Invariance of Plurigenera in Smooth Projective Families: An Algebraic Approach ()
1. Introduction
The plurigenera is fundamental invariant in classification theory, encoding information about the birational geometry. Their deformation invariance implies that certain properties of canonical models persist in families, a cornerstone of the minimal model program. In 1998, Yum-Tong Siu proved the invariance of plurigenera for families of smooth projective varieties under deformations [1]. His proof relied on three key tools: Nadel multiplier ideal sheaves, Skoda’s
estimates, and the Ohsawa-Takegoshi-Manivel extension theorem. These tools collectively ensured that the plurigenera of algebraic varieties remained invariant during the deformation process. Although Siu’s proof was analytic in nature, in recent years, researchers have also attempted to describe the invariance of plurigenera under deformations using algebraic methods. For example, by translating Siu’s analytic approach into a more algebraic framework, Kawamata has successfully extended Siu’s results [2]. The core of this method lies in constructing singular Hermitian metrics and utilizing their semipositivity to apply the
extension theorem. While Siu’s analytic methods are powerful, algebraic techniques offer advantages in settings where analytic tools are limited—for instance, in positive characteristic or for singular varieties. By rephrasing the proof using multiplier ideals and vanishing theorems, we unify the argument with broader principles in birational geometry.
2. Preliminaries
We work throughout with a smooth algebraic variety
of dimension
defined over
.
Multiplier Ideals. Let
be a log resolution of divisor
or of
.
is a rational number, the multiplier ideals associated to
and to
are defined to be:
.
If
is a divisor on
such that the complete linear series
is non-trivial,
be a log resolution of
,
, where
is a basepoint-free linear series. Given
, we can define
.
Assume that
is big, then for
the multiplier ideals
all coincide. The resulting ideal, written
, is the asymptotic multiplier of
with coefficient
.
Plurigenera. Let
be a smooth projective variety, for
, the
plurigenus
of
is the dimension of the space of m-canonical forms on
:
.
Nadel vanishing theorem. Let
be a smooth complex projective variety, let
be any Q-divisor on
, and let
be any integer divisor such that
is nef and big. Then for
,
.
The core value of Nadel’s vanishing theorem lies in: Within the framework of multiplier ideal sheaves, even when line bundles exhibit weak positivity or singularities, the theorem still enables critical support for geometric problems—such as section lifting and surjectivity of restriction maps—through adjusted vanishing cohomology. We may consult [3] for details.
Subadditivity theorem. For ideals
and
,
.
For a detailed treatment, see [3].
3. Siu’s Theorem on Plurigenera
Lemma 3.1. Let
be a smooth projective variety, and
a smooth irreducible divisor. Define
, where
is a nef divisor. Assume that
is big and
. If
and
is globally generated, then
.
Proof. We make the following remark: Let
be a Cartier divisor on a projective variety
, and let
be ideal sheaves. If
is globally generated, then
if and only if
,
where both sides are viewed as subspaces of
. In our situation, it therefore suffices to show that
.
Suppose there exists a section
, i.e.,
is a section of
vanishing along the ideal sheaf
. Since
, it follows from the adjoint sequence
that
lifts to a section
.
By definition,
vanishes along the base ideal
, and hence its restriction
must vanish along
, which establishes the required inclusion.
Lemma 3.2. Let
be a smooth projective variety, and
a smooth irreducible divisor. Define
, where
is a nef divisor. Assume that
is big and
. There exist a very ample divisor
on
, a positive integer
,and a divisor
meeting
properly, such that for every
, the inclusion
(*)
holds.
Proof. By Nadel’s vanishing theorem and Castelnuovo-Mumford regularity, we may choose a very ample divisor
on
such that for every
, the sheaf
is globally generated. Furthermore, since
, for
, we may select a divisor
that does not contain
. We prove the inclusion (*) for these choices of data by induction on
.
For
, the required inclusion holds because
, which implies
.
Assuming (*) holds for a given
, we show it also holds for
. To this end, first observe that by the choice of
, the sheaf
is globally generated. Applying lemma 3.1. with
and the ideal sheaf
, and invoking the inductive hypothesis
, that in fact
.
Therefore also
, which completes the induction.
Theorem 3.3. Let
be a smooth projective variety, and
a smooth irreducible divisor. Define
, where
is a nef divisor. Assume that
is big and
. Then for every
, the restriction map
is surjective.
Proof. Fix an integer
, and apply inclusion in lemma 3.2. with
for all
. We obtain the following chain of inclusions:
where the final inclusion follows from the subadditivity theorem. However, we assert that if the inclusion
holds for all
, then it necessarily implies
,
and consequently, the inclusion
holds.
The inclusion
holds, we complete the proof. In fact, we twist by
using the exact sequence
(*). Noting the linear equivalence
,
the Nadel vanishing theorem and the assumptions imply that for
,
.
Consequently, the exact sequence (*) ensures the surjectivity of the map
.
Since the left-hand group is a subspace of
, this means any setion of
vanishing along
can be lifted to a section of
.Therefore, if the inclusion
is known, it follows that all sections of
can be lifted to
.
Theorem 3.4.(Siu’s Theorem on Plurigenra)
Let
be a smooth projective family of varieties of general type. Then for each
, the plurigenera
are independent of t.
Proof. Without loss of generality, assume
and that
is a smooth affine curve. Let
. Fix
. By semicontinuity,
for generic t. Thus, it suffices to prove the reverse inequality:
(*)
For
near 0.
Consider the sheaf
on
. This is torsion-free (hence locally free) sheaf whose rank computes the generic value of the m-th plurigenus
. The fiber of
at 0 consists of pluricanonical forms on
that extend to forms on
over a neighborhood of 0. To prove(*), it suffices to show that any
extends (after possibly shrinking
) to
.This follows from Theorem 3.3.
Specifically, complete
to a morphism
of smooth projective varieties, where
and
. Regard
as a smooth divisor on
. Let
be a very ample divisor on
, set
, and define
.
By taking
sufficiently positive, we may assume
is nef. Adjust
further to ensure
is big and
.
Bigness of
: Let D be an ample divisor on
. For
sufficiently positive, there exists
, such that
is effective. Since
is of general type for general
, choose
large enough so that
is effective on a very general fiber of
. When
is sufficiently positive,
is non-zero and globally generated, imply
.
Avoidance of
: Since
is free for
,
does not lie in the base locus of
for
. By further increasing
, replace
with
to ensure
.
Therefore, we can apply Theorem 3.3. with
and
, concluding that for every
, the restriction map
(*)
is surjective. By taking
sufficiently small, then
.
The surjective of (*) then implies the required surjectivity of
,
Which completes the proof.
Remark 3.5. Siu established that the same statement holds even when
is not of general type [4]. Kawamata and Nakayama establish a number of striking results from [1]. Kawamata shows in [5] that canonical singularities are preserved under deformation, Nakayama [6] proves that if
is a variety of general type having only canonical singularities, then any deformation of
is again of general type.