Abstract. We give a criterion for a reflexive sheaf to split into a direct sum of line bundles.
Main theoremVector bundles over the projective space P n K are one of the main subjects in both (algebraic) geometry and commutative algebra. The most fundamental result in this area is the theorem due to Grothendieck which asserts that any holomorphic vector bundle over P 1 K splits into a direct sum of line bundles. When n ≥ 2, vector bundles over P n K do not necessarily split. Indeed, the tangent bundle is indecomposable. In these cases, some sufficient conditions for vector bundles to split have been established. The following is one of such criterions, which we call "Restriction criterion". Theorem 0.1 (Horrocks). Let K be an algebraically closed field, n be an integer greater than or equal to 3, and let E be a locally free sheaf on P n K of rank r (≥ 1). Then E splits into a direct sum of line bundles if and only if there exists a hyperplane H ⊂ P n K such that E| H splits into a direct sum of line bundles. In other words, the splitting of a vector bundle can be characterized by using a hyperplane section. However, vector bundles, or equivalently locally free sheaves, form a small class among all coherent sheaves. There are some important wider classes of coherent sheaves, e.g., reflexive sheaves or torsion free sheaves. The purpose of this article is to generalize the "Restriction criterion" to one for reflexive sheaves, and we also show that it fails in the class of torsion free sheaves. Our main theorem is as follows: Theorem 0.2. Let K be an algebraically closed field, n be an integer greater than or equal to 3, and let E be a reflexive sheaf on P n K of rank r (≥ 1). Then E splits into a direct sum of line bundles if and only if there exists a hyperplane H ⊂ P n K such that E| H splits into a direct sum of line bundles.We give two proofs for Theorem 0.2. The first proof is basically parallel to that of Theorem 0.1, in which we also establish a general principle that the structure of a reflexive sheaf can be recovered from its hyperplane section (Theorem 2.2).