GREENBERG APPROXIMATION AND THE GEOMETRY OF ARC SPACES 9 0 JOHANNESNICAISEANDJULIENSEBAG 0 2 Abstract. We study the differential properties of generalized arc schemes n andgeometricversionsofKolchin’sIrreducibilityTheoremoverarbitrarybase a fields. Asanintermediate step, weproveanapproximation resultforarcs by J algebraiccurves. 3 1 ] G 1. Introduction A In this article, we study geometric, topological and differential properties of . generalized arc schemes. h t a One of the questions we deal with is their irreducibility. Let k be a field. In m differential algebra, Kolchin’s Irreducibility Theorem states that, for any prime [ ideal I in an algebra of finite type over a field k of characteristic zero, the radical differential ideal {I} associated to I is again prime [11, Prop. 10, p. 200]. 1 In [14, 3.3], we observed that the arc space of a k-scheme of finite type X can v 6 be constructed in terms of differential algebra. Roughly speaking, the arc space 0 associated to X is a k-scheme L(X) which parametrizes k[[t]]-points on X. It 8 contains deep information on the structure of the singularities of X and plays a 1 fundamental role in the theory of motivic integration. In this setting, Kolchin’s . 1 Irreducibility Theorem states that L(X) is irreducible if X is. We’ll refer to this 0 resultasthe Arc Scheme Irreducibility Theorem. We gaveapurelygeometricproof 9 of this theorem, using resolution of singularities, and a counterexample to show 0 that it does not extend to positive characteristic [14, Rmq.1]. : v Morerecently,in[17,2.9],RegueraestablishedamodifiedformoftheArcScheme i X Irreducibility Theorem, when k is a perfect field of positive characteristic. In the r present article, we give a counterexample to show that her result fails if k is im- a perfect (Theorem 3.19), and we show how it can be adapted for arbitrary fields (Theorem 3.15). Our result states that, for any field k and any k-scheme of finite typeX,thereexistsanaturalbijectivecorrespondencebetweenthesetofgeometri- callyreducedirreduciblecomponentsofX,andthesetofirreduciblecomponentsof L(X)\L(nSm(X)). HerenSm(X)denotesthenon-smoothlocusofX overk. The results presented in this article clarify the status of the Arc Scheme Irreducibility Theorem over arbitrary fields and incorporate all previously known cases. As anintermediateresultofindependentinterest,weprovethatpointsonL(X) canbe approximatedby algebraiccurves C on X,in a sense which is made precise inTheorem3.12. Since the topologyofL(C) is easierto control(Lemma 3.13) one can use Theorem 3.12 to study the topology of L(X) (see for instance Proposition 3.18). Our approximationresult is basedonthe following fundamental theoremby Greenberg [3, Thm.1] (we state it in a slightly different, but equivalent form). 1 2 JOHANNESNICAISEANDJULIENSEBAG Theorem1.1(Greenberg’sApproximationTheorem). LetRbeanexcellenthenselian discretevaluation ringwith uniformizer π. Forany R-schemeoffinitetypeX there exists an integer a ≥ 1 such that for any integer ν ≥ 1 the images of the natural maps X(R/(πaν))→X(R/(πν)) and X(R)→X(R/(πν)) coincide. Besides irreducibility, it is natural to ask which other properties of schemes are preservedbythe arcspacefunctor(reducedness,noetherianity,connectedness,...). In Section 2 we obtain some results in this direction, placing ourselves in the most general setting: arc schemes L(X/S) of arbitrary morphisms of schemes X → S. We call these objects generalized arc schemes. Working on this level of generality is useful, for instance, if one wants to consider the scheme of wedges of a relative schemeX →S asthe iteratedarcschemeL(L(X/S)/S)ofX/S,i.e. ifonestudies infinitesimal deformations of arcs (Definition 3.8). The wedge scheme plays an important role in the study of the Nash problem [16, 5.1]. Moreover, extending the theory to arbitrary relative schemes yields a very natural proof of the Arc Scheme Irreducibility Theorem for arbitrary schemes over a field of characteristic zero(Theorem3.6). Ourproofdoesnotuse resolutionofsingularitiesandrelieson the interpretation of arc schemes in terms of differential algebra (Corollary 3.3). We show that the generalized arc schemes have many properties with a differ- ential flavor, even in positive characteristic. Our main theorem in this direction is the characterizationof formally unramified morphisms (Theorem 2.5(1)). These differentialpropertiesarethenappliedinourstudyofthegeometryofarcschemes. To conclude this introduction, we give a survey of the structure of the paper. Section 2 studies the differential properties of arc schemes. We recall the general construction of arc schemes in Section 2.1, we establish some basic properties in Section2.2,andwe developthe relationsbetweenthe geometryofarcschemes and the differential properties of morphisms of schemes in Section 2.3. In Section 3 we focus on the topological properties of arc schemes, relying on the results we proved in Section 2. Section 3.1 contains some preliminaries. In Section 3.2 we interprete the arc scheme in terms of differential algebra, and we use this interpretation in Section 3.3 to give a short geometric proof of the Arc Scheme Irreducibility Theorem for arbitrary schemes over a field of characteristic zero. Section 3.4 gives an application of this result to wedge schemes. Next, we prove our approximation result for arcs by algebraic curves in Section 3.5. This result is used in the topological study of the arc scheme in Section 3.6, where we prove various forms of the Arc Scheme Irreducibility Theorem over arbitrary base fields. Atthe endofthe section,we showthatthere exists,overanyimperfectfield k, a regular irreducible k-variety X such that L(X) is not irreducible. This shows that the statement of [17, 2.9] does not extend to imperfect fields. Notation. For any field k, a k-variety is a reduced separated k-scheme of finite type. A k-curve is a k-scheme of finite type of pure dimension one. We do not demand it to be separated, nor reduced. We denote by (·) the endofunctor on the category of schemes mapping a red scheme S to its maximal reduced closed subscheme S . For any scheme S, an red GREENBERG APPROXIMATION AND THE GEOMETRY OF ARC SPACES 3 S-algebra (resp. S-field) is a ring (resp. field) A together with a morphism of schemes SpecA→S. For any field k and any k-scheme S, we denote by S the set of points on alg S whose residue field is algebraic over k. Any morphism of k-schemes T → S maps T to S , so (·) defines a functor from the categoryof k-schemes to the alg alg alg category of sets. If kalg is an algebraic closure of k, then S is the image of the alg naturalmap S(kalg)→S. If S is of finite type overk, then S coincides with the alg set of closed points of S. If X is a k-scheme of finite type over k, we denote by Reg(X) the set of regular points of X, and by Sm(X) the set of points where the structural morphism X → Speck is smooth. These are open subsets of X and we endow them with the induced scheme structure. The complements of Reg(X) and Sm(X) in X, with their reduced induced closed subscheme structure, are denoted by Sing(X) (the singular locus of X), resp. nSm(X) (the non-smooth locus of X). We say that X has isolated singularities if Sing(X) is a finite set of points. For any scheme S and any integer n≥0, we put Sn =S×ZZ[t]/(tn+1). 2. Arc spaces 2.1. Definition. We recall the definition of the arc scheme functor, for arbitrary relative schemes. ∗ Let S be any scheme, and X any S-scheme. By [1, 7.6.4], the Weil restriction (X × S ) Y S n Sn/S is representable by a S-scheme, which we denote by L (X/S). To be precise, the n conditions in the statement of [1, 7.6.4] are not necessarily fulfilled by the S - n scheme X × S ; however, going through the proof, one sees that one only has to S n verify that for any geometric point z of S, the image of any morphism of schemes z× S →X× S is contained in an affine open subscheme of X × S . This is S n S n S n trivial,sincez× S isapoint. ObservethatL (X/S)iscanonicallyisomorphicto S n 0 X, and that L (S/S) is canonically isomorphic to S for all n ≥ 0. If S = SpecA, n we also write L (X/A) instead of L (X/S). n n ∗ By functoriality of the Weil restriction, L (·/S) defines an endofunctor on the n categoryof S-schemes. By the proofof [1, 7.6.4], L (X/S) is affine if X and S are n affine. By [1, 7.6.2], the functor L (·/S) respects open, resp. closed immersions. n By [1, 7.6.5], L (X/S) is separated, resp. of finite presentation, resp. smooth over n S, if the same holds for X. ∗ For m≥n the closed immersion S →S defined by reduction modulo tn+1 in- n m duces a naturalmorphismofschemes πm :L (X/S)→L (X/S). The morphisms n m n πm are affine, so that the projective limit n L(X/S)=limL (X/S) n ←− n exists in the category of schemes. We denote the natural projection morphisms by π :L(X/S)→L (X/S). n n 4 JOHANNESNICAISEANDJULIENSEBAG Definition 2.1. The scheme L (X/S) is called the n-jet scheme of X/S, and n L(X/S) is called the arc scheme of X/S. The morphisms π and πm are called n n truncation morphisms. By the canonical isomorphism L (X/S) ∼= X, the truncation morphisms πn 0 0 and π endow L (X/S) and L(X/S) with a natural structure of X-scheme. To 0 n uniformize notation, we will often put L (·)=L(·) and π∞ =π . We extend the ∞ m m usual ordering on N to N∪{∞} by imposing that ∞≥n for all n in N∪{∞}. ∗ItfollowsimmediatelyfromthedefinitionthatforanymorphismofschemesX → S, the arc scheme L(X/S) represents the functor from the category of S-algebras to the category of sets sending a S-algebra A to the set Hom (SpfA[[t]],X). If X S is affine, then the completion map (2.1) Hom (SpecA[[t]],X)→Hom (SpfA[[t]],X) S S is bijective and L(X/S) represents the functor A 7→ X(A[[t]]). It is an interesting open question whether this property extends to all schemes X of finite type over S = Speck with k a field; this is the case iff the functor A 7→ X(A[[t]]) is a sheaf for the Zariski topology on the category of k-algebras. If X → S is any morphism of schemes and A is a local S-algebra, then (2.1) is stilla bijection since any morphismSpecA[[t]]→X factorsthroughanaffine open subscheme of X. Hence, there exists a natural bijection L(X/S)(A) = X(A[[t]]). In particular, for any S-field F, we have L(X/S)(F)=X(F[[t]]). ∗ If h : Y → X is a morphism of S-schemes, then the natural morphisms of S- schemes L (h/S):L (Y/S)→L (X/S) commute with the truncationmorphisms n n n and define a natural morphism of S-schemes L(h/S) : L(Y/S) → L(X/S) by passingtothelimit,soL(·/S)definesanendofunctoronthecategoryofS-schemes. If h is a closed immersion, then so is L(h/S), since it is a projective limit of closed immersions L (h/S). It is easily seen that L(·/S) also respects open immersions; n see Theorem 2.5(3) for a more general statement. ∗ The tautological morphism X → (X × S ) Y S n Sn/S definesasectionτn :X →L (X/S)fortheprojectionmorphismπn :L (X/S)→ X/S n 0 n X foreachn≥0,andbypassingtothelimit, wegetasectionτ :X →L(X/S) X/S for π : L(X/S) → X which sends a point x of X to the constant arc at x. The 0 truncation morphisms πn and π are affine, hence separated, which implies that 0 0 the sections τn and τ are closed immersions. X/S X/S ∗ A morphism of schemes T →S induces a natural base change morphism L (X/S)× T →L (X × T/T) n S n S for any S-scheme X, and a natural forgetful morphism L (Y/T)→L (Y/S) n n for any T-scheme Y. These morphisms are compatible with the truncation mor- phismsπm. Takinglimits,wegetsimilarmorphismsonthelevelofarcspaces. The n forgetful morphism T ∼=L (T/T)→L (T/S) n n GREENBERG APPROXIMATION AND THE GEOMETRY OF ARC SPACES 5 coincideswithτn forn∈N andwithτ forn=∞. Inparticular,itisaclosed T/S T/S immersion. ∗ We’ll consider two natural topologies on L(X/S). The Zariski topology on the scheme L(X/S) coincides with the limit topology w.r.t. the Zariski topology on the schemes L (X/S), by [7, 8.2.9]. Besides, we introduce the following definition. n Definition2.2(t-adictopology). Thet-adictopology onL(X/S)isthelimittopol- ogy on L(X/S) w.r.t. the discrete topology on the schemes L (X/S). n 2.2. Basicproperties. Weestablishsomefundamentalpropertiesofthearcscheme. Proposition 2.3. Let S be any scheme, let X,Y,Z,T be schemes over S, and let W →V be a morphism of T-schemes. Fix a value n∈N∪{∞}. (1) The functor L (·/S) commutes with base change: the natural base change n morphism L (X/S)× T →L(X × T/T) n S S is an isomorphism. (2) The functor L(·/S) commutes with fibered products: for any S-morphisms X →Z and Y →Z, there is a natural isomorphism L (X × Y/S)∼=L (X/S)× L (Y/S) n Z n Ln(Z/S) n (3) There is a natural isomorphism L (W/T)∼=L (W/S)× L (V/T) n n Ln(V/S) n (4) The natural forgetful morphism L (W/T)→L (W/S) n n is a closed immersion. (5) ThenaturalmorphismX →X inducesanisomorphismL(X /S) → red red red L(X/S) . In particular, the natural morphism L(X /S) → L(X/S) is red red a homeomorphism. (6) If L(X/S) is reduced, then X is reduced. (7) If the truncation morphism πn :L (T/S)→T is an isomorphism then the 0 n forgetful morphism L (W/T) → L (W/S) is an isomorphism. Likewise, n n if (πn) : L (T/S) → T is an isomorphism then L (W/T) → 0 red n red red n red L (W/S) is an isomorphism. n red Proof. Points(1),(2)and(3)arestraightforward,and(4)followsfrom(3)bytaking V =T. So let us start with (5). Since L(X /S)(F)=X (F[[t]])=X(F[[t]])=L(X/S)(F) red red for any S-field F, we see that the natural closed immersion L(X /S)→L(X/S) red is bijective. Hence, L(X /S) →L(X/S) is an isomorphism. red red red (6) If L(X/S) is reduced, then the composition of the natural section τ : X/S X → L(X/S) with the morphism (π ) : L(X/S) → X defines a left inverse 0 red red X →X for the natural closed immersion X →X. This is only possible if X red red is reduced. (7) follows from (3) by putting V =T. (cid:3) 6 JOHANNESNICAISEANDJULIENSEBAG Remark. 1. Proposition 2.3(7) is reminiscent of the first fundamental exact se- quence for modules of differentials. In fact, the first part of Proposition2.3(7) can bededucedfromthefirstfundamentalexactsequenceforHasse-Schmidtderivations [18, 2.1]. 2. Theconverseof(6)doesnothold. Forinstance,considerthecasewherekisa fieldofcharacteristic2,andputS =Speck(u)andX =Speck(u)[x]/(x2+u). Fora counterexampleincharacteristiczero,considerthecomplexcuspSpecC[x,y]/(y2− x3) (see [17, 3.16]). It would be interesting to find a characterizationof the (com- plex) varieties with reduced arc scheme, and more generally to understand the geometric meaning of the non-reduced structure of the jet schemes and the arc scheme. (cid:3) 2.3. Differential properties of the arc scheme. We’ll show that the structure of the arc scheme is closely related to the differential properties of morphisms of schemes. First, we need an elementary lemma. Lemma 2.4. Let k be any field, let k′ be an algebraic extension of k, and let K be any field containing k. If ϕ : k′ → K[[t]] is a morphism of k-algebras, then the image of ϕ is contained in K. Proof. Suppose that L is an algebraic field extension of K inside K[[t]]. It suffices to show that K =L. Let α = α ti be a non-zero element of L, with α ∈K Pi≥0 i i for all i, and denote by p(x) ∈ K[x] its minimal polynomial over K. Let j ≥ 0 be the smallest index such that α 6= 0 and suppose that j > 0. We will deduce a j contradiction. We may assume that α is either separable or purely inseparable over K. In the first case, 0=p(α)≡p(α )+(∂ p)(α )·α ·tj mod tj+1 0 x 0 j whichisimpossiblebecauseα 6=0byassumptionandpisseparable. Inthesecond j case, p(x) is of the form xpm −a, with p>0 the characteristic of k, and 0=p(α)= (α )pmtipm −a X i i≥0 which yields the contradiction α =0. (cid:3) j Theorem 2.5. Let U be any scheme, and let h : T → S be a morphism of U- schemes. (1) The following are equivalent: (a) the morphism T →S is formally unramified; (b) there exists an integer m∈N∗∪{∞} such that the truncation mor- phism πm :L (T/S)→T is an isomorphism; 0 m (c) πm :L (T/S)→T is an isomorphism for each m∈N∪{∞}. 0 m If T is Noetherian, then these properties are also equivalent to: (d) the arc scheme L(T/S) is Noetherian. (2) If T →S is formally smooth, then the following properties hold: (a) the morphism πm :L (T/S)→L (T/S) is surjective for each pair n m n m≥n in N∪{∞}, (b) the morphism L (T/U) → L (S/U) is formally smooth for each n n n∈N∪{∞}, GREENBERG APPROXIMATION AND THE GEOMETRY OF ARC SPACES 7 (c) the natural morphism L (T/U)→L (S/U)× L (T/U) m m Ln(S/U) n is surjective for each pair m≥n in N∪{∞}. (3) If T →S is formally ´etale, then the natural diagram L (T/U) −−−−→ L (S/U) m m πnm πnm   y y L (T/U) −−−−→ L (S/U) n n is Cartesian for each pair m≥n in N∪{∞}. (4) Let k ⊂k′ be S-fields. (a) If k′ is separable over k, then L(Speck′/S) → L(Speck/S) is sur- jective. (b)Ifk′ isalgebraicoverkthen(π ) :L(Speck′/k) →Speck′ isan 0 red red isomorphism. The converse holds if k′ is finite over a separably generated extension of k. (5) If T →S is locally of finite type, then the following are equivalent: (a) the morphism T →S is quasi-finite; (b) the morphism (π ) :L(T/S) →T is an isomorphism; 0 red red red (c) the morphism (π ) is of finite type. 0 red If, moreover, T is Noetherian, then these properties are also equivalent to: (d) the scheme L(T/S) is Noetherian. red Proof. (1) The implications (c)⇒(b) and (c)⇒(d) are trivial. Itfollowsimmediately fromthedefinitionthatL (T/S)isnaturallyisomorphic, 1 as a T-scheme, to the relative tangent scheme Spec(Sym(Ω )), so (c)⇒(a)⇒ T/S (b) by [8, 17.2.1]. Assume that (a) holds. It is enough to prove (c) for m ∈ N (the case m = ∞ followsbypassingtothe limit). Theproperty(c)isequivalenttothepropertythat foreachS-schemeZ,thenaturalmapHom (Z ,T)→Hom (Z,T)isabijection. S m S This map is always surjective, by the existence of the natural section Z → Z m for the truncation morphism Z → Z . It is injective by the infinitesimal lifting m criterion for formally unramified morphisms [8, 17.1.1]. Nowassumethat(b)holds. Wewilldeduce(a). WemayassumethatS =SpecA andT =SpecB areaffine. SupposethatT →S isformallyramified. By[8,17.2.1], this means that Ω1 6= 0, i.e. there exists a A-algebra C and a morphism of A- B/A algebrasϕ:B →C[u]/(u2)whoseimageisnotcontainedinC. PutC′ =C[u]/(u2). Composing ϕ with the morphism of C-algebras C′ →C′[[t]]:u7→u(1+t) if m=∞ and with C′ →C′[t]/(tm+1):u7→u(1+t) else, we get an element of L (T/S)(C′) which is not contained in the image of m τm (C′):T(C′)→L (T/S)(C′) T/S m This contradicts the assumption that πm, and hence the section τm , are isomor- 0 T/S phisms. 8 JOHANNESNICAISEANDJULIENSEBAG Finally, suppose that T is Noetherian and (d) holds. We will deduce (b) with m = ∞. We may assume that S = SpecA and T = SpecB are affine. Denote by F the contravariant functor from the category of A-algebras to the category of S-schemes mapping an A-algebraC to the scheme SpecC[[t]], and, for eachn>0, denote by j the natural transformation F →F mapping C to the morphism n j (C):SpecC[[t]]→SpecC[[t]]:t7→tn n It is easily seen that there exists for each n > 0 a unique closed immersion of S-schemes ι :L(T/S)→L(T/S) inducing the map n ι (C):L(T/S)(C)=T(C[[t]])→T(C[[tn]])⊂T(C[[t]]):x7→x◦j (C) n n for each A-algebra C (see [15, 3.8] for a more general result). By the Ascending Chain Condition for ideals in a Noetherian ring, any closed immersion of a Noe- therianscheme into itself is anisomorphism. Hence, ι is an isomorphism,andthe n inclusion T(C[[tn]])⊂T(C[[t]]) is a bijection for each n>0 and any A-algebra C. On the other hand, ∩ T(C[[tn]])=T(C), so T(C)⊂T(C[[t]]) is a bijection and n>0 τ :T →L(T/S) is an isomorphism, inverse to π . T/S 0 (2,3) These are all easy formal consequences of the infinitesimal lifting criteria for formally smooth, resp. formally´etale morphisms [8, 17.1.1]. (4a) follows from (2c) (with m=∞ and n=0) since k′ is formally smooth over k by [5, 19.6.1]. (4b) By the existence of the section τ , which is a closed immersion, (π ) T/S 0 red is an isomorphism iff it is a bijection on the level of underlying sets. Assumethatk′/kisalgebraic,letK beak-field,andϕ:k′ →K[[t]]amorphism ofk-algebras. ItsufficestoshowthattheimageofϕiscontainedinK. Thisfollows from Lemma 2.4. Conversely, assume that (π ) is an isomorphism and that k′ is finite over a 0 red separably generated extension L of k. We may assume that L is separably closed in k′. Let K = k(u ) be a purely transcendental extension of k inside L such i i∈I that L/K is separable and algebraic. We have to show that I is empty; suppose the contrary. Consider the morphism of k-algebras ϕ : K → K[[t]] mapping u i to u +t for each i ∈ I. By Hensel’s Lemma, it extends uniquely to a morphism i ϕ:L→L[[t]]whosecompositionwithreductionmodulotistheidentityonL. Ifα is a purely inseparable element of k′ over L, then for i≫0, ϕ extends uniquely to a morphism L(α)→L(α)[[tp−i]] such that the composition with reduction modulo tp−i is the identity on K(α). Reparametrizing by putting t′ =tp−i and continuing with L replaced by L(α), we obtain an extension of ϕ to a morphism k′ → k′[[t]] whose image is not contained in k′. This contradicts the assumption that (π ) 0 red is an isomorphism. (5) The implications (b)⇒(c)⇒(d) are trivial. We noted already in the proof of (2) that (π ) is an isomorphism iff it is a bijection on the level of underlying 0 red sets. Hence, by Proposition 2.3(1), all properties in the statement can be checked on the fibers and we may assume that S = Speck with k a field. Since all the properties are local on T, we may assume that T is connected and T = SpecB with B a k-algebra of finite type. By Proposition 2.3(5) we may assume that T is reduced. GREENBERG APPROXIMATION AND THE GEOMETRY OF ARC SPACES 9 If (a) holds, then B is a finite field extension of k, and (b) follows from Lemma 2.4. Now, assume that (b) holds. In order to deduce (a), we have to show that B is a field. If P is a minimal prime ideal B, then B is a field iff B/P is a field, since B is reduced and SpecB is connected. Hence, we may assume that B is a domain. Denote by K its quotient field. The fact that L(T/S) →T is a bijection implies that the same holds if we replace T by SpecK, by (3). But K/k is finitely generated, so (4) implies that K is algebraic over k, and we can conclude that B =K. Finally, if (d) holds, the arguments in the proof of (1)(d) ⇒ (b) (restricted to reduced algebras C) show that (b) holds. (cid:3) Remark. Property (4b) does not extend to the jet spaces L (Speck′/k). For m instance,letk be animperfectfield ofcharacteristicp, pickanelementa in k−kp, andputk′ =k[x]/(xp−a). ThenL (Speck′/k) →Speck′isnotanisomorphism n red foranyn∈N∗,sinceL (Speck′/k) istheclosedsubschemeofSpeck[x ,...,x ] n red 0 n defined by the equations x =0 for all i≥0 with i·p≤n. i For the converse implication in (4b), the condition that k′ is finite over a sepa- rably generated extension of k cannot be omitted: there exist formally unramified field extensions k′/k which are not algebraic. For instance, if k is any field of characteristic p > 0 and k′ is the perfect closure of k(u), then Ω1 = 0 because k′/Z d(ap)=p·ap−1·da=0 for any element a of k′. Since k′/k is not separable if k is not perfect, the same example shows that the converse of (4a) is false. Similar examples show that the condition that T → S is locally of finite type cannotbedroppedin(5),evenifwereplace“isquasi-finite”by“hasdiscretefibers” in(5a). For example,if k is analgebraicallyclosedfieldof characteristicp>0 and B is the k-algebra ∪ k[tp−i], then B is formally unramified over k but SpecB is i>0 not discrete. (cid:3) Corollary 2.6. If k is any field and X is a k-scheme of finite type, then • the following are equivalent: (a) the arc scheme L(X/k) is Noetherian; (b) the truncation morphism π :L(X/k)→X is an isomorphism; 0 (c) the scheme X is ´etale over k. • the following are equivalent: (a) the scheme L(X/k) is Noetherian; red (b) the morphism (π ) :L(X/k) →X is an isomorphism; 0 red red red (c) the scheme X has dimension 0. Corollary 2.7. Let k′/k a field extension, and fix a k′-scheme X. • If k′/k is algebraic,then the forgetful morphism L(X/k′) →L(X/k) red red is an isomorphism. • If the field k′ is formally unramified over k then the forgetful morphism L (X/k′)→L (X/k) n n is an isomorphism for each n∈N∪{∞}. 10 JOHANNESNICAISEANDJULIENSEBAG Proof. This follows immediately from Proposition 2.3(7) and Theorem 2.5(1,4b). (cid:3) 3. Topology of arc spaces 3.1. Basictopologicalpropertiesofthe arc scheme. Wecollectsomeelemen- tary topologicalproperties of the arc scheme, which we’ll need in the remainder of the article. Proposition 3.1. Let X →S be a morphism of schemes. We denote by I(X) the set of irreducible components of X, and by C(X) the set of connected components of X (with their reduced induced structure). (1) If X is integral, and smooth over S, then L(X/S) is integral. (2) For each element X of I(X)(resp. C(X)), thescheme L(X /S)is a union i i of irreducible (resp. connected) components of L(X/S). Moreover, L(X/S)=∪ L(X /S) and L(X/S)=∪ L(Y /S) Xi∈I(X) i Yj∈C(X) j (as topological spaces), and if X and X are distinct elements of I(X) i j (resp. C(X)) then L(X /S)6⊂L(X /S). i j (3) If S =Speck, with k a field, and k′ is an algebraic, purely inseparable field extension of k, then the natural morphism h : L(X′ × k′/k′) → L(X/k) k induced by the base change isomorphism in Proposition 2.3(1), is a home- omorphism. Proof. (1) If X is smooth over S, it admits Zariski-locally an ´etale morphism to affine space Ad by [8, 17.11.4], and πn : L (Ad/S) → Ad is obviously a trivial S 0 n S S S-fibration with fiber A(n+1)d for each n ≥0. Hence, it follows from integrality of S X and Theorem 2.5(3) that L(X/S) is integral. (2) These properties follow easily fromthe factthat the arcscheme functor L(·) respects open (resp. closed) immersions, and the fact that for any k-field F, any morphism SpecF[[t]] → X factors through an irreducible component of X since F[[t]] is integral. For the last statement, use the existence of the natural sections τ and τ . Xi/S Xj/S (3) The natural projection L(X/k)× k′ →L(X/k) is a homeomorphism by [6, k 2.4.5]. (cid:3) 3.2. Arc schemes and differential algebra. In this section, we’llshowthatarc schemesincharacteristiczeroadmitanaturalinterpretationintermsofdifferential algebra. Let (A,δ) be a differential ring. By [2, 1.19] the forgetful functor For fromthe categoryofdifferential(A,δ)-algebrasto the categoryof A-algebrashas a leftadjointR7→R∞. Bydefinition,thereis atautologicalmorphismofA-algebras R → For(R∞). In order to avoid confusion we adopt the following notation: if B and C are differential (A,δ)-algebras, we’ll write Homδ(B,C) for the set of A morphismsofdifferential(A,δ)-algebrasandHom (B,C)forthesetofmorphisms A of A-algebras Hom (For(B),For(C)). A Proposition 3.2. Assume that A is a Q-algebra endowed with the trivial deriva- tion. Then the forgetful functor For has a right adjoint R 7→ R . It maps an ∞ A-algebra R to the A-algebra R =R[[t]] endowed with the usual derivation δ =∂ ∞ t with respect to the parameter t.