algebraically independent over a subfield K if the elements of S do not satisfy any non- trivial polynomial equation with coefficients in K.
In particular, a one element set \ is algebraically i ...
generators one can find.
* The rate of growth of the plurigenera: that is, the smallest number ''κ'' such that
is bounded. In
Big O notation
Big ''O'' notation is a mathematical notation that describes the asymptotic analysis, limiting behavior of a function (mathematics), function when the Argument of a function, argument tends towards a particular value or infinity. Big O is a memb ...
, it is the minimal ''κ'' such that
.
When one of these numbers is undefined or negative, then all of them are. In this case, the Kodaira dimension is said to be negative or to be
. Some historical references define it to be −1, but then the formula
does not always hold, and the statement of the
Iitaka conjecture becomes more complicated. For example, the Kodaira dimension of
is
for all varieties ''X''.
Application
The Kodaira dimension gives a useful rough division of all algebraic varieties into several classes.
Varieties with low Kodaira dimension can be considered special, while varieties of maximal Kodaira dimension are said to be of
general type.
Geometrically, there is a very rough correspondence between Kodaira dimension and curvature: negative Kodaira dimension corresponds to positive curvature, zero Kodaira dimension corresponds to flatness, and maximum Kodaira dimension (general type) corresponds to negative curvature.
The specialness of varieties of low Kodaira dimension is analogous to the specialness of
Riemannian manifold
In differential geometry, a Riemannian manifold is a geometric space on which many geometric notions such as distance, angles, length, volume, and curvature are defined. Euclidean space, the N-sphere, n-sphere, hyperbolic space, and smooth surf ...
s of positive curvature (and general type corresponds to the genericity of non-positive curvature); see
classical theorems, especially on ''Pinched sectional curvature'' and ''Positive curvature''.
These statements are made more precise below.
Dimension 1
Smooth projective curves are discretely classified by
genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
, which can be any
natural number
In mathematics, the natural numbers are the numbers 0, 1, 2, 3, and so on, possibly excluding 0. Some start counting with 0, defining the natural numbers as the non-negative integers , while others start with 1, defining them as the positive in ...
''g'' = 0, 1, ....
Here "discretely classified" means that for a given genus, there is an irreducible
moduli space
In mathematics, in particular algebraic geometry, a moduli space is a geometric space (usually a scheme (mathematics), scheme or an algebraic stack) whose points represent algebro-geometric objects of some fixed kind, or isomorphism classes of suc ...
of curves of that genus.
The Kodaira dimension of a curve ''X'' is:
* κ =
: genus 0 (the
projective line
In projective geometry and mathematics more generally, a projective line is, roughly speaking, the extension of a usual line by a point called a '' point at infinity''. The statement and the proof of many theorems of geometry are simplified by the ...
P
1): ''K
X'' is not effective, ''P
d = 0'' for all ''d > 0''.
* ''κ'' = 0: genus 1 (
elliptic curve
In mathematics, an elliptic curve is a smooth, projective, algebraic curve of genus one, on which there is a specified point . An elliptic curve is defined over a field and describes points in , the Cartesian product of with itself. If the ...
s): ''K
X'' is a
trivial bundle
In mathematics, and particularly topology, a fiber bundle ( ''Commonwealth English'': fibre bundle) is a space that is a product space, but may have a different topological structure. Specifically, the similarity between a space E and a p ...
, ''P''
''d'' = 1 for all ''d'' ≥ 0.
* ''κ'' = 1: genus ''g'' ≥ 2: ''K''
''X'' is
ample, ''P''
''d'' = (2''d'' − 1)(''g'' − 1) for all ''d'' ≥ 2.
Compare with the
Uniformization theorem
In mathematics, the uniformization theorem states that every simply connected Riemann surface is conformally equivalent to one of three Riemann surfaces: the open unit disk, the complex plane, or the Riemann sphere. The theorem is a generali ...
for surfaces (real surfaces, since a complex curve
has real dimension 2): Kodaira dimension
corresponds to positive curvature, Kodaira dimension 0 corresponds to flatness, Kodaira dimension 1 corresponds to negative curvature. Note that most algebraic curves are of general type: in the moduli space of curves, two connected components correspond to curves not of general type, while all the other components correspond to curves of general type. Further, the space of curves of genus 0 is a point, the space of curves of genus 1 has (complex) dimension 1, and the space of curves of genus ''g'' ≥ 2 has dimension 3''g'' − 3.
:
Dimension 2
The
Enriques–Kodaira classification classifies algebraic surfaces: coarsely by Kodaira dimension, then in more detail within a given Kodaira dimension. To give some simple examples: the product P
1 × ''X'' has Kodaira dimension
for any curve ''X''; the product of two curves of genus 1 (an abelian surface) has Kodaira dimension 0; the product of a curve of genus 1 with a curve of genus at least 2 (an elliptic surface) has Kodaira dimension 1; and the product of two curves of genus at least 2 has Kodaira dimension 2 and hence is of
general type.
:
For a surface ''X'' of general type, the image of the ''d''-canonical map is birational to ''X'' if ''d'' ≥ 5.
Any dimension
Rational varieties (varieties birational to projective space) have Kodaira dimension
.
Abelian varieties
In mathematics, particularly in algebraic geometry, complex analysis and algebraic number theory, an abelian variety is a smooth projective algebraic variety that is also an algebraic group, i.e., has a group law that can be defined by regular f ...
(the compact
complex tori that are projective) have Kodaira dimension zero. More generally,
Calabi–Yau manifold
In algebraic and differential geometry, a Calabi–Yau manifold, also known as a Calabi–Yau space, is a particular type of manifold which has certain properties, such as Ricci flatness, yielding applications in theoretical physics. P ...
s (in dimension 1,
elliptic curve
In mathematics, an elliptic curve is a smooth, projective, algebraic curve of genus one, on which there is a specified point . An elliptic curve is defined over a field and describes points in , the Cartesian product of with itself. If the ...
s; in dimension 2,
abelian surfaces,
K3 surface
In mathematics, a complex analytic K3 surface is a compact connected complex manifold of dimension 2 with а trivial canonical bundle and irregularity of a surface, irregularity zero. An (algebraic) K3 surface over any field (mathematics), field ...
s, and quotients of those varieties by finite groups) have Kodaira dimension zero (corresponding to admitting Ricci flat metrics).
Any variety in characteristic zero that is covered by
rational curves (nonconstant maps from P
1), called a
uniruled variety, has Kodaira dimension −∞. Conversely, the main conjectures of
minimal model theory (notably the abundance conjecture) would imply that every variety of Kodaira dimension −∞ is uniruled. This converse is known for varieties of dimension at most 3.
proved the invariance of plurigenera under deformations for all smooth complex projective varieties. In particular, the Kodaira dimension does not change when the complex structure of the manifold is changed continuously.
:
A fibration of normal projective varieties ''X'' → ''Y'' means a surjective morphism with connected fibers.
For a 3-fold ''X'' of general type, the image of the ''d''-canonical map is birational to ''X'' if ''d'' ≥ 61.
General type
A variety of general type ''X'' is one of maximal Kodaira dimension (Kodaira dimension equal to its dimension):
:
Equivalent conditions are that the line bundle
is
big
Big or BIG may refer to:
* Big, of great size or degree
Film and television
* Big (film), ''Big'' (film), a 1988 fantasy-comedy film starring Tom Hanks
* ''Big'', a 2023 Taiwanese children's film starring Van Fan and Chie Tanaka
* ''Big!'', a ...
, or that the ''d''-canonical map is generically injective (that is, a birational map to its image) for ''d'' sufficiently large.
For example, a variety with
ample canonical bundle is of general type.
In some sense, most algebraic varieties are of general type. For example, a smooth
hypersurface
In geometry, a hypersurface is a generalization of the concepts of hyperplane, plane curve, and surface. A hypersurface is a manifold or an algebraic variety of dimension , which is embedded in an ambient space of dimension , generally a Euclidea ...
of degree ''d'' in the ''n''-dimensional projective space is of general type if and only if
. In that sense, most smooth hypersurfaces in projective space are of general type.
Varieties of general type seem too complicated to classify explicitly, even for surfaces. Nonetheless, there are some strong positive results about varieties of general type. For example,
Enrico Bombieri
Enrico Bombieri (born 26 November 1940) is an Italian mathematician, known for his work in analytic number theory, Diophantine geometry, complex analysis, and group theory. Bombieri is currently professor emeritus in the School of Mathematics ...
showed in 1973 that the ''d''-canonical map of any complex surface of general type is birational for every
. More generally,
Christopher Hacon and
James McKernan, Shigeharu Takayama, and Hajime Tsuji showed in 2006 that for every positive integer ''n'', there is a constant
such that the ''d''-canonical map of any complex ''n''-dimensional variety of general type is birational when
.
The birational automorphism group of a variety of general type is finite.
Application to classification
Let ''X'' be a variety of nonnegative Kodaira dimension over a field of characteristic zero, and let ''B'' be the canonical model of ''X'', ''B'' = Proj ''R''(''X'', ''K''
''X''); the dimension of ''B'' is equal to the Kodaira dimension of ''X''. There is a natural rational map ''X'' – → ''B''; any morphism obtained from it by
blowing up
In mathematics, blowing up or blowup is a type of geometric transformation which replaces a subspace of a given space with the space of all directions pointing out of that subspace. For example, the blowup of a point in a plane replaces the poin ...
''X'' and ''B'' is called the
Iitaka fibration. The
minimal model and abundance conjectures would imply that the general fiber of the Iitaka fibration can be arranged to be a
Calabi–Yau variety, which in particular has Kodaira dimension zero. Moreover, there is an effective Q-divisor Δ on ''B'' (not unique) such that the pair (''B'', Δ) is
klt, ''K''
''B'' + Δ is ample, and the canonical ring of X is the same as the canonical ring of (''B'', Δ) in degrees a multiple of some ''d'' > 0.
[O. Fujino and S. Mori, J. Diff. Geom. 56 (2000), 167-188. Theorems 5.2 and 5.4.] In this sense, ''X'' is decomposed into a family of varieties of Kodaira dimension zero over a base (''B'', Δ) of general type. (Note that the variety ''B'' by itself need not be of general type. For example, there are surfaces of Kodaira dimension 1 for which the Iitaka fibration is an elliptic fibration over P
1.)
Given the conjectures mentioned, the classification of algebraic varieties would largely reduce to the cases of Kodaira dimension
, 0 and general type. For Kodaira dimension
and 0, there are some approaches to classification. The minimal model and abundance conjectures would imply that every variety of Kodaira dimension
is
uniruled, and it is known that every uniruled variety in characteristic zero is birational to a
Fano fiber space. The minimal model and abundance conjectures would imply that every variety of Kodaira dimension 0 is birational to a Calabi-Yau variety with
terminal singularities.
The Iitaka conjecture states that the Kodaira dimension of a fibration is at least the sum of the Kodaira dimension of the base and the Kodaira dimension of a general fiber; see for a survey. The Iitaka conjecture helped to inspire the development of
minimal model theory in the 1970s and 1980s. It is now known in many cases, and would follow in general from the minimal model and abundance conjectures.
The relationship to Moishezon manifolds
Nakamura and Ueno proved the following additivity formula for complex manifolds (). Although the base space is not required to be algebraic, the assumption that all the fibers are isomorphic is very special. Even with this assumption, the formula can fail when the fiber is not Moishezon.
:Let π: V → W be an analytic fiber bundle of compact complex manifolds, meaning that π is locally a product (and so all fibers are isomorphic as complex manifolds). Suppose that the fiber F is a
Moishezon manifold. Then
:
See also
*
List of complex and algebraic surfaces
*
Enriques-Kodaira classification
*
Bogomolov–Sommese vanishing theorem
Notes
References
*
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*
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*
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{{refend
Birational geometry
Dimension