Let V_n be the Segre embedding of (P^1) x ... X (P^1) (n times). We prove that the higher secant varieties, σ_s(V_n), always have the expected dimension, except for σ_3(V_4), which is of dimension 1 less than expected.
We prove the existence of defective secant varieties of three-factor and four-factor Segre-Veronese varieties embedded in certain multi-degree. These defective secant varieties were previously unknown and are of importance in the classification of defective secant varieties of Segre-Veronese varieties with three or more factors.
We give an almost asymptotically sharp bound for the non secant defectiveness and identifiability of Segre-Veronese varieties. We also provide new examples of defective Segre-Veronese varieties.
In this paper we prove some general results on secant defective varieties. Then we focus on the 4--dimensional case and we give the full classification of secant defective 4--folds. This paper has been inspired by classical work by G. Scorza,
In this note we consider multiples aD, where D is a divisor of the blow-up of P^n along points in general position which appears in the Alexander and Hirschowitz list of Veronese embeddings having defective secant varieties. In particular we show that there is such a D with h^1(X,D) > 0 and h^1(X,2D) = 0.
Going one step further in Zak's classification of Scorza varieties with secant defect equal to one, we characterize the Veronese embedding of $¶^n$ given by the complete linear system of quadrics and its smooth projections from a point as the only smooth irreducible complex and non-degenerate projective subvarieties of $¶^N$ that can be projected isomorphically into $¶^{2n}$ when $N\geq\binom{n+2}{2}-2$.
We find generators for the ideals of secant varieties of Segre varieties in several the cases including the Garcia-Stillmann-Ssturmfels conjecture for four factors and prove results about their singularities.
We consider the varieties $O_{k,n.d}$ of the k-osculating spaces to the Veronese varieties, the $d-$uple embeddings of $\PP n$; we study the dimension of their higher secant varieties. Via inverse systems (apolarity) and the study of certain spaces of forms we are able, in several cases, to determine whether those secant varieties are defective or not.
We define new classes of modules of equations for secant varieties of Veronese varieties using representation theory and geometry. We also revisit some old modules of equations (catalecticant minors) to determine when they are sufficient to give scheme-theoretic defining equations.
In projective algebraic geometry, there are classical and fundamental results that describe the structure of geometry and syzygies, and many of them characterize varieties of minimal degree and del Pezzo varieties. In this paper, we consider analogous objects in the category of higher secant varieties. Our main theorems say that there is a matryoshka structure among those basic objects including a generalized $K_{p,1}$ theorem, syzygetic and geometric characterizations of higher secant varieties of minimal degree and del Pezzo higher secant varieties, defined in this paper. For our purpose, we…
In this paper we study singularities of third secant varieties of Veronese embedding $v_d(\mathbb{P}^n)$, which corresponds to the variety of symmetric tensors of border rank at most three in $(\mathbb{C}^{n+1})^{\otimes d}$.
When present, the Cohen-Macaulay property can be useful for finding the minimal defining equations of an algebraic variety. It is conjectured that all secant varieties of Segre products of projective spaces are arithmetically Cohen-Macaulay. A summary of the known cases where the conjecture is true is given. An inductive procedure based on the work of Landsberg and Weyman (LW-lifting) is described and used to obtain resolutions of orbits of secant varieties from those of smaller secant varieties. A new computation of the minimal free resolution of the variety of border rank 4 tensors of format…
A variety of minimal degree is one of the basic objects in projective algebraic geometry and has been classified and characterized in many aspects. On the other hand, there are also minimal objects in the category of higher secant varieties, and their algebraic and geometric structures seem to share many similarities with those of varieties of minimal degree. We prove in this paper that higher secant varieties of minimal degree have determinantal presentation of two types, i.e. scroll type and Veronese type. Our result generalizes the del Pezzo-Bertini classification for varieties of minimal d…
We prove that the minimal free resolution of the secant variety of a curve is asymptotically pure. As a corollary, we show that the Betti numbers of converge to a normal distribution.
If $\X \subset ¶^n$ is a reduced and irreducible projective variety, it is interesting to find the equations describing the (higher) secant varieties of $\X$. In this paper we find those equations in the following cases: $\X = ¶^{n_1}\times...\times¶^{n_t}\times¶^n$ is the Segre embedding of the product and $n$ is "large" with respect to the $n_i$ (Theorem 2.4); $\X$ is a Segre-Veronese embedding of some products with 2 or three factors; $\X$ is a Del Pezzo surface.
In this paper we compute the dimension of all the higher secant varieties to the Segre-Veronese embedding of $\mathbb{P}^n\times \mathbb{P}^1$ via the section of the sheaf $\mathcal{O}(a,b)$ for any $n,a,b\in \mathbb{Z}^+$. We relate this result to the Grassmann Defectivity of Veronese varieties and we classify all the Grassmann $(1,s-1)$-defective Veronese varieties.
We prove that the ideal of the variety of secant lines to a Segre--Veronese variety is generated in degree three by minors of flattenings. In the special case of a Segre variety this was conjectured by Garcia, Stillman and Sturmfels, inspired by work on algebraic statistics, as well as by Pachter and Sturmfels, inspired by work on phylogenetic inference. In addition, we describe the decomposition of the coordinate ring of the secant line variety of a Segre--Veronese variety into a sum of irreducible representations under the natural action of a product of general linear groups.
We compute the dimensions of all the secant varieties to the tangential varieties of all Segre-Veronese surfaces. We exploit the typical approach of computing the Hilbert function of special 0-dimensional schemes on projective plane by using a new degeneration technique.
This paper studies the dimension of secant varieties to Segre varieties. The problem is cast both in the setting of tensor algebra and in the setting of algebraic geometry. An inductive procedure is built around the ideas of successive specializations of points and projections. This reduces the calculation of the dimension of the secant variety in a high dimensional case to a sequence of calculations of partial secant varieties in low dimensional cases. As applications of the technique: We give a complete classification of defective $t$-secant varieties to Segre varieties for t < 7. We general…
We consider here the problem, which is quite classical in Algebraic geometry, of studying the secant varieties of a projective variety $X$. The case we concentrate on is when $X$ is a Veronese variety, a Grassmannian or a Segre variety. Not only these varieties are among the ones that have been most classically studied, but a strong motivation in taking them into consideration is the fact that they parameterize, respectively, symmetric, skew-symmetric and general tensors, which are decomposable, and their secant varieties give a stratification of tensors via tensor rank. We collect here most o…
We give positivity conditions on the embedding of a smooth variety which guarantee the normality of the secant variety, generalizing earlier results of the author and others. We also give classes of secant varieties satisfying the Hodge conjecture as well as a result on the singular locus of degenerate secant varieties.
Let $S_h$ be the even pure spinors variety of a complex vector space $V$ of even dimension $2h$ endowed with a non degenerate quadratic form $Q$ and let $σ_k(S_h) $ be the $k$-secant variety of $S_h$. We decribe a probabilistic algorithm which computes the complex dimension of $σ_k(S_h) $. Then, by using an inductive argument, we get our main result: $σ_3(S_h) $ has the expected dimension except when $h\in \{7,8\} $. Also we provide theoretical arguments which prove that $S_7$ has a defective 3-secant variety and $S_8$ has defective 3-secant and 4-secant varieties.
We study the relationship between the equations defining a projective variety and properties of its secant varieties. In particular, we use information about the syzygies among the defining equations to derive smoothness and normality statements about Sec(X) and also to obtain information about linear systems on the blow up of projective space along a variety X. We use these results to geometrically construct, for varieties of arbitrary dimension, a flip first described in the case of curves by M. Thaddeus via Geometric Invariant Theory, and to give some examples of vanishing theorems for the …
In the 1980's, work of Green and Lazarsfeld helped to uncover the beautiful interplay between the geometry of the embedding of a curve and the syzygies of its defining equations. Similar results hold for the first secant variety of a curve, and there is a natural conjectural picture extending to higher secant varieties as well. We present an introduction to the algebra and geometry used in previous work of the authors to study syzygies of secant varieties of curves with an emphasis on examples of explicit computations and elementary cases that illustrate the geometric principles at work.
A well known theorem by Alexander-Hirschowitz states that all the higher secant varieties of $V_{n,d}$ (the $d$-uple embedding of $\mathbb{P}^n$) have the expected dimension, with few known exceptions. We study here the same problem for $T_{n,d}$, the tangential variety to $V_{n,d}$, and prove a conjecture, which is the analogous of Alexander-Hirschowitz theorem, for $n\leq 9$. Moreover. we prove that it holds for any $n,d$ if it holds for $d=3$. Then we generalize to the case of $O_{k,n,d}$, the $k$-osculating variety to $V_{n,d}$, proving, for $n=2$, a conjecture that relates the defectivity…
We address special cases of a question of Eisenbud on the ideals of secant varieties of Veronese re-embeddings of arbitrary varieties. Eisenbud's question generalizes a conjecture of Eisenbud, Koh and Stillman (EKS) for curves. We prove that set-theoretic equations of small secant varieties to a high degree Veronese re-embedding of a smooth variety are determined by equations of the ambient Veronese variety and linear equations. However this is false for singular varieties, and we give explicit counter-examples to the EKS conjecture for singular curves. The techniques we use also allow us to p…
The construction of joins and secant varieties is studied in the combinatorial context of monomial ideals. For ideals generated by quadratic monomials, the generators of the secant ideals are obstructions to graph colorings, and this leads to a commutative algebra version of the Strong Perfect Graph Theorem. Given any projective variety and any term order, we explore whether the initial ideal of the secant ideal coincides with the secant ideal of the initial ideal. For toric varieties, this leads to the notion of delightful triangulations of convex polytopes.
In this paper, we study how simple linear projections of some projective varieties behave when the projection center runs through the ambient space. More precisely, let $X \subset ¶^r$ be a projective variety satisfying Green-Lazarsfeld's property $N_p$ for some $p \geq 2$, $q \in ¶^r$ a closed point outside of $X$, and $X_q := π_q (X) \subset ¶^{r-1}$ the projected image of $X$ from $q$. First, it is shown that the secant locus $Σ_q (X)$ of $X$ with respect to $q$, i.e. the set of all points on $X$ spanning secant lines passing through $q$, is either empty or a quadric in a subspace of $¶^r$.…
This paper studies the defectivity of secant varieties of Segre varieties. We prove that there exists an asymptotic lower estimate for the greater non-defective secant variety (without filling the ambient space) of any given Segre variety. In particular, we prove that the ratio between the greater non-defective secant variety of a Segre variety and its expected rank is lower bounded by a value depending just on the number of factors of the Segre variety. Moreover, in the final section, we present some results obtained by explicit computation, proving the non-defectivity of all the secant varie…
In this paper we study the higher secant varieties of Grassmann varieties in relation to Waring's problem for alternating tensors and to Alexander-Hirschowitz theorem. We show how to identify defective higher secant varieties of Grassmannians using a probabilistic method involving Terracini's Lemma, and we describe an algorithm which can compute, by numerical methods, dim(G(k,n)^{s}) for n<=14. Our main result is that, except for Grassmannians of lines, if n<=14 and k<=(n-1)/2 (if n=14 we have studied the case k<=5) there are only the four known defective cases: G(2,6)^{3}, G(3,7)^{3}, G(3,7)^…
To complete the classification theory and the structure theory of varieties of almost minimal degree, that is of non-degenerate irreducible projective varieties whose degree exceeds the codimension by precisely 2, a natural approach is to investigate simple projections of varieties of minimal degree. Let $\tilde X \subset {\mathbb P}^{r+1}_K$ be a variety of minimal degree and of codimension at least 2, and consider $X_p = π_p (\tilde X) \subset {\mathbb P}^r_K$ where $p \in {\mathbb P}^{r+1}_K \backslash \tilde X$. By \cite{B-Sche}, it turns out that the cohomological and local properties of …
This paper explores the dimensions of higher secant varieties to Segre-Veronese varieties. The main goal of this paper is to introduce two different inductive techniques. These techniques enable one to reduce the computation of the dimension of the secant variety in a high dimensional case to the computation of the dimensions of secant varieties in low dimensional cases. As an application of these inductive approaches, we will prove non-defectivity of secant varieties of certain two-factor Segre-Veronese varieties. We also use these methods to give a complete classification of defective s-th S…
Motivated by the study of the secant variety of the Segre-Veronese variety we propose a general framework to analyze properties of the secant varieties of toric embeddings of affine spaces defined by simplicial complexes. We prove that every such secant is toric, which gives a way to use combinatorial tools to study singularities. We focus on the Segre-Veronese variety for which we completely classify their secants that give Gorenstein or $\mathbb Q$-Gorenstein varieties. We conclude providing the explicit description of the singular locus.
We define many new examples of modules of equations for secant varieties of Segre varieties that generalize Strassen's commutation equations. Our modules of equations are obtained by constructing subspaces of matrices from tensors that satisfy various commutation properties.
Here we investigate the birational geometry of projective varieties of arbitrary dimension having defective higher secant varieties. We apply the classical tool of tangential projections and we determine natural conditions for uniruledness, rational connectivity, and rationality.
The secant varieties of Severi varieties provide special examples of (singular) cubic hypersurfaces. An interesting question asks when a given cubic hypersurface is projectively equivalent to a secant cubic hypersurface. Inspired by the ''geometric'' Torelli theorem for smooth cubic hypersurfaces due to F. Charles, we study the geometry of lines on secant cubics and describe the Fano variety of lines. Then we verify the ''geometric'' Torelli theorem for the case of secant cubics. Namely, a cubic hypersurface is isomorphic to a secant cubic if and only if their Fano varieties of lines are isomo…
Secant varieties of Segre-Veronese varieties $\mathbb{P}^m\times\mathbb{P}^n$ embedded by $\mathcal{O}(1,2)$ are non-defective for $n\gg m^3$, $m\geq3$
We classify all irreducible projective threefolds $X$ which are $k$-defective, i.e. some $k$-secant variety of $X$ has dimension less than the expected value. This results extends the classical Scorza's classification of the case $k=1$.
We generalize the classical Terracini's Lemma to higher order osculating spaces to secant varieties. As an application, we address with the so-called Horace method the case of the $d$-Veronese embedding of the projective 3-space.
We generalize Zak's theorems on tangencies and on linear normality as well as Zak's definition and classification of Severi varieties. In particular we find sharp lower bounds for the dimension of higher secant varieties of a given variety X under suitable regularity assumption on X, and we classify varieties for which the bound is attained.
We show that the linear syzygy spaces of elliptic normal curves, their secant varieties and of bielliptic canonical curves are spanned by geometric syzygies.
We investigate the secant dimensions and the identifiablity of flag varieties parametrizing flag of sub vector spaces of a fixed vector space. We give numerical conditions ensuring that secant varieties of flag varieties have the expected dimension, and that a general point on these secant varieties is identifiable.
In this paper we discuss the dimensions of the (higher) secant varieties to the Grassmann varieties, embedded via the Plucker embeddings. We use Terracini's Lemma and the duality in the exterior algebra of a finite dimensional vector space to translate the problem into that of finding the dimension of a graded piece of a " fat" ideal in the exterior algebra. Among other things, our methods prove that (apart from the chordal varieties to the Grassmannians of lines) all the chordal varieties of Grassmannians have the expected dimension. We also discuss some Grassmannians with deficient secant va…
We show how to use information about the equations defining secant varieties to smooth projective varieties in order to construct a natural collection of birational transformations. These were first constructed as flips in the case of curves by M. Thaddeus via Geometric Invariant Theory, and the first flip in the sequence was constructed by the author for varieties of arbitrary dimension in an earlier paper. We expose the finer structure of a second flip; again for varieties of arbitrary dimension. We also prove a result on the cubic generation of the secant variety and give some conjectures o…
For any irreducible non-degenerate variety $X\subset \mathbb{P}^r$, we give a criterion for the $(k,s)$-identifiability of $X$. If $k\leq s-1 <r$, then the $(k,s)$-identifiability holds for $X$ if and only if the $s$-identifiability holds for the Segre product $Seg(\mathbb{P}^k\times X)$. Moreover, if the $s$-th secant variety of $X$ is not defective and it does not fill the ambient space, then we can produce a family of pairs $(k,s)$ for which the $(k,s)$-identifiability holds for $X$.
We establish basic techniques for studying the ideals of secant varieties of Segre varieties. We solve a conjecture of Garcia, Stillman and Sturmfels on the generators of the ideal of the first secant variety in the case of three factors and solve the conjecture set-theoretically for an arbitrary number of factors. We determine the low degree components of the ideals of secant varieties of small dimension in a few cases.
It is shown that an irreducible cubic hypersurface with nonzero Hessian and smooth singular locus is the secant variety of a Severi variety if and only if its Lie algebra of infinitesimal linear automorphisms admits a nonzero prolongation.
In this paper, we show that the secant variety to a smooth projective variety embedded by a sufficiently positive line bundle is normal. As an application, we deduce that the secant variety to a general canonical curve of genus at least 7 is normal.
Let $X_{m,n}$ be the Segre-Veronese variety $\mathbb{P}^m \times \mathbb{P}^n$ embedded by the morphism given by $\mathcal{O}(1,2)$. In this paper, we provide two functions $\underline{s}(m,n)\le \bar{s}(m,n)$ such that the $s^{\mathrm{th}}$ secant variety of $X_{m,n}$ has the expected dimension if $s \leq \underline{s}(m,n)$ or $ \bar{s}(m,n) \leq s$. We also present a conjecturally complete list of defective secant varieties of such Segre-Veronese varieties.
The Chow variety of polynomials that decompose as a product of linear forms has been studied for more than 100 years. Finding equations in the ideal of secant varieties of Chow varieties would enable one to measure the complexity the permanent to prove Valiant's conjecture $\mathbf{VP\neq VNP}$. In this article, I use the method of prolongation to obtain equations for secant varieties of Chow varieties as $GL(V)$-modules.
Every Grassmannian, in its Plücker embedding, is defined by quadratic polynomials. We prove a vast, qualitative, generalisation of this fact to what we call Plücker varieties. A Plücker variety is in fact a family of varieties in exterior powers of vector spaces that, like the Grassmannian, is functorial in the vector space and behaves well under duals. A special case of our result says that for each fixed natural number k, the k-th secant variety of any Plücker-embedded Grassmannian is defined in bounded degree independent of the Grassmannian. Our approach is to take the limit of a Plücker va…
The Castelnuovo-Mumford regularity of varieties of degree r and dimension n in the r-dimensional projective space that have an extremal secant line, is at least d-r+n+1. We classify these varieties and show that their regularity is exactly d-r+n+1, as predicted by the regularity conjecture.
New classes of modules of equations for secant varieties of Veronese varieties are defined using representation theory and geometry. Some old modules of equations (catalecticant minors) are revisited to determine when they are sufficient to give scheme-theoretic defining equations. An algorithm to decompose a general ternary quintic as the sum of seven fifth powers is given as an illustration of our methods. Our new equations and results about them are put into a larger context by introducing vector bundle techniques for finding equations of secant varieties in general. We include a few homoge…