Big divisor

A Cartier divisor $D$ on an integral $n$-dimensional projective variety is big when $h^0(X,mD)\ge c{m}^n$ for some $c>0$ and infinitely many positive integers $m$. Equivalently, its Iitaka dimension is $n$. Kodaira's lemma characterizes bigness by an ample-plus-effective decomposition, and the birational linear system criterion for bigness shows why this growth captures the full variety.

For ample rational Cartier classes $B,C$ on an integral projective $n$-fold with $n\ge 1$, $B^n>n{B}^{n-1}\cdot C$ implies $B-C$ is big. Scale to very ample integral divisors. Choose an effective Cartier divisor $G\in |C|$. Repeated restriction gives $h^0(m(B-C))\ge h^0(mB)-m{h}^0(G,mB)$: multiply each negatively twisted restriction by a section avoiding its associated points to inject it into ${\mathcal{O}}_G(mB)$. Asymptotic Riemann–Roch and Serre vanishing give the positive leading lower bound along sufficiently divisible section indices after undoing the scaling. No complex-analytic Morse theory or characteristic-zero vanishing is used.

Let $\nu :X^{\nu }\to X$ be the finite normalization of an integral projective variety. The coherent sheaf $\mathcal{Q}={\nu }_{\ast }{\mathcal{O}}_{X^{\nu }}/{\mathcal{O}}_X$ is supported in dimension at most $n-1$. For a Cartier divisor $D$, the projection formula for sheaves and the resulting long exact sequence in sheaf cohomology giveThe last step uses the polynomial bound for sections of a fixed divisor. Therefore the leading order $m^n$ growth, and hence bigness, is preserved in both directions. This handles nonnormal varieties without assuming a resolution of singularities in positive characteristic.

A big real divisor is an actual positive real combination of big Cartier divisors. Equivalently it is real linearly equivalent, or numerically equivalent, to an ample real divisor plus an effective real divisor. The rational approximation of an ample-plus-effective real divisor and Kodaira's lemma connect these formulations. Fujino's notes on big real divisors give the definition also for nonnormal varieties; bigness under finite normalization relates it to section growth.

Write a big real Cartier divisor on an integral projective variety as $D{\sim }_{\mathbb{R}}B+E$, with $B$ ample and $E$ effective real Cartier. Every curve outside $\mathrm{Supp}E$ has $D\cdot C=B\cdot C+E\cdot C>0$. Therefore curves negative against $D$ lie in finitely many support components of codimension one. On a projective scheme use componentwise bigness on a projective scheme and collect the supports on its finitely many integral components; codimension one is taken in the relevant component.

If a big class $D=B+E$ has ample restriction to every component $E_i$ of the effective support, then for any ample $A$ a sufficiently small $ϵ>0$ makes $D-ϵA$ nef. Use openness of the ample cone to keep $B-ϵA$ and all $(D-ϵA){|}_{E_i}$ ample with one finite minimum of bounds. Curves inside the support use these restrictions; curves outside use effectivity of $E$. Thus one does not need a uniform choice over infinitely many subvarieties.

For a possibly reducible projective scheme, componentwise bigness means that a real Cartier class restricts to a big real divisor on every reduced irreducible component. This specifies the convention needed by positivity arguments that treat all curves. Maximal total section growth alone is weaker: on ${\mathbb{P}}^2⨿{\mathbb{P}}^2$, the bundle $(\mathcal{O}(1),\mathcal{O}(-1))$ has quadratic total growth but negative degree on every line in the second component. Thus its negative curves cannot be confined to finitely many divisors.

Suppose $D{\sim }_{\mathbb{R}}tA+E$ on an integral projective variety, where $t>0$, $A$ is ample Cartier and $E$ is effective real Cartier. Then $D$ is an actual positive combination of big Cartier divisors.

Here is a finite-dimensional proof. First assume $X$ is normal. Express $D$ and $E$ in finite Cartier bases and write $D-tA-E$ as a finite combination of principal Cartier divisors. The union of the supports of these finitely many divisors has finitely many prime components. Their integer multiplicities turn the equality into finitely many rational linear equations and effectivity into finitely many rational linear inequalities. The given coefficient tuple lies in a rational polyhedron. Take its smallest face; within that face it lies in the relative interior, and $t>0$ is an open condition. A small simplex with rational vertices in this relative interior contains the tuple. Each vertex gives $D_{\nu }{\sim }_{\mathbb{Q}}{t}_{\nu }A+E_{\nu }$ with $t_{\nu }>0$ and $E_{\nu }\ge 0$. Clearing denominators and applying Kodaira's lemma shows that $D_{\nu }$ is a positive rational multiple of a big Cartier divisor. Taking the original convex weights proves the required actual equality.

If $X$ is nonnormal, pull the finite Cartier bases and the relation to its finite normalization and impose the same rational equations and effectivity inequalities there. The vertex divisors remain rational Cartier divisors on $X$ because they were constructed in bases from $X$. They are big on the normalization, hence big on $X$ by bigness under finite normalization. This proves the same conclusion. Effectivity is used in the usual effective Cartier sense so that pullback is effective; arbitrary cycles on a nonnormal variety cannot be substituted without defining a compatible divisor theory.

The big cone in $N^1(X{)}_{\mathbb{R}}$ is open and convex: write a big class as ample plus effective, perturb only the ample summand, and use openness of the ample cone. For positive-dimensional $X$, intersection with $H^{n-1}$ for any very ample divisor $H$ is strictly positive on every big class. Hence this cone contains no line and does not contain the zero class.

A Cartier divisor on an integral projective variety is big if and only if some multiple has a complete linear system of a divisor giving a rational map birational onto its image. Kodaira's lemma embeds a very ample subsystem in a suitable multiple. Conversely, $n$ algebraically independent elements among the section ratios give $\left(\genfrac{}{}{0ex}{}{q+n}{n}\right)$ independent degree-$q$ section monomials, where $n=\dim X$. Smoothness is not necessary.

A Cartier divisor $D$ on an integral projective variety is big exactly when, for every ample divisor $A$, some positive integer $j$ satisfies $jD\sim A+E$ with $E$ effective. To prove the forward direction, subtract an effective high multiple of $A$ using the section subtraction lemma for big divisors, then add an effective representative of the remaining multiple. For the reverse direction, multiply sections of $qA$ by the section of $qE$ and use the ample Hilbert polynomial.

If $D$ is a big divisor and $F$ an effective Cartier divisor, infinitely many $m$ have $H^0(X,mD-F)\ne 0$. The divisor restriction exact sequence bounds the dimension lost upon restriction to $F$ by $O(m^{n-1})$, using the polynomial bound for sections of a fixed divisor; this cannot exhaust the $c{m}^n$ sections along the infinite growth sequence.