On negativity of total $k$-jet curvature and ampleness of the canonical bundle

Abstract

A celebrated conjecture of Kobayashi and Lang says that the canonical line bundle $K_X$ of a Kobayashi hyperbolic compact complex manifold $X$ is ample. In this note we prove that $K_X$ is ample if $X$ is projective and satisfies a stronger condition of nondegenerate negative total $k$-jet curvature. We use positivity of direct image sheaves and decomposition of jets in order to produce pluridifferentials on $X$.