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The Picard group $\mathrm{Pic}(X)$ is the set of isomorphism classes of line bundles on $X$, with tensor product as addition, the trivial bundle as zero and the dual bundle as inverse. On a smooth projective surface, line bundles can be represented by divisors. The intersection pairing on the Picard group of a surface is the symmetric bilinear mapobtained by moving the divisors into proper position and counting their intersections with multiplicity.

The surfaceis the first Hirzebruch surface ${\mathbb{F}}_1$. If $S$ is its negative section and $F$ a fiber of the ruling, its Picard lattice of a Hirzebruch surface is

Now let $\pi :X\to {\mathbb{P}}^2$ be the given nonisomorphic birational morphism. A birational morphism between smooth projective surfaces factors as a nonempty sequence of point blowups. Let $H={\pi }^{\ast }[\text{line}]$, and take the total transform $E$ on $X$ of the exceptional curve of the first blowup. The intersection formula for blowing up a surface givesTherefore the nonzero Picard group element $H+E$ satisfiesThis is the isotropic divisor from a nontrivial birational morphism to the projective plane.

For a morphism $\varphi :{\mathbb{P}}^2\to {\mathbb{P}}^n$, the pullback of the hyperplane bundle has the formfor an integer $d\ge 0$. If a line $\ell$ is contracted to a point, this bundle restricts trivially to $\ell$, whereasIts degree is therefore zero, so $d=0$. The homogeneous sections defining $\varphi$ are then constants, and $\varphi$ is constant. This proves the morphism from the projective plane contracting a line criterion.

Finally choose an integer $r>C^2$ and blow up $r$ distinct points of the smooth curve $C$. For the resulting morphism $\pi :X^{\prime }\to X$, let $E_1,\dots ,E_r$ be the exceptional curves. The strict transform isand the self-intersection after blowing up points on a smooth curve formula givesBlowing up a smooth point of a smooth curve does not change that curve itself, so $\pi {|}_{C^{\prime }}:C^{\prime }\to C$ is an isomorphism.

For a divisor on an algebraic curve $D={\sum }_p{a}_{p}p$ over an algebraically closed field, its degree isFor a nonzero rational function $f$, its principal divisor iswhere zeros have positive order and poles have negative order.

Now let $D={\sum }_i{a}_i{p}_i$ have degree zero on the projective line. Choose a homogeneous linear form $L_i(X_0,X_1)$ whose zero is $p_i$. Since ${\sum }_i{a}_i=0$, the expressionis homogeneous of degree zero and therefore defines a rational function on ${\mathbb{P}}^1$. Each $L_i$ has one simple zero, and the cancellation of total degree removes any common scaling ambiguity, soThus every degree-zero divisor on ${\mathbb{P}}^1$ is principal. If $E$ and $E^{\prime }$ have the same degree, then $E-E^{\prime }$ is principal, whenceThis is the divisor class on the projective line.

Write $p_{\infty }=[1:0]$. The coordinate $t=X_0/X_1$ has no critical zero or pole in the finite chart. Near infinity use $s=X_1/X_0=t^{-1}$; thenHence the rational differential has one double pole at infinity and no other zero or pole:which represents the canonical divisor of the projective line.

If $D\sim m{K}_{{\mathbb{P}}^1}$, then $D\sim -2m{p}_{\infty }$, and linear equivalence of divisors gives $L(D)\cong L(-2m{p}_{\infty })$. A function in the latter space has no finite poles, so it is a polynomial, and its degree is at most $-2m$. ThereforeThis calculation uses only the rational functions on ${\mathbb{P}}^1$, rather than the Riemann-Roch theorem.

Finally, suppose distinct $p,q\in C$ satisfy $p-q=(f)$. The function $f$ has one simple pole and therefore defines a degree-one finite morphism $f:C\to {\mathbb{P}}^1$. A degree-one finite morphism between smooth projective curves is an isomorphism. It would follow that $C\cong {\mathbb{P}}^1$ and hence that $C$ has genus zero, contrary to the hypothesis. Thus the principal divisor with one simple zero and one simple pole cannot occur on $C$:

For a nonzero rational function $f$ on a smooth projective curve $C$, its principal divisor isIt records the zeros of $f$ with positive multiplicity and its poles with negative multiplicity. Every principal divisor has degree zero.