Volume functions of linear series

TL;DR

This paper characterizes the class of volume functions for multigraded linear series and projective varieties, showing the former can be any continuous, homogeneous, log-concave function, while the latter are countably many, with examples of transcendental complexity.

Contribution

It provides a complete characterization of volume functions for multigraded linear series and projective varieties, highlighting differences and complexities.

Findings

Any continuous, homogeneous, log-concave function is a volume function of a multigraded linear series.

There are only countably many volume functions of projective varieties.

Some volume functions of projective varieties are given by transcendental formulas.

Abstract

The volume of a Cartier divisor is an asymptotic invariant, which measures the rate of growth of sections of powers of the divisor. It extends to a continuous, homogeneous, and log-concave function on the whole N\'eron--Severi space, thus giving rise to a basic invariant of the underlying projective variety. Analogously, one can also define the volume function of a possibly non-complete multigraded linear series. In this paper we will address the question of characterizing the class of functions arising on the one hand as volume functions of multigraded linear series and on the other hand as volume functions of projective varieties. In the multigraded setting, relying on the work of Lazarsfeld and Musta\c{t}\u{a} (2009) on Okounkov bodies, we show that any continuous, homogeneous, and log-concave function appears as the volume function of a multigraded linear series. By contrast we show that there exists countably many functions which arise as the volume functions of projective varieties. We end the paper with an example, where the volume function of a projective variety is given by a transcendental formula, emphasizing the complicated nature of the volume in the classical case.