A lower bound for $\chi (\mathcal O_S)$

Abstract

Let $(S,\mathcal L)$ be a smooth, irreducible, projective, complex surface, polarized by a very ample line bundle $\mathcal L$ of degree $d > 25$. In this paper we prove that $\chi (\mathcal O_S)\geq -\frac{1}{8}d(d-6)$. The bound is sharp, and $\chi (\mathcal O_S)=-\frac{1}{8}d(d-6)$ if and only if $d$ is even, the linear system $|H^0(S,\mathcal L)|$ embeds $S$ in a smooth rational normal scroll $T\subset \mathbb P^5$ of dimension $3$, and here, as a divisor, $S$ is linearly equivalent to $\frac{d}{2}Q$, where $Q$ is a quadric on $T$. Moreover, this is equivalent to the fact that the general hyperplane section $H\in |H^0(S,\mathcal L)|$ of $S$ is the projection of a curve $C$ contained in the Veronese surface $V\subseteq \mathbb P^5$, from a point $x\in V\backslash C$.