Plane curves with small linear orbits. I (Q1965856)

Let \(C \subset \mathbb{P}^2\) be a reduced plane curve. Here the authors classify all such \(C\) which are not union of lines and such that their orbit for the natural action of PGL(3) has dimension \(\leq 7\). This work is significant for the enumerative geometry of plane curves and in particular for the computation of the degree of the orbit closure of an arbitrary plane curve. Fur further works by the authors, see \textit{P. Aluffi} and \textit{C. Faber}, ``Plane curves with small linear orbits. II'', e-prints math.AG/9906131 and ``Linear orbits of arbitrary plane plane curves'', math.AG/9912092.