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A pencil of functions with poles at one point defines a finite map to the projective line
Example
Assume the Axiom of Choice inherited from the current bounded-pole, linear-system and finite-map suppliers.
Let be a field, let be a smooth proper geometrically integral curve over , and let be a nonconstant rational function whose poles all lie at a single closed point , of order ; thus is the pole divisor of , and for every — the case "all poles at , of order at most " of the scaffold. Write . Then:
- and are linearly independent elements of for every , hence also of .
- In the space the subspace is two-dimensional and base-point-free: the section of has unit coefficient in a local trivialization at , and has unit coefficient at every point away from . The morphism attached to by A base-point-free linear system defines a morphism to projective space is exactly the finite morphism of A nonconstant rational function defines a finite map to the projective line, of degree and with fibre over infinity equal to the pole divisor .
- For the same two elements in the larger space are not base-point-free: since and , the point lies in both divisors, so is a base point. Among the divisors the base-point-free hypothesis therefore holds exactly at the pole divisor ().
- On the projective line, with coordinate and , the pair inside is base-point-free and the attached morphism is , the identity of : it is finite of degree one with fibre over infinity the single point . For the same pair inside has base point (the two divisors and both contain ), so no morphism is attached there; the identity is attached to the pole divisor .
- The morphism attached to a base-point-free subspace of depends on the subspace and not only on : on with the pencils and are both base-point-free subspaces of the same , and the attached morphisms satisfy and ; no fractional linear transformation satisfies , so the two morphisms are not related by the projective-linear action of on the target and are genuinely different.
- By Rational functions with poles bounded at one point, for every closed point of residue degree and every with a nonconstant of exactly this kind exists, so the construction is nonempty. The simplest instance is with , whose only pole is at infinity and for which is the identity; this realizes the construction of Finite morphisms from a curve to the projective line in the case where the only pole is at infinity.
Scaffold repair, recorded for the owner. The frozen scaffold claimed that and span a base-point-free subspace of for a pole order "at most ", and that "the same two sections, viewed inside the larger space , define the same morphism". Both clauses are false when the pole order at is strictly smaller than , and false on for : in both and contain , so is a base point and the hypothesis of the base-point-free morphism theorem fails. The repair keeps every promised object — the two sections, the two-dimensional subspace, the identification of its morphism with , the projective-line identity at , and the dependence of the morphism on the chosen subspace rather than on alone — and states base-point-freeness at the correct divisor, the pole divisor ; the enlarged divisors are handled as the base-point case in item 3.
The current Rational functions with poles bounded at one point supplies the nonconstant function in the existence clause. The Riemann-Roch-space and base-point-free interfaces are The space L(D), Base points and base-point-free linear systems and A base-point-free linear system defines a morphism to projective space. The finite map and its pole fibre are supplied by A nonconstant rational function defines a finite map to the projective line and Finite morphisms from a curve to the projective line.
Facts & Assumptions
Given: the Axiom of Choice inherited from the current bounded-pole, linear-system and finite-map suppliers; a field , a smooth proper geometrically integral curve over , a nonconstant whose poles all lie at a single closed point , of order , an integer , and .
Curve, orders and pole divisors: closed points of have order functions on ; a divisor is a finite formal integral combination of closed points; the positive and negative parts of are and , and (Curves over a field, Divisors on a smooth proper curve, Divisor support positive negative parts).
The Riemann-Roch space: is a -subspace of , characterized coefficientwise by ; the promised section dictionary identifies and attaches to the section with , so that the ratio of two sections of is the rational function (The space L(D)).
Base points: a closed point is a base point of a subspace when every nonzero has in the support of , and is base-point-free when it has no base point; the base-point-free condition is exactly the surjectivity of the evaluation morphism of any basis (Base points and base-point-free linear systems).
The base-point-free morphism: a base-point-free subspace of dimension carries a -morphism , well defined up to the projective-linear action of on the target, with under which the coordinate sections pull back to the sections of (in particular for a chosen basis when ); conversely, a morphism together with an isomorphism has base-point-free span , and the morphism attached to the data is (A base-point-free linear system defines a morphism to projective space).
The morphism of a nonconstant function: a nonconstant defines a finite locally free -morphism with , of degree , whose fibre over infinity is the pole divisor ; and with one has (A nonconstant rational function defines a finite map to the projective line, Finite morphisms from a curve to the projective line).
The projective line: is a smooth proper geometrically integral curve of genus with affine coordinate , origin and point at infinity ; the coordinate section of satisfies and with , while (Divisors on the projective line are classified by degree, Relative projective space from standard charts).
Existence of functions with a bounded single pole: for every closed point of residue degree and every with there is a nonconstant , every pole of which lies at with order at most (Rational functions with poles bounded at one point).
The Axiom of Choice is available and is inherited only through the suppliers of [F2], [F4], [F5] and [F7]; the example selects nothing beyond the given curve, point and function (The Axiom of Choice).
Proof
The two sections and their divisors. Since is nonconstant, and are linearly independent in ; since and for by [F2] (as and ), they span a two-dimensional subspace of and of . By [F1] the pole divisor of is with , and the divisor attached to and in is and .
The same divisor with two different subspaces. On let . The two subspaces and of the single space are two-dimensional. Both are base-point-free: by [F2] and [F6], and , and (as ), so in each pair the constant is a unit away from infinity and the second section is a unit at infinity; by [F3] there is no base point. By [F4] each subspace attaches a morphism , and the pullback of the coordinate is the ratio of the two basis sections: and . If the two morphisms were related by the projective-linear action of on the target, some would satisfy ; clearing denominators, , so comparing coefficients gives , then , then , contradicting that is invertible. Hence and are not related by the target action: the morphism attached to a base-point-free subspace of depends on the subspace, not only on .
Base-point-freeness at the pole divisor. Take and . By step 1.1, , which does not contain , so the section does not vanish at ; and is supported at , so the constant section does not vanish at any other point. By [F3] no point of lies in both divisors, so is base-point-free of dimension two.
The attached morphism is . By [F5] there is a finite locally free morphism with , of degree , whose fibre over infinity is , and an isomorphism . Under the section dictionary [F2] the pullbacks and correspond to the rational functions and , whose span is ; the converse clause of [F4], applied with , and that isomorphism, gives that is base-point-free — recovering step 2.1 — and that the morphism attached to the data is . Hence , so is finite of degree with fibre over infinity equal to .
The enlarged divisors have the base point . Let . By step 1.1 both and contain , since and ; by [F3] the point is a base point of , so the hypothesis of [F4] fails and no morphism is attached. Together with step 2.1 this shows that among the divisors the pair is base-point-free exactly at the pole divisor ().
The projective-line identity. Let and , so that by [F6] (the coordinate section has divisor ). By step 3.1 the attached morphism is , finite of degree with fibre over infinity the single point ; and the converse clause of [F4], applied with , and the isomorphism of [F6] carrying and (matching divisors and by [F2]), shows that the morphism attached to the data is the identity . For , the same two elements of have and , both containing , so by [F3] is a base point of and no morphism is attached to the larger system.
Realization and conclusion. By [F7] the example is nonempty: for every closed point of residue degree and every with there is a nonconstant with all poles at of order at most , and the construction above attaches to the pole divisor the base-point-free pencil with morphism exactly ; on the case is the simplest instance, in which the only pole is at infinity and is the identity. This realizes the construction of Finite morphisms from a curve to the projective line in the single-pole case. The Axiom of Choice declared in [F8] is inherited only through the suppliers of [F2], [F4], [F5] and [F7], and nothing is selected beyond the given curve, point and function.
Depends on
- Rational functions with poles bounded at one point
- Finite morphisms from a curve to the projective line
- Curves over a field
- The Axiom of Choice
- Base points and base-point-free linear systems
- Divisors on a smooth proper curve
- Divisor support positive negative parts
- Relative projective space from standard charts
- The space L(D)
- A nonconstant rational function defines a finite map to the projective line
- Divisors on the projective line are classified by degree
- A base-point-free linear system defines a morphism to projective space
Used by
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Sources
- William Fulton, Algebraic Curves (Internet Archive copy), Chs. 8 and 6 (standard reference, not scraped)
- Ravi Vakil, The Rising Sea (version of October 21, 2025), Ch. 18.5 and Ch. 21 (standard reference, not scraped)
- The Stacks Project, Algebraic Curves (tag 0BRV) (standard reference, not scraped)