Double rational normal curve with linear syzygies (Q5938001): Difference between revisions

A construction due to \textit{D. Ferrand} [C. R. Acad. Sci., Paris, Sér. A 281, 345-347 (1977; Zbl 0315.14019)] shows how to construct from a locally Cohen-Macaulay curve \(X\) embedded in a regular scheme \(\mathcal P\), a scheme \(Y\) having support \(X\) but double multiplicity at every point of \(X\). We call \(Y\) a double structure on \(X\). In this paper the author seeks a double structure \(Y\) on a rational normal curve \(X \subset {\mathbb P}^d\) of degree \(d\), with the further property that the homogeneous ideal \(I_Y\) of \(Y\) is generated by quadrics, and the minimal free resolution of \(I_Y\) is linear. (A rational normal curve possesses these properties.) He first shows that this is impossible as stated: \(Y\) does not exist as a subscheme of \({\mathbb P}^d\). However, the image of \(X\) in the linear embedding of \({\mathbb P}^d\) into \({\mathbb P}^{2d}\) does admit such a doubling, \(Y\), as a subscheme of \({\mathbb P}^{2d}\), and the author shows that this is the only possibility. These curves \(Y\) have arithmetic genus 0, and in fact have the same graded Betti numbers as the rational normal curve in \({\mathbb P}^{2d}\) (so in particular they are arithmetically Cohen-Macaulay) . The author also proves a ``strong Castelnuovo lemma'' for these double rational normal curves, analogous to a result of \textit{M. L. Green} [J. Differ. Geom. 19, 125-171 (1984; Zbl 0559.14008)]. He concludes with some plethysm formulae for symmetric powers, which is largely disjoint from the rest of the paper.