Generalized Zariski cancellation for Brieskorn--Pham varieties

Abstract

We establish a generalized Zariski cancellation theorem for Brieskorn--Pham varieties over the field of complex numbers. More precisely, we show that if two complex Brieskorn--Pham varieties become isomorphic after taking a product with an arbitrary separated complex scheme having a smooth point, then they are already isomorphic not merely as complex algebraic varieties but, in fact, as $\mathbf{C}^*$-varieties. The proof combines our general cancellation theorem for complex algebraic varieties with a unique singularity, whose proof relies on the analytic cancellation theorem of Hauser--M\"uller, with an exponent rigidity theorem for Brieskorn--Pham varieties. The latter asserts that, over any field of characteristic zero, the exponent tuple appearing in the defining equation completely determines the isomorphism class of the corresponding Brieskorn--Pham variety.