Irreducible contact curves via graph stratification (Q6105316)

The moduli space \(\overline{\mathcal{M}}_{0,m}(\mathbb{P}^{2n+1},d)\) parametrizes degree \(d\) stable maps from a projective connected nodal curve of arithmetic genus \(0\) with \(m\) marked points to \(\mathbb{P}^{2n+1}\), or equivalently maps whose dual graph is a \((m,d)\mbox{-}\)tree. In this paper the author gives enumerative invariants of irreducible rational contact curves by studying the closed subscheme \(\mathcal{S}_m(\mathbb{P}^{2n+1},d)\subset\overline{\mathcal{M}}_{0,m}(\mathbb{P}^{2n+1},d)\) of stable maps whose image is a contact curve. The author determines a stratification of \(\mathcal{S}_m(\mathbb{P}^{2n+1},d)\) by graphs, which is used to give an explicit formula to compute the number of reducible contact curves with any dual graph. Some of these invariants are computed explicitly for \(\mathbb{P}^3\) and \(\mathbb{P}^5.\) The author also computes the number of contact plane curves of degree \(d\) meeting \(3+d\) general lines, providing an alternative proof to the result in [\textit{D. Levcovitz} and \textit{I. Vainsencher}, Bull. Braz. Math. Soc. (N.S.) 42, No. 3, 347--358 (2011; Zbl 1274.14064)].