Purity of branch and critical locus

Abstract

To a dominant morphism $X/S \to Y/S$ of N\oe therian integral $S$-schemes one has the inclusion $C_{X/Y}\subset B_{X/Y}$ of the critical locus in the branch locus of $X/Y$. Starting from the notion of locally complete intersection morphisms, we give conditions on the modules of relative differentials $\Omega_{X/Y}$, $\Omega_{X/S}$, and $\Omega_{Y/S}$ that imply bounds on the codimensions of $ C_{X/Y}$ and $ B_{X/Y}$. These bounds generalise to a wider class of morphisms the classical purity results for finite morphisms by Zariski-Nagata-Auslander, and Faltings and Grothendieck, and van der Waerden's purity for birational morphisms.