On the exceptional locus of the birational projections of a normal surface singularity into a plane (Q1028298)

The author studies sandwiched singularities, i.e. normal surface singularities \((X,Q)\) which can be projected birationally to a non-singular surface by a morphism \(\pi: (X,Q) \to (S,O)\). In this situation, \(\pi\) determines and is determined by an exceptional curve on \((X,Q)\). The main goals of this article are the study of the local geometry of such exceptional curves and the development of necessary conditions for a curve on (\(X,Q)\) to be exceptional locus of a birational projection. In particular, the author develops two bounds for the number of branches at \((X,Q)\) contracted by such a morphism \(\pi\), one in terms of the multiplicity of \(X\) at \(Q\), the other one in terms of the number of branches of a generic hypersurface section throught \((X,Q)\).