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Vesselin Dimitrov
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Mumford-Ramanujam examples in characteristic p [and in Arakelov geometry]

For a compact Riemann surface $B$ of genus $\geq 2$, it is a consequence of the Narasimhan-Seshadri theorem that there exist rank-$2$ vector bundles $E \to B$ of degree zero, all of whose symmetric powers are stable. As Mumford observed, such vector bundles give rise to ruled complex surfaces ($\mathbb{P}^1$-bundles over $B$) $X := \mathbb{P}(E) \to B$ with a line bundle $L := \mathcal{O}_{X/B}(1)$ having $L.C > 0$ on every curve, yet $L^2 = 0$.

Is it known whether such bundles $E$ exist in characteristic $p$ also? If not, is there any example known of a surface $X/k$ in characteristic $p$ with a line bundle $L \to X$ having $L^2 = 0$ yet $L.C > 0$ on every curve $C \subset X$?

Update. I would also like to inquire if such a construction has been made in Arakelov geometry -- for arithmetic surfaces, or adelic line bundles on curves, or on higher dimensional arithmetic varieties. It would be enough to have a number field $K$ and a rank-$2$ degree-zero hermitian vector bundle $E$ on $\mathrm{Spec}(O_K)$ having all its symmetric powers stable. The existence of such an $E$ appears to be far from trivial, however, as it is not even known that semistable hermitian bundles are closed under the tensor product (this has been conjectured by Soule).

Vesselin Dimitrov
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