Recursions for characteristic numbers of genus one plane curves (Q1428372)

The main results of the paper under review are recursions calculating characteristic numbers of genus one plane curves of any degree and of genus one plane curves with fixed \(j\)-invariant. The author derives also known recursions for characteristic numbers of rational curves. The classical characteristic number problem for curves in \(\mathbb{P}^2\) (studied by, e.g., M. Chasles, H. G. Zeuthen and H. G. Schubert) is: how many irreducible nodal degree \(d\) geometric genus \(g\) curves are there through \(a\) general points and tangent to \(b\) general lines (\(a+b =3d+g-1\))? The author studies characteristic numbers in general, as intersection of natural incidence and tangency divisors on Kontsevich's moduli space of stable maps. Almost all of the results given about maps of curves to \(\mathbb{P}^2\) hold for maps of curves to \(\mathbb{P}^n\). The algorithms described are been implemented by a Maple program.