Enumerative Geometry is concerned with the number of solutions to a structured system of polynomial equations, when the structure comes from geometry. Enumerative real algebraic geometry studies real solutions to such systems, particularly a priori information on their number. Recent results in this area have, often as not, uncovered new and unexpected phenomena, and it is far from clear what to expect in general. Nevertheless, some themes are emerging.
This comprehensive article describe the current state of knowledge, indicating these themes, and suggests lines of future research. In particular, it compares the state of knowledge in Enumerative Real Algebraic Geometry with what is known about real solutions to systems of sparse polynomials.
This revision contains some additional corrections and references, including a reference to Zeuthen suggested by Kleiman. For possible subsequent revisions, check http://math.ucr.edu/~ziv/papers/1nodal.pdf
We develop various aspects of classical enumerative geometry, including Euler characteristics and formulas for counting degenerate fibres in a pencil, with the classical numerical formulas being replaced by identitites in the Grothendieck-Witt group of quadratic forms with coefficients in the base-field.
We recursively compute the Gromov-Witten invariants of the Hilbert scheme of two points in the plane. By studying the space of stable maps and computing virtual contributions, we use these invariants to enumerate hyperelliptic plane curves of degree d and genus g passing through 3d+1 general points.
Let $X$ be a real algebraic convex 3-manifold whose real part is equipped with a $Pin^-$ structure. We show that every irreducible real rational curve with non-empty real part has a canonical spinor state belonging to $\{\pm 1\}$. The main result is then that the algebraic count of the number of real irreducible rational curves in a given numerical equivalence class passing through the appropriate number of points does not depend on the choice of the real configuration of points, provided that these curves are counted with respect to their spinor states. These invariants provide lower bounds f…
We study twisted ideal sheaves of small length on an irreducible principally polarized abelian surface (T,l). Using Fourier-Mukai techniques we associate certain jumping schemes to such sheaves and completely classify such loci. We give examples of applications to the enumerative geometry of T and show that no smooth genus 5 curve on such a surface can contain a g^1_3. We also describe explicitly the singular divisors in the linear system |2l|.
We describe an approach to the question of finding real solutions to problems of enumerative geometry, in particular the question of whether a problem of enumerative geometry can have all of its solutions be real. We give some methods to infer one problem can have all of its solutions be real, given that a related problem does. These are used to show many Schubert-type enumerative problems on some flag manifolds can have all of their solutions be real.
For $i\geq2$, we compute the first coefficients of the class $[\overline{D}(μ;3)]$ in the rational Picard group of the moduli of Prym curves $\overline{\mathcal{R}}_{2i}$, where $D(μ;3)$ is the divisor parametrizing pairs $[C,η]$ for which there exists a degree $2i$ map $π\colon C\rightarrow \mathbb{P}^1$ having ramification profile $(2,\ldots,2)$ above two points $q_1, q_2$, a triple ramification somewhere else and satisfying $\mathcal{O}_C(\frac{π^{*}(q_1)-π^{*}(q_2)}{2})\cong η$. Furthermore, we provide several new Prym enumerative results related to this situation.
The enumerative geometry of r-th roots of line bundles is the subject of Witten's conjecture and occurs in the calculation of Gromov-Witten invariants of orbifolds. It requires the definition of the suitable compact moduli stack and the generalization of the standard techniques from the theory of moduli of stable curves. In math.AG/0603687, we construct a compact stack by describing the notion of stability in the context of twisted curves. In this paper, by working with stable twisted curves, we extend Mumford's formula for the Chern character of the Hodge bundle to the direct image of the uni…
Given six points $A,B,C,D,E,F$ on a nonsingular conic in the complex projective plane, Pascal's theorem says that the three intersection points $AE \cap BF, BD \cap CE, AD \cap CF$ are collinear. The line containing them is called a pascal, and we get altogether $60$ such lines by permuting the points. In this paper, we consider the enumerative problem of finding the number of sextuples $(A, B, \dots, F)$ which correspond to three pre-specified pascals. We use computational techniques in commutative algebra to solve this problem in all cases. The results are tabulated using the so-called 'dual…
We study the geometry of the Kontsevich compactification of stable maps to the Grassmannian of lines in the projective space. We consider a stratification of this space. As an application we compute the degree of the variety parametrizing rational ruled surfaces with a minimal directix of degree d/2-1 by intersecting divisors in the moduli space of stable maps. For example, there are 128054031872040 rational ruled sextics passing through 25 points in $\mathbb{P}^{3}$ with a minimal directrix of degree 2.
We explain connections among several, a priori unrelated, areas of mathematics: combinatorics, algebraic statistics, topology and enumerative algebraic geometry. Our focus is on discrete invariants, strongly related to the theory of Lorentzian polynomials. The main concept joining the mentioned fields is a linear space of matrices.
We prove a new patchworking theorem for singular algebraic curves, which states the following. Given a complex toric threefold $Y$ which fibers over ${\mathbb C}$ with a reduced reducible zero fiber $Y_0$ and other fibers $Y_t$ smooth, and given a reduced curve $C_0\subset Y_0$, the theorem provides a sufficient condition for the existence of a one-parametric family of curves $C_t\subset Y_t$, which induces an equisingular deformation for some singular points of $C_0$ and certain prescribed deformations for the other singularities. As application we give a comment on a recent theorem by G. Mik…
This is an introduction to: (1) the enumerative geometry of rational curves in equivariant symplectic resolutions, and (2) its relation to the structures of geometric representation theory. Written for the 2015 Algebraic Geometry Summer Institute.
We illustrate the use of tropical methods by generalizing a formula due to Abramovich and Bertram, extended later by Vakil. Namely, we exhibit relations between enumerative invariants of the Hirzebruch surfaces $Σ_n$ and $Σ_{n+2}$, obtained by deforming the first surface to the latter. Our strategy involves a tropical counterpart of deformations of Hirzebruch surfaces, and tropical enumerative geometry on a tropical surface in three-space.
We present enumerative aspects of the Gross-Siebert program in this introductory survey. After sketching the program's main themes and goals, we review the basic definitions and results of logarithmic and tropical geometry. We give examples and a proof for counting algebraic curves via tropical curves. To illustrate an application of tropical geometry and the Gross-Siebert program to mirror symmetry, we discuss the mirror symmetry of the projective plane.
We provide an expository introduction to $\mathbb{A}^1$-enumerative geometry, which uses the machinery of $\mathbb{A}^1$-homotopy theory to enrich classical enumerative geometry questions over a broader range of fields. Included is a discussion of enriched local degrees of morphisms of smooth schemes, following Morel, $\mathbb{A}^1$-Milnor numbers, as well as various computational tools and recent examples. Based off lectures delivered by Kirsten Wickelgren at the 2018 LMS-CMI summer school ''Homotopy Theory and Arithmetic Geometry, Motivic and Diophantine Aspects.''
These are lecture notes from the conference Arithmetic Topology at the Pacific Institute of Mathematical Sciences on applications of Morel's A1-degree to questions in enumerative geometry. Additionally, we give a new dynamic interpretation of the A1-Milnor number inspired by the first named author's enrichment of dynamic intersection numbers.
We study the stable hyperelliptic locus, i.e. the closure, in the Deligne- Mumford moduli space of stable curves, of the locus of smooth hyperelliptic curves. Working on a suitable blowup of the relative Hilbert scheme (of degree 2) associated to a family of stable curves, we construct a bundle map ('degree-2 Brill-Noether') from a modification of the Hodge bundle to a tautological bundle, whose degeneracy locus is the natural lift of the stable hyperelliptic locus plus a simple residual scheme. Using intersection theory on Hilbert schemes and Fulton-Macpherson residual intersection theory, th…
We collect various known results (about plane curves and the moduli space of stable maps) to derive new recursive formulas enumerating low genus plane curves of any degree with various behaviors. Recursive formulas are given for the characteristic numbers of rational plane curves, elliptic plane curves, and elliptic plane curves with fixed complex structure. Recursions are also given for the number of elliptic (and rational) plane curves with various "codimension 1" behavior (cuspidal, tacnodal, triple pointed, etc., as well as the geometric and arithmetic sectional genus of the Severi variety…
For an Abelian surface $A$ with a symplectic action by a finite group $G$, one can define the partition function for $G$-invariant Hilbert schemes \[Z_{A, G}(q) = \sum_{d=0}^{\infty} e(\text{Hilb}^{d}(A)^{G})q^{d}.\] We prove the reciprocal $Z_{A,G}^{-1}$ is a modular form of weight $\frac{1}{2}e(A/G)$ for the congruence subgroup $Γ_{0}(|G|)$, and give explicit expressions in terms of eta products. Refined formulas for the $χ_{y}$-genera of $\text{Hilb}(A)^{G}$ are also given. For the group generated by the standard involution $τ: A \to A$, our formulas arise from the enumerative geometry of t…
Let M be the blow--up of a manifold M along a submanifold X. In this paper we present closed formulae for the integral cohomology and the total Chern class of M. As applications we compute the cohomology of the varieties of complete conics and complete quadrices in 3--space, and justify two enumerative results due to Schubert.
We compute the Gromov-Witten invariants of the projective plane blown up in r general points. These are determined by associativity from r+1 intial values. Applications are given to the enumeration of rational plane curves with prescribed multiplicities at fixed general points. We show that the numbers are enumerative if at least one of the prescribed multiplicities is 1 or 2. In particular, all the invariants for r<=8 (the Del Pezzo case) are enumerative.
We study plane algebraic curves defined over a field k of arbitrary characteristic as coverings of the the projective line and the problem of enumerating branched coverings of $\mathbb{P}^{1}$ by using combinatorial methods.
We review the string/gauge theory duality relating Chern-Simons theory and topological strings on noncompact Calabi-Yau manifolds, as well as its mathematical implications for knot invariants and enumerative geometry.
D. Abramovich found an error in the singularity analysis in the first posting of this paper affecting one formula (Thanks Dan).The error has been corrected. Only the arithmetic genus formula has changed. The geometric genus and all the canonical class formulas are the same.
We build a bridge between Floer theory on open symplectic manifolds and the enumerative geometry of holomorphic disks inside their Fano compactifications, by detecting elements in symplectic cohomology which are mirror to Landau-Ginzburg potentials. We also treat the higher Maslov index versions of the potentials. We discover a relation between higher disk potentials and symplectic cohomology rings of smooth anticanonical divisor complements (themselves conjecturally related to closed-string Gromov-Witten invariants), and explore several other applications to the geometry of Liouville domains.
This text is an introduction to algebraic enumerative geometry and to applications of tropical geometry to classical geometry, based on a course given during the X-UPS mathematical days, 2008 May 14th and 15th. The aim of this text is to be understandable by a first year master student.
In order to count the number of smooth cubic hypersurfaces tangent to a prescribed number of lines and passing through a given number of points, we construct a compactification of their moduli space. We term the latter a $1$--\textit{complete variety of cubic hypersurfaces} in analogy to the space of complete quadrics. Paolo Aluffi explored the case of plane cubic curves. Starting from his work, we construct such a space in arbitrary dimension by a sequence of five blow-ups. The counting problem is then reduced to the computation of five Chern classes, climbing the sequence of blow-ups. Comput…
We extend the classical Schubert calculus of enumerative geometry for the Grassmann variety of lines in projective space from the complex realm to the real. Specifically, given any collection of Schubert conditions on lines in projective space which generically determine a finite number of lines, we show there exist real generic conditions determining the expected number of real lines. Our main tool is an explicit description of rational equivalences which also constitutes a novel determination of the Chow rings of these Grassmann varieties.
We study the integer sequence v_n of numbers of lines in hypersurfaces of degree 2n-3 of P^n, n>1. We prove a number of congruence properties of these numbers of several different types. Furthermore, the asymptotics of the v_n are described (in an appendix by Don Zagier). An attempt is made at a similar analysis of two other enumerative sequences: the number of rational plane curves and the number of instantons in the quintic threefold.
For a smooth projective curve, the cycles of subordinate or, more generally, secant divisors to a given linear series are among some of the most studied objects in classical enumerative geometry. We consider the intersection of two such cycles corresponding to secant divisors of two different linear series on the same curve and investigate the validity of the enumerative formulas counting the number of divisors in the intersection. We study some interesting cases, with unexpected transversality properties, and establish a general method to verify when this intersection is empty.
Gromov-Witten theory is used to define an enumerative geometry of curves in Calabi-Yau 4-folds. The main technique is to find exact solutions to moving multiple cover integrals. The resulting invariants are analogous to the BPS counts of Gopakumar and Vafa for Calabi-Yau 3-folds. We conjecture the 4-fold invariants to be integers and expect a sheaf theoretic explanation. Several local Calabi-Yau 4-folds are solved exactly. Compact cases, including the sextic Calabi-Yau in CP5, are also studied. A complete solution of the Gromov-Witten theory of the sextic is conjecturally obtained by the holom…
We first present the construction of the moduli space of real pseudo-holomorphic curves in a given real symplectic manifold. Then, following the approach of Gromov and Witten, we construct invariants under deformation of real rational symplectic 4-manifolds. These invariants provide lower bounds for the number of real rational $J$-holomorphic curves in a given homology class passing through a given real configuration of points.
The paper is devoted to the mathematical aspects of topological quantum field theory and its applications to enumerative problems of algebraic geometry. In particular, it contains an axiomatic treatment of Gromov-Witten classes, and a discussion of their properties for Fano varieties. Cohomological Field Theories are defined, and it is proved that tree level theories are determined by their correlation functions. Applications to counting rational curves on del Pezzo surfaces and projective spaces are given.
We discuss the problem of whether a given problem in enumerative geometry can have all of its solutions be real. In particular, we describe an approach to problems of this type, and show how this can be used to show some enumerative problems involving the Schubert calculus on Grassmannians may have all of their solutions be real. We conclude by describing the work of Fulton and Ronga-Tognoli-Vust, who (independently) showed that there are 5 real plane conics such that each of the 3264 conics tangent to all five are real.
The paper establishes a formula for enumeration of curves of arbitrary genus in toric surfaces. It turns out that such curves can be counted by means of certain lattice paths in the Newton polygon. The formula was announced earlier in http://arxiv.org/abs/math.AG/0209253. The result is established with the help of the so-called tropical algebraic geometry. This geometry allows one to replace complex toric varieties with the Euclidean n-space and holomorphic curves with certain piecewise-linear graphs there.
Log-concavity from enumerative geometry of planar curve singularities
Beijing Institute of Mathematical Sciences and Applications（北京数学与应用数学研究所）；Tsinghua University（清华大学）；Center for Mathematics and Interdisciplinary Sciences, Fudan University（复旦大学交叉科学中心）；Shanghai Institute for Mathematics and Interdisciplinary Sciences (SIMIS)（上海数学与交叉学科研究院）
The paper is a short supplement of the longer paper "The Algebraic Proof of the Universality Theorem", preprint math.AG/0402045. In this short note, we outline the geometric meaning of Universality theorem (conjecture by Gottsche) as a non-linear extension of surface Riemann-Roch Theorem, inspired by the string theory argument of Yau-Zaslow to probe non-linear information from linear systems of algebraic surfaces. The universality theorem is an existence result which reflects the topological nature of the Riemann-Roch problem. We also outline the crucial role that Yau-Zaslow formula has played…
We review and elaborate on certain aspects of the connections between instanton counting in maximally supersymmetric gauge theories and the computation of enumerative invariants of smooth varieties. We study in detail three instances of gauge theories in six, four and two dimensions which naturally arise in the context of topological string theory on certain non-compact threefolds. We describe how the instanton counting in these gauge theories are related to the computation of the entropy of supersymmetric black holes, and how these results are related to wall-crossing properties of enumerativ…
The theory of Q-Cartier divisors on the space of n-pointed, genus 0, stable maps to projective space is considered. Generators and Picard numbers are computed. A recursive algorithm computing all top intersection products of Q-Divisors is established. As a corollary, an algorithm computing all characteristic numbers of rational curves in P^r is proven (including simple tangency conditions). Computations of these characteristic numbers are carried out in many examples. The degree of the 1-cuspidal rational locus in the linear system of degree d plane curves is explicitly evaluated.
Gromov-Witten theory is used to define an enumerative geometry of curves in Calabi-Yau 5-folds. We find recursions for meeting numbers of genus 0 curves, and we determine the contributions of moving multiple covers of genus 0 curves to the genus 1 Gromov-Witten invariants. The resulting invariants, conjectured to be integral, are analogous to the previously defined BPS counts for Calabi-Yau 3 and 4-folds. We comment on the situation in higher dimensions where new issues arise. Two main examples are considered: the local Calabi-Yau P^2 with balanced normal bundle 3O(-1) and the compact Calabi-Y…
We study a 2-parameter family of enumerative problems over the reals. Over the complex field, these problems can be solved by Schubert calculus. In the real case the number of solutions can be different on the distinct connected components of the configuration space, resulting in a solution function. The cohomology calculation in the real case only gives the signed sum of the solutions, therefore in general it only gives a lower bound on the range of the solution function. We calculate the solution function for the 2-parameter family and we show that in the even cases the solution function is …
We develop the theory of halving spaces to obtain lower bounds in real enumerative geometry. Halving spaces are topological spaces with an action of a Lie group $Γ$ with additional cohomological properties. For $Γ=\mathbb{Z}_2$ we recover the conjugation spaces of Hausmann, Holm and Puppe. For $Γ=\mathrm{U}(1)$ we obtain the circle spaces. We show that real even and quaternionic partial flag manifolds are circle spaces leading to non-trivial lower bounds for even real and quaternionic Schubert problems. To prove that a given space is a halving space, we generalize results of Borel and Haeflige…
Enumerative geometry of skew lines in $\mathbb P^3$ with a given associated finite group
Università di Siena（锡耶纳大学）；University of the National Education Commission（国家教育委员会大学）；Università degli studi di Palermo（巴勒莫大学）；University of Nebraska, Lincoln（内布拉斯加大学林肯分校）；University of Notre Dame（圣母大学）
We outline a strategy for computing intersection numbers on smooth varieties with torus actions using a residue formula of Bott. As an example, Gromov-Witten numbers of twisted cubic and elliptic quartic curves on some general complete intersection in projective space are computed. The results are consistent with predictions made from mirror symmetry computations. We also compute degrees of some loci in the linear system of plane curves of degrees less than 10, like those corresponding to sums of powers of linear forms, and curves carrying inscribed polygons.
