We calculate the skew-symmetric cohomology of the complement of a discriminantal hyperplane arrangement with coefficients in local systems arising in the context of the representation theory of the Lie algebra sl_2. For a discriminantal arrangement in C^k, the skew-symmetric cohomology is nontrivial in dimension k-1 precisely when the "master function" which defines the local system on the complement has nonisolated critical points. In symmetric coordinates, the critical set is a union of lines. Generically, the dimension of this nontrivial skew-symmetric cohomology group is equal to the number of critical lines.
We show that points in specific degree 2 hypersurfaces in the Grassmannian $Gr(3, n)$ correspond to generic arrangements of $n$ hyperplanes in $\mathbb{C}^3$ with associated discriminantal arrangement having intersections of multiplicity three in codimension two.
We relate the cohomology of the Orlik-Solomon algebra of a discriminantal arrangement to the local system cohomology of the complement. The Orlik-Solomon algebra of such an arrangement (viewed as a complex) is shown to be a linear approximation of a complex arising from the fundamental group of the complement, the cohomology of which is isomorphic to that of the complement with coefficients in an arbitrary complex rank one local system. We also establish the relationship between the cohomology support loci of the complement of a discriminantal arrangement and the resonant varieties of its Orli…
We give an explicit description of the multiplicities of codimension two strata of discriminantal arrangements introduced by Manin and Schechtman. As applications, we discuss the connection of these results with properties of Gale transform and we calculate the fundamental groups of the complements to discriminantal arrangements.
In this article we prove in the main theorem that, there is a bijection between the isomorphism classes of a certain type of real hyperplane arrangements on the one hand, and the antipodal pairs of convex cones of an associated discriminantal arrangement on the other hand. The type of hyperplane arrangements considered and the isomorphism classes have been defined precisely. As a consequence we enumerate such isomorphism classes by computing the characteristic polynomial of the discriminantal arrangement. With a certain restriction, the enumerated value is shown to be independent of the discri…
We consider the complement to an arrangement of hyperplanes in a cartesian power of an elliptic curve and describe its cohomology with coefficients in a nontrivial rank one local system.
Motivated by the Milnor fiber of a central arrangement, we study the cohomology of a family of cyclic covers of the complement of an arbitrary arrangement. We give an explicit proof of the polynomial periodicity of the Betti numbers of the members of this family of cyclic covers.
We compute the cohomology of the complement of toric arrangements associated to root systems as representations of the corresponding Weyl groups. Specifically, we develop an algorithm for computing the cohomology of the complement of toric arrangements associated to general root systems and we carry out this computation for the exceptional root systems $G_2$, $F_4$, $E_6$ and $E_7$. We also compute the total cohomology of the complement of the toric arrangement associated to $A_n$ as a representation of the Weyl group and give a formula for its Poincaré polynomial.
We generalize results of Hattori on the topology of complements of hyperplane arrangements, from the class of generic arrangements, to the much broader class of hypersolvable arrangements. We show that the higher homotopy groups of the complement vanish in a certain combinatorially determined range, and we give an explicit Zπ_1-module presentation of π_p, the first non-vanishing higher homotopy group. We also give a combinatorial formula for the π_1-coinvariants of π_p. For affine line arrangements whose cones are hypersolvable, we provide a minimal resolution of π_2, and study some of the pro…
We construct two combinatorially equivalent line arrangements in the complex projective plane such that the fundamental groups of their complements are not isomorphic. The proof uses a new invariant of the fundamental group of the complement to a line arrangement of a given combinatorial type with respect to isomorphisms inducing the canonical isomorphism of the first homology groups.
We give a presentation of the motivic cohomology ring of the complement of a hyperplane arrangement considered as algebra over the motivic cohomology of the ground field.
An arrangement is a finite set of hyperplanes in a finite dimensional complex affine space. A complex rank one local system on the arrangement complement is determined by a set of complex weights for the hyperplanes. We study the Gauss-Manin connection for the moduli space of arrangements of fixed combinatorial type in the cohomology of the complement with coefficients in the local system determined by the weights. For nonresonant weights, we solve the eigenvalue problem for the endomorphisms arising in the 1-form associated to the Gauss-Manin connection.
We study the homotopy types of complements of arrangements of n transverse planes in R^4, obtaining a complete classification for n <= 6, and lower bounds for the number of homotopy types in general. Furthermore, we show that the homotopy type of a 2-arrangement in R^4 is not determined by the cohomology ring, thereby answering a question of Ziegler. The invariants that we use are derived from the characteristic varieties of the complement. The nature of these varieties illustrates the difference between real and complex arrangements.
This paper is a survey of our work based on the stratified Morse theory of Goresky and MacPherson. First we discuss the Morse theory of Euclidean space stratified by an arrangement. This is used to show that the complement of a complex hyperplane arrangement admits a minimal cell decomposition. Next we review the construction of a cochain complex whose cohomology computes the local system cohomology of the complement of a complex hyperplane arrangement. Then we present results on the Gauss-Manin connection for the moduli space of arrangements of a fixed combinatorial type in rank one local sys…
We prove that the mod $2$ Betti numbers of double coverings of a complex hyperplane arrangement complement are combinatorially determined. The proof is based on a relation between the mod $2$ Aomoto complex and the transfer long exact sequence. Applying the above result to the icosidodecahedral arrangement ($16$ planes in the three dimensional space related to the icosidodecahedron), we conclude that the first homology of the Milnor fiber has non-trivial $2$-torsion.
Let $\mathcal A$ be a hyperplane arrangement in $\mathbb C^n$. We show that the number of decomposition factors as a perverse sheaf of the direct image $Rj_*\mathbb C_U $ of the constant sheaf on the complement $U$ to the arrangement is given by the Poincaré polynomial of the arrangement. Furthermore we describe the composition factors of $Rj_*\mathbb C_U $ as certain local cohomology sheaves and give their multiplicity.
We prove a "purity implies formality" statement in the context of the rational homotopy theory of smooth complex algebraic varieties, and apply it to complements of hypersurface arrangements. In particular, we prove that the complement of a toric arrangement is formal. This is analogous to the classical formality theorem for complements of hyperplane arrangements, due to Brieskorn, and generalizes a theorem of De Concini and Procesi.
Let Z be an arrangement of submanifolds in a complex compact algebraic manifold X. We allow some kind of singular intersections. We consider the Leray spectral sequence of the embedding of the U=X-Z into X and formulate a condition sufficient for degeneration of this spectral sequence on E_3-table.
We prove a vanishing theorem for the cohomology of the complement of a complex hyperplane arrangement with coefficients in a complex local system. This result is compared with other vanishing theorems, and used to study Milnor fibers of line arrangements, and hypersurface arrangements.
We prove the minimality of the CW-complex structure for complements of hyperplane arrangements in $\mathbb C^n$ by using the theory of Lefschetz pencils and results on the variation maps within a pencil of hyperplanes. This also provides a method to compute the Betti numbers of complements of arrangements via global polar invariants.
We compute the Hodge filtration on cohomology groups of complements of complex coordinate subspace arrangements. By means of this result we construct integral representations of holomorphic functions such that kernels of these representations have singularities on complex coordinate subspace arrangements.
Given a hyperplane arrangement in a complex vector space of dimension n, there is a natural associated arrangement of codimension k subspaces in a complex vector space of dimension k*n. Topological invariants of the complement of this subspace arrangement are related to those of the complement of the original hyperplane arrangement. In particular, if the hyperplane arrangement is fiber-type, then, apart from grading, the Lie algebra obtained from the descending central series for the fundamental group of the complement of the hyperplane arrangement is isomorphic to the Lie algebra of primitive…
Given a hyperplane arrangement A in a real vector space, we introduce a real algebraic prevariety Z(A), and exhibit the complement of the complexification of A as the total space of an affine bundle with fibers modeled on the dual of the ambient vector space.
We compute the mixed Hodge structure on the cohomology ring of complements of complex coordinate subspace arrangements. The mixed Hodge structure can be described in terms of the special bigrading on the cohomology ring of complements of complex coordinate subspace arrangements. Originally this bigrading was introduced in the setting of toric topology by V.M. Buchstaber and T.E. Panov.
Let $\mathcal{A} $ be a complexified-real arrangement of lines in $\mathbb{C}^2.$ Let $H$ be any line in $ \mathcal{A} $. Then, form a new complexified-real arrangement $ \mathcal{B}_H = \mathcal{A} \cup \mathcal{C} $ where $ \mathcal{C} \cup \{H\} $ is a pencil of lines with multiplicity $ m\geq 3 $, the intersection point in the pencil is not a multiple point in $ \mathcal{A}, $ and every line in $ \mathcal{C} $ intersects every line in $ \mathcal{A}\setminus \{H\} $ in points of multiplicity two. In this article, we show that for $ H_1, H_2 \in \mathcal{A} $ we may have that $ \mathcal{B}_{…
We describe a new relation between the topology of hypersurface complements, Milnor fibers and degree of gradient mappings. The main tools are polar curves and the affine Lefschetz theory developped by H. Hamm and A. Némethi. In the special case of the hyperplane arrangements, we strengthen some results due to Orlik and Terao (see Math. Ann. 301(1995)) and obtain an independant proof for the minimality of hyperplane arrangements (see Randell math.AT/0011101 for another proof of this result).
We study geometric structures on the complement of a toric mirror arrangement associated with a root system. Inspired by those special hypergeometric functions found by Heckman-Opdam, as well as the work of Couwenberg-Heckman-Looijenga on geometric structures on projective arrangement complements, we consider a family of connections on a total space, namely, a $\mathbb{C}^{\times}$-bundle on the complement of a toric mirror arrangement (=finite union of hypertori, determined by a root system). We prove that these connections are torsion free and flat, and hence define a family of affine struct…
We compute the total cohomology of the complement of the toric arrangement associated to the root system $A_n$ as a representation of the corresponding Weyl group via fixed point theory of a "twisted" action of the group. We also provide several proofs of an explicit formula for the Poincaré polynomial of the complement of the toric arrangement associated with $A_n$.
Hyperplane arrangements form the geometric counterpart of combinatorial objects such as matroids. The shape of the sequence of Betti numbers of the complement of a hyperplane arrangement is of particular interest in combinatorics, where they are known, up to a sign, as Whitney numbers of the first kind, and appear as the coefficients of chromatic, or characteristic, polynomials. We show that certain combinations, some nonlinear, of these Betti numbers satisfy Schur positivity. At the same time, we study the higher degree resonance varieties of the arrangement. We draw some consequences, using …
We prove that the complement of any affine 2-arrangement in R^d is minimal, that is, it is homotopy equivalent to a cell complex with as many i-cells as its i-th rational Betti number. For the proof, we provide a Lefschetz-type hyperplane theorem for complements of 2-arrangements, and introduce Alexander duality for combinatorial Morse functions. Our results greatly generalize previous work by Falk, Dimca--Papadima, Hattori, Randell, and Salvetti--Settepanella and others, and they demonstrate that in contrast to previous investigations, a purely combinatorial approach suffices to show minimali…
Let $\mathscr{A}$ be a real projective line arrangement and $M(\mathscr{A})$ its complement in $\mathbb{CP}^2$. We obtain an explicit expression in terms of Randell's generators of the meridians around the exceptional divisors in the blow-up $\bar{X}$ of $\mathbb{CP}^2$ in the singular points of $\mathscr{A}$. We use this to investigate the partial compactifications of $M(\mathscr{A})$ contained in $\bar{X}$ and give a counterexample to a statement suggested by A. Dimca and P. Eyssidieux to the effect that the fundamental group of such an algebraic variety is finite whenever its abelianization…
We use stratified Morse theory to construct a complex to compute the cohomology of the complement of a hyperplane arrangement with coefficients in a complex rank one local system. The linearization of this complex is shown to be the Orlik-Solomon algebra with the connection operator. Using this result, we establish the relationship between the cohomology support loci of the complement and the resonance varieties of the Orlik-Solomon algebra for any arrangement, and show that the latter are unions of subspace arrangements in general, resolving a conjecture of Falk. We also obtain lower bounds f…
We explore a natural extension of braid arrangements in the context of determinantal arrangements. We show that these determinantal arrangements are free divisors. Additionally, we prove that free determinantal arrangements defined by the minors of $2\times n$ matrices satisfy nice combinatorial properties. We also study the topology of the complements of these determinantal arrangements, and prove that their higher homotopy groups are isomorphic to those of $S^3$. Furthermore, we find that the complements of arrangements satisfying those same combinatorial properties above have Poincaré polyn…
These lecture notes are based on lectures given by the author at the summer school "Arrangements in Pyrénées" in June 2012. We survey and compare various compactifications of complex hyperplane arrangement complements. In particular, we review the Gel'fand-MacPherson construction, Kapranov's visible contours compactification, and De Concini and Procesi's wonderful compactification. We explain how these constructions are unified by some ideas from the modern origins of tropical geometry. The paper contains a few new arguments intended to make the presentation as self-contained as possible.
For a triple of complex hyperplane arrangements, there is a well-known long exact sequence relating the cohomology of the complements. We observe that this result extends to certain local coefficient systems, and use this extension to study the characteristic varieties of arrangements. We show that the first characteristic variety may contain components that are translated by characters of any order, thereby answering a question of A. Suciu.
There are several topological spaces associated to a complex hyperplane arrangement: the complement and its boundary manifold, as well as the Milnor fiber and its own boundary. All these spaces are related in various ways, primarily by a set of interlocking fibrations. We use cohomology with coefficients in rank 1 local systems on the complement of the arrangement to gain information on the homology of the other three spaces, and on the monodromy operators of the various fibrations.
We show that the characteristic polynomial of a hyperplane arrangement can be recovered from the class in the Grothendieck group of varieties of the complement of the arrangement. This gives a quick proof of a theorem of Orlik and Solomon relating the characteristic polynomial with the ranks of the cohomology of the complement of the arrangement. We also show that the characteristic polynomial can be computed from the total Chern class of the complement of the arrangement; this has also been observed by Huh. In the case of free arrangements, we prove that this Chern class agrees with the Chern…
We show that quasi-projective Bestvina-Brady groups are fundamental groups of complements to hyperplane arrangements. Furthermore we relate other normal subgroups of right-angled Artin groups to complements to arrangements of hypersurfaces. We thus obtain examples of hypersurface complements whose fundamental groups satisfy various finiteness properties.
We develop a model for the cohomology of the complement of a hypersurface arrangement inside a smooth projective complex variety. This generalizes the case of normal crossing divisors, discovered by P. Deligne in the context of the mixed Hodge theory of smooth complex varieties. Our model is a global version of the Orlik-Solomon algebra, which computes the cohomology of the complement of a union of hyperplanes in an affine space. The main tool is the complex of logarithmic forms along a hypersurface arrangement, and its weight filtration. Connections with wonderful compactifications and the co…
We define a natural compactification of an arrangement complement in a ball quotient. We show that when this complement has a moduli space interpretation, then this compactification is often one that appears naturally by means of geometric invariant theory. We illustrate this with the moduli spaces of smooth quartic curves and rational elliptic surfaces.
Let $Ω$ be the complement of a connected, essential hyperplane arrangement. We prove that every dominant endomorphism of $Ω$ extends to an endomorphism of the tropical compactification $X$ of $Ω$ associated to the Bergman fan structure on the tropicalization of $Ω$. This generalizes a previous result by Rémy, Thuillier and the second author which states that every automorphism of Drinfeld's half-space over a finite field $\mathbb{F}_q$ extends to an automorphism of the successive blow-up of projective space at all $\mathbb{F}_q$-rational linear subspaces. This successive blow-up is in fact the…
Through the study of Morse theory on the associated Milnor fiber, we show that complex hyperplane arrangement complements are minimal. That is, the complement of a complex hyperplane arrangement has the homotopy type of a CW complex in which the number of p-cells equals the p-th betti number.
Let C_1 and C_2 be algebraic plane curves in the complex plane such that the curves intersect in d_1\cdot d_2 points where d_1,d_2 are the degrees of the curves respectively. Oka and Sakamoto proved that the fundamental group of the complement of C_1 \cup C_2 is isomorphic to the direct of product of the fundamental group of the complement of C_1 and the fundamental group of the complement of C_2. In this paper we prove the converse of Oka and Sakamoto's result for line arrangements. Let A_1 and A_2 be non-empty arrangements of lines in complex plane such that the fundamental group of the comp…
In this paper we describe the complement of real line arrangements in the complex plane in terms of the boundary three-manifold of the line arrangement. We show that the boundary manifold of any line arrangement is a graph manifold with Seifert fibered vertex manifolds, and depends only on the incidence graph of the arrangement. When the line arrangement is defined over the real numbers, we show that the homotopy type of the complement is determined by the incidence graph together with orderings on the edges emanating from each vertex.
A new relation between a class of complex polynomials with a good behavior at infinity studied by A. Némethi and A. Zaharia and the cohomology groups of affine complex hyperplane arrangement complements with rank one local system coefficients is introduced and explored. This approach gives in particular new upper-bounds for the dimension of the twisted cohomology groups of line arrangement complements in the complex affine plane.
We describe a new relation between the topology of hypersurface complements, Milnor fibers and degree of gradient mappings. In particular we show that any projective hypersurface has affine parts which are bouquets of spheres. The main tools are the polar curves and the affine Lefschetz theory developped by H. Hamm, D.T. Lê and A. Némethi. In the special case of the hyperplane arrangements, we strengthen some results due to Orlik and Terao (see Math. Ann. 301(1995)) and obtain the minimality of hyperplane arrangements (see Randell math.AT/0011101 for another proof of this result). This is then…
Consider a complex projective space with its Fubini-Study metric. We study certain one parameter deformations of this metric on the complement of an arrangement (=a finite union of hyperplanes) whose Levi-Civita connection is of Dunkl type--interesting examples are obtained from the arrangements defined by finite complex reflection groups. We determine a parameter interval for which the metric is locally of Fubini-Study type, flat, or complex-hyperbolic. We find a finite subset of this interval for which we get a complete orbifold or at least a Zariski open subset thereof, and we analyze these…
An abelian arrangement is a finite set of codimension one abelian subvarieties (possibly translated) in a complex abelian variety. In this paper, we study the cohomology of the complement of an abelian arrangement. For unimodular abelian arrangements, we provide a combinatorial presentation for a differential graded algebra whose cohomology is isomorphic to the rational cohomology of the complement. Moreover, this DGA has a bi-grading that allows us to compute the mixed Hodge numbers.
Some projective wonderful models for the complement of a toric arrangement in a n-dimensional algebraic torus T were constructed in [3]. In this paper we describe their integer cohomology rings by generators and relations.
