The printed vanishing claim needs the restriction . On with and , Question 3 gives for every . Thus no bound on the degree of a divisor can force vanishing in degree zero. We prove finiteness in every degree and the corrected vanishing in every positive degree, uniformly over all divisors on an algebraic curve of large degree.
First take a finite morphism as in Question 3 and put . The direct image sheaf is coherent: on an affine chart its module is finitely generated over a finite algebra and hence over the chart's coordinate ring. The two affine-cover Čech cochain complexes for on and for on are identical. Therefore
We need an elementary presentation of any coherent sheaf on the projective line. Choose finitely many generators on each of its two standard affine charts. A generator on the first chart restricts to an element of the second chart's module localized at . Multiplication by a sufficiently large power of brings that element into the second chart's module. Since the transition of is , this makes the original generator extend to a global section of . A generator on the second chart similarly extends after clearing its denominator at . Use one common exponent for all the finitely many generators. The extended sections generate on both charts. Untwisting gives a surjection
with coherent kernel . The long exact sequence in sheaf cohomology and Question 3 show that is a quotient of the finite-dimensional , since . Apply the same presentation argument to to obtain finiteness of . Then the segment proves finiteness of . Higher groups vanish by Question 3. Hence every is finite-dimensional.
Next establish a useful degree estimate without using the duality requested later. A global regular function on is constant: a nonconstant one would give a finite morphism by Question 1. Such a morphism is surjective, because its closed image contains the generic point, but a regular function misses , a contradiction. Thus . Write , the genus of a smooth projective curve. For any divisor on an algebraic curve and point , the local discrete valuation ring gives
The last term is a length-one skyscraper sheaf. Additivity of the Euler characteristic of a coherent sheaf and repeated addition or subtraction of points give
The inequality follows because is nonnegative, and is sufficient for the following argument.
Fix . For this estimate gives at least two independent sections of , one of them the constant section. A nonconstant section is a rational function on an algebraic variety whose poles are confined to . It must have a pole there, since a globally regular function is constant. Its extension is finite, and its inverse image of is exactly . Consequently is affine.
Let be the torsion subsheaf of and let . The support of is finite; such a coherent sheaf is a finite direct sum of sheaves supported at points and has zero higher sheaf cohomology. The torsion-free sheaf is locally free: a finitely generated torsion-free module over a discrete valuation ring is free. Tensoring by any invertible sheaf is exact, so
The inclusions have point-supported quotients. Their long exact sequences in sheaf cohomology therefore give surjections on . Moreover
a section regular away from has some finite pole order at . Compute this direct limit on a finite affine cover of . All its intersections with are affine by Question 2, and localization commutes with filtered direct limits. The Čech cochain complex consequently gives
The maps from to these groups are surjective. Choose a finite basis of this starting vector space. Each basis vector becomes zero at some stage in the direct limit; one common stage kills the entire basis. Thus there exists with .
Now let be any divisor on an algebraic curve with . The estimate above gives . A nonzero section identifies with an effective divisor up to linear equivalence of divisors. Hence . Adding gives a point-supported quotient of , so its first sheaf cohomology is a quotient of . We have proved uniform high-degree vanishing on a smooth projective curve:
This bound concerns all high-degree divisors, not only multiples of a previously chosen divisor.