Variation of the canonical height for polynomials in several variables

Abstract

Let K be a number field, X/K a curve, and f/X a family of endomorphisms of projective N-space. It follows from a result of Call and Silverman that the canonical height associated to the family f, evaluated along a section, differs from a Weil height on the base by little-o of a Weil height. In the case where f is a family with an invariant hyperplane, whose restriction to this invariant hyperplane is isotrivial, we improve this by showing that the canonical height along a section differs from a Weil height on the base by a bounded amount.