On morphisms of compact K\"ahler manifolds with semi-positive holomorphic sectional curvature

In this paper, with the aim of establishing a structure theorem for a compact K\"ahler manifold $X$ with semi-positive holomorphic sectional curvature, we study a morphism $\phi: X \to Y$ to a compact K\"ahler manifold $Y$ with pseudo-effective canonical bundle. We prove that the morphism $\phi$ is always smooth (that is, a submersion), the image $Y$ admits a finite etale cover $T \to Y$ by a complex torus $T$, and further that all the fibers are isomorphic when $X$ is projective. Moreover, by applying a modified method to maximal rationally connected fibrations, we show that $X$ is rationally connected, if $X$ is projective and $X$ has no truly flat tangent vectors at some point (which is satisfied when the holomorphic sectional curvature is quasi-positive). This result gives a generalization of Yau's conjecture. As a further application, we obtain a uniformization theorem for compact K\"ahler surfaces with semi-positive holomorphic sectional curvature.