On Singular Varieties Having an Extremal Secant Line

ABSTRACT

Let X be a nondegenerate subvariety of degree d and codimension e in the projective space ? ⁿ . If X is smooth, any multisecant line to X cuts X along a 0-dimensional scheme of length at most d ? e + 1. Moreover, smooth varieties X having a (d ? e + 1)-secant line (an extremal secant line) have been completely classified, extending del Pezzo and Bertini classification of varieties of minimal degree. In this article, we almost completely classify possibly singular varieties having an extremal secant line, without any assumptions on the singularities of X. First, we show that, if e ≠ 2, a multisecant line to X meets X along a 0-dimensional scheme of length at most d ? e + 1. Then, we completely classify singular varieties having a (d ? e + 1)-secant line for e ≠ 3. A partial result is provided in case e = 3.     

Transcendence degree of zero-cycles and the structure of Chow motives

In the paper we introduce a transcendence degree of a zero-cycle on a smooth projective variety X and relate it to the structure of the motive of X. In particular, we show that in order to prove Bloch’s conjecture for a smooth projective complex surface X of general type with p _g = 0 it suffices to prove that one single point of a transcendence degree 2 in X(ℂ), over the minimal subfield of definition k ⊂ ℂ of X, is rationally equivalent to another single point of a transcendence degree zero over k. This can be of particular interest in the context of Bloch’s conjecture for those surfaces which admit a concrete presentation, such as Mumford’s fake surface, see [Mumford D., An algebraic surface with K ample, (K ²) = 9, p _g = q = 0, Amer. J. Math., 1979, 101(1), 233–244].     

On Stably Free Modules over Affine Algebras

If X is a smooth affine variety of dimension d over an algebraically closed field k, and if (d?1)!??k ^× then any stably trivial vector bundle of rank (d?1) over X is trivial. The hypothesis that X is smooth can be weakened to X is normal if d??4.     

Multi-secant lemma

We present a new generalization of the classical trisecant lemma. Our approach is quite different from previous generalizations [8, 10, 1, 2, 4, 7]. Let X be an equidimensional projective variety of dimension d. For a given k ≤ d + 1, we are interested in the study of the variety of k-secants. The classical trisecant lemma just considers the case where k = 3 while in [10] the case k = d + 2 is considered. Secants of order from 4 to d + 1 provide service for our main result. In this paper, we prove that if the variety of k-secants (k ≤ d +1) satisfies the following three conditions: (i) through every point in X, there passes at least one k-secant, (ii) the variety of k-secants satisfies a strong connectivity property that we define in the sequel, (iii) every k-secant is also a (k +1)-secant; then the variety X can be embedded into ℙ ^d+1. The new assumption, introduced here, that we call strong connectivity, is essential because a naive generalization that does not incorporate this assumption fails, as we show in an example. The paper concludes with some conjectures concerning the essence of the strong connectivity assumption.     

Deforming Curves in Jacobians to Non-Jacobians II: Curves in <Emphasis Type="Italic">C</Emphasis><Superscript>(<Emphasis Type="Italic">e</Emphasis>)</Superscript>, 3⩽ <Emphasis Type="Italic">e</Emphasis> ⩽ <Emphasis Type="Italic">g</Emphasis>−3*

We introduce deformation theoretic methods for determining when a curve X in a nonhyperelliptic Jacobian JC will deform with JC to a non-Jacobian. We apply these methods to a particular class of curves in symmetric powers C^(e) of C where 3⩽ e ⩽ g−3. More precisely, given a pencil g¹_d of degree d on C, let X be the curve parametrizing divisors of degree e in divisors of g¹_d (see the paper for the precise scheme-theoretical definition). Under certain genericity assumptions on the pair (C, g¹_d), we prove that if X deforms infinitesimally out of the Jacobian locus with JC then either d=2e, dim H⁰ (g¹_d)=e or d=2e+1, dim H⁰ (g¹_d)=e+1. The analogous result in the case e=2 without genericity assumptions was proved earlier. *This material is based upon work partially supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. DMS-0071795. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.     

On Itô s formula for multidimensional Brownian motion

Consider a d-dimensional Brownian motion X = (X ¹,…,X ^d ) and a function F which belongs locally to the Sobolev space W ^1,2. We prove an extension of It? s formula where the usual second order terms are replaced by the quadratic covariations [f _k (X), X ^k ] involving the weak first partial derivatives f _k of F. In particular we show that for any locally square-integrable function f the quadratic covariations [f(X), X ^k ] exist as limits in probability for any starting point, except for some polar set. The proof is based on new approximation results for forward and backward stochastic integrals. Received: 16 March 1998 / Revised version: 4 April 1999     

Singularities of generic characteristic polynomials and smooth finite splittings of Azumaya algebras over surfaces

Let k be an algebraically closed field. Let P(X ₁₁, . . . , X _nn , T) be the characteristic polynomial of the generic matrix (X _ij ) over k. We determine its singular locus as well as the singular locus of its Galois splitting. If X is a smooth quasi-projective surface over k and A an Azumaya algebra on X of degree n, using a method suggested by M. Artin, we construct finite smooth splittings for A of degree n over X whose Galois closures are smooth.     

Matrix algebras of polynomial codimension growth

We study associative algebras with unity of polynomial codimension growth. For any fixed degree k we construct associative algebras whose codimension sequence has the largest and the smallest possible polynomial growth of degree k. We also explicitly describe the identities and the exponential generating functions of these algebras. The first and second authors were partially supported by MIUR of Italy. The third author was partially supported by Grant RFBR-04-01-00739.     

Extended equivariant Picard complexes and homogeneous spaces

Let k be a field of characteristic 0 and let [`(k)] \bar{k} be a fixed algebraic closure of k. Let X be a smooth geometrically integral k-variety; we set [`(X)] = X ×_k[`(k)] \bar{X} = X{ \times_k}\bar{k} and denote by [`(X)] \bar{X} . In [BvH2] we defined the extended Picard complex of X as the complex of Gal( [`(k)]

Cycles passing through k + 1 vertices in k‐connected graphs

In this article, we prove the following theorem. Let k ≥ 3 be an integer, G be a k‐connected graph with minimum degree d and X be a set of k + 1 vertices on a cycle. Then G has a cycle of length at least min {2d,|V(G)|} passing through X. This result gives the positive answer to the Question posed by Locke [8]. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 58:179–190, 2008     

Functions with prescribed singularities

The distributional k-dimensional Jacobian of a map u in the Sobolev space W^1,k-1 which takes values in the the sphere S^k-1 can be viewed as the boundary of a rectifiable current of codimension k carried by (part of) the singularity of u which is topologically relevant. The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the range of the Jacobian operator; in particular, we show that any boundary M of codimension k can be realized as Jacobian of a Sobolev map valued in S^k-1. In case M is polyhedral, the map we construct is smooth outside M plus an additional polyhedral set of lower dimension, and can be used in the constructive part of the proof of a -convergence result for functionals of Ginzburg-Landau type, as described in [2]. Mathematics Subject Classification (2000) 46E35 (53C65, 49Q15, 26B10, 58A25)     

Explicitly Extending Frobenius Splittings over Finite Maps

Suppose that π: Y → X is a finite map of normal varieties over a perfect field of characteristic p > 0. Previous work of the authors gave a criterion for when Frobenius splittings on X (or more generally any p ^?e -linear map) extend to Y. In this paper we give an alternate and highly explicit proof of this criterion (checking term by term) when π is tamely ramified in codimension 1. Some additional examples are also explored.     

Smooth threefolds in ${\Bbb P}^5$ without apparent triple or quadruple points and a quadruple-point formula

For a projective variety X of codimension 2 in defined over the complex number field , it is traditionally said that X has no apparent -ple points if the -secant lines of X do not fill up the ambient projective space , equivalently, the locus of -ple points of a generic projection of X to ${\Bbb P}^{n+1}$ is empty. We show that a smooth threefold in has no apparent triple points if and only if it is contained in a quadric hypersurface. We also obtain an enumerative formula counting the quadrisecant lines of X passing through a general point of and give necessary cohomological conditions for smooth threefolds in without apparent quadruple points. This work is intended to generalize the work of F. Severi [fSe] and A. Aure [Au], where it was shown that a smooth surface in has no triple points if and only if it is either a quintic elliptic scroll or contained in a hyperquadric. Furthermore we give open questions along these lines. Received: 24 January 2000 / Published online: 18 June 2001     

Sequences realizable by maximal k-degenerate graphs

A graph G is called k-degenerate if every subgraph of G has a vertex of degree at most k. A k-degenerate graph G is maximal k-degenerate if for every edge e ? E(G), G + e is not k-degenerate. Necessary and sufficient conditions for the sequence II = (d₁, d₂, ?, d_p) to be a degree sequence of a maximal k-degenerate graph G are presented. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Rings of Constants of the Form k[f]

Let k[X] be the algebra of polynomials in n variables over a field k of characteristic zero, and let f ? k[X]? k. We present a construction of a derivation d of k[X] whose ring of constants is equal to the integral closure of k[f] in k[X]. A similar construction for fields of rational functions is also given.     

Effective construction of an algebraic variety nonsingular in codimension one over a ground field of zero characteristic

Let k be a field of zero characteristic finitely generated over a primitive subfield. Let f be a polynomial of degree at most d in n variables, with coefficients from k, irreducible over an algebraic closure [`(k)] \bar{k} . Then we construct an algebraic variety V nonsingular in codimension one and a finite birational isomorphism V → Z(f), where Z(f) is the hypersurface of all common zeros of the polynomial f in the affine space. The running time of the algorithm for constructing V is polynomial in the size of the input. Bibliography: 8 titles.     

Kac–Moody $${\widetilde{E}_k}$$-bundles over elliptic curves and del Pezzo surfaces with singularities of type A

Given an elliptic curve Σ, flat E _k -bundles over Σ are in one-to-one correspondence with smooth del Pezzo surfaces of degree 9 − k containing Σ as an anti-canonical curve. This correspondence was generalized to Lie groups of any type. In this article, we show that there is a similar correspondence between del Pezzo surfaces of degree 0 with an A _d -singularity containing Σ as an anti-canonical curve and Kac–Moody [(E)\tilde]_k{\widetilde{E}_{k}}-bundles over Σ with k = 8 − d. In the degenerate case where surfaces are rational elliptic surfaces, the corresponding [(E)\tilde]_k{\widetilde{E}_k}-bundles over Σ can be reduced to E _k -bundles.