A general endomorphism of $\mathbb{P}^k$ has trivial iterated centralizer

Abstract

Fix integers $k,d\geq2$. Let $\mathrm{End}_d^k$ denote the parameter space of endomorphisms of $\mathbb{P}^k$ of algebraic degree $d$. We prove that there exists a dense Zariski open subset $U_{d,k}\subset\mathrm{End}_d^k$, defined over $\mathbb{Q}$, such that, for every $f\in U_{d,k}(\mathbb{C})$, every dominant rational self-map of $\mathbb{P}^k$ commuting with an iterate of $f$ is itself an iterate of $f$. The key intermediate result classifies dominant rational semiconjugacies to iterates of $f$ from normal projective varieties of dimension $k$. The proof uses finite-level monodromy and its action on the rooted preimage tree of a point outside the branch locus of an iterate of $f$. An analogous centralizer theorem holds generically for regular polynomial endomorphisms of $\mathbb{C}^k$. These results extend several theorems of Pakovich to higher dimensions. We give two applications. We first classify periodic dominant correspondences between a general endomorphism and an arbitrary endomorphism of degree at least two. We then show that, for a general $f\in\mathrm{End}_d^k$, an irreducible hypersurface of $\mathbb{P}^k$ is $f$-special in the sense of Ghioca--Tucker and DeMarco--Mavraki if and only if it is $f$-preperiodic.