Seshadri functions on surfaces

Abstract

We study the Seshadri function on the ample cone of a smooth complex projective surface at a fixed point. At a submaximal class, we show that the function is differentiable if and only if there is a unique Seshadri curve. At a maximal class $L$, differentiability is equivalent to every curve $C$ computing the Seshadri constant satisfying $\frac{[C]}{{\rm mult}_x C}=\frac{[L]}{\sqrt{L^{2}}}$. We also prove that the non-differentiability locus is nowhere dense. For the blow-up of $\mathbb P^{2}$ at $r\ge 9$ very general points, assuming the $(-1)$-curves conjecture for the blow-up at $r+1$ very general points, we construct a non-empty open subset of the ample cone on which the Seshadri function at a very general point equals $\sqrt{L^{2}}$. Consequently, this function is not piecewise linear. Under the assumption of the Strong SHGH conjecture, we obtain a common non-empty open subset on which maximality holds at every point when $r\ge36$.