Relative $\mathbb{A}^1$-Contractibility of Smooth Schemes

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Main Authors: Dubouloz, Adrien, Vijayalakshmi, Krishna Kumar Madhavan, Østvær, Paul Arne
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Dubouloz, Adrien
Vijayalakshmi, Krishna Kumar Madhavan
Østvær, Paul Arne
author_facet Dubouloz, Adrien
Vijayalakshmi, Krishna Kumar Madhavan
Østvær, Paul Arne
contents We study smooth morphisms $f \colon X \to S$ that are $\mathbb{A}^1$-contractible in the unstable $\mathbb{A}^1$-homotopy category $\mathcal{H}(S)$. For base schemes $S$ of finite Krull dimension, we show that $\mathbb{A}^1$-contractibility is a fiberwise property: such a morphism is $\mathbb{A}^1$-contractible if and only if all its geometric fibers are $\mathbb{A}^1$-contractible. We apply this criterion to $\mathbb{A}^n$-fiber spaces, obtaining a geometric description of their $\mathbb{A}^1$-contractibility in terms of local factorizations as towers of torsors under vector bundles, building on results of Asanuma. In low relative dimensions, we establish rigidity results. In relative dimension $1$, $\mathbb{A}^1$-contractible morphisms over normal bases are precisely Zariski locally trivial $\mathbb{A}^1$-bundles. In relative dimension $2$, we show that over bases with characteristic zero residue fields, $\mathbb{A}^1$-contractible morphisms are $\mathbb{A}^2$-fiber spaces, and we obtain Zariski local triviality under additional hypotheses on the base. We also exhibit counterexamples in positive and mixed characteristic and formulate open problems concerning the existence of exotic $\mathbb{A}^1$-contractible surfaces.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_07638
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Relative $\mathbb{A}^1$-Contractibility of Smooth Schemes
Dubouloz, Adrien
Vijayalakshmi, Krishna Kumar Madhavan
Østvær, Paul Arne
Algebraic Geometry
Algebraic Topology
14F42, 14L30, 14R20, 19E15, 55Q99
We study smooth morphisms $f \colon X \to S$ that are $\mathbb{A}^1$-contractible in the unstable $\mathbb{A}^1$-homotopy category $\mathcal{H}(S)$. For base schemes $S$ of finite Krull dimension, we show that $\mathbb{A}^1$-contractibility is a fiberwise property: such a morphism is $\mathbb{A}^1$-contractible if and only if all its geometric fibers are $\mathbb{A}^1$-contractible. We apply this criterion to $\mathbb{A}^n$-fiber spaces, obtaining a geometric description of their $\mathbb{A}^1$-contractibility in terms of local factorizations as towers of torsors under vector bundles, building on results of Asanuma. In low relative dimensions, we establish rigidity results. In relative dimension $1$, $\mathbb{A}^1$-contractible morphisms over normal bases are precisely Zariski locally trivial $\mathbb{A}^1$-bundles. In relative dimension $2$, we show that over bases with characteristic zero residue fields, $\mathbb{A}^1$-contractible morphisms are $\mathbb{A}^2$-fiber spaces, and we obtain Zariski local triviality under additional hypotheses on the base. We also exhibit counterexamples in positive and mixed characteristic and formulate open problems concerning the existence of exotic $\mathbb{A}^1$-contractible surfaces.
title Relative $\mathbb{A}^1$-Contractibility of Smooth Schemes
topic Algebraic Geometry
Algebraic Topology
14F42, 14L30, 14R20, 19E15, 55Q99
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.07638