Defining ideal of the Segre locus in arbitrary characteristic (Q657943): Difference between revisions

Let \(X\) be a variety embedded in the projective space \(\mathbb{P}^N\) over an algebraically closed field \(k\). We denote by \(\pi_z: \mathbb{P}^N\setminus\{z\}\to \mathbb{P}^{N-1}\) the projection from a point \(z\in\mathbb{P}^N\) and define \[ \begin{aligned} {\mathfrak S}^{\text{out}}(X) &:= \overline{\{z\in \mathbb{P}^N\setminus X\mid\pi_{z|X}: X\to\pi_z(X)\text{ is not birational}\}},\\ {\mathfrak S}^{\text{inn}}(X) &:= \overline{\{z\in X\mid \pi_{z|X}: X\setminus\{z\}\to \pi_z(X\setminus\{z\})\text{ is not birational}\}}.\end{aligned} \] The first set is called the Segre locus of \(X\) in regard to an old theorem due to B. Segre who proved that \({\mathfrak S}^{\text{out}}(X)\) is a finite union of linear subspaces of \(\mathbb{P}^N\), provided \(k\) has characteristic zero. The set \({\mathfrak S}^{\text{tot}}(X):={\mathfrak S}^{{out}}(X)\cup{\mathfrak S}^{\text{inn}}(X)\) is called the total Segre locus of \(X\). We quote the author's main result: Theorem. Assume that \(X\subset\mathbb{P}^N\) is a nondegenerate projective (reduced and irreducible) variety over an algebraically closed field of characteristic \(p\). If either \(p\geq\deg(X)\) or \(p= 0\), then the total Segre locus \(S^{\text{tot}}(X)\) of \(X\) is a finite union of linear subspaces of \(\mathbb{P}^N\). The theorem implies Segre's result. Furthermore, the authors give an example which shows that the assertion of the theorem does not hold in general, if \(p< \deg(X)\).