Applications to \(\mathbb{A}^1\)-enumerative geometry of the \(\mathbb{A}^1\)-degree (Q2028685)

This document is a collection of lecture notes that sets out the theory of the \(\mathbb{A}^1\)-degree, especially as it has been developed by Kass and Wickelgren, and some of its applications to enumerative geometry. Instead of the integers, the \(\mathbb A^1\)-degree takes values in the Grothendieck-Witt ring \(GW(k)\) of a field \(k\). This means that the counts arrived at by the \(\mathbb A^1\)-degree are not integers, but isomorphism classes of symmetric nondegenerate bilinear forms. Classical counts can be recovered over \(k= \mathbb C\), where \(GW(\mathbb C) \cong \mathbb Z\), but over other fields, this invariant can still be defined and records subtler and new information. The treatment of degree also extends to the \textit{Milnor numbers}, which are invariants of isolated singularities defined in terms of degrees. They too are enriched to take values in \(GW(k)\) by the \(\mathbb A^1\)-formalism. Fittingly for lecture notes, the work here consists largely of exposition and examples. The reader wishing to learn what these invariants can do, how to compute them and their properties would do well to start with these notes. There are ample references, both for background on degree theory and \(\mathbb A^1\)-homotopy theory, and also to recent research on the \(\mathbb A^1\)-degree: [\textit{T. Bachmann} and \textit{K. Wickelgren}, ``$A^1$-Euler classes: six functors formalisms, dualities, integrality and linear subspaces of complete intersections'', Preprint, \url{arXiv:2002.01848}; \textit{J. L. Kass} and \textit{K. Wickelgren}, ``An arithmetic count of the lines on a smooth cubic surface'', Preprint, \url{arXiv:1708.01175}; Compos. Math. 157, No. 4, 677--709 (2021; Zbl 1477.14085); Duke Math. J. 168, No. 3, 429--469 (2019; Zbl 1412.14014); \textit{M. Levine}, Doc. Math. 25, 2179--2239 (2020; Zbl 1465.14008); Nagoya Math. J. 236, 251--310 (2019; Zbl 1468.14048); \textit{S. Pauli}, ``Computing A1-Euler numbers with Macaulay2'', Preprint, \url{arXiv:2003.01775}; ``Quadratic types and the dynamic Euler number of lines on a quintic threefold'', Preprint, \url{arXiv:2006.12089}]. As one can see from this list, there is a great deal of this current work and these notes provide a useful guide to the burgeoning literature. The structure of the notes is this: after a brief overview in the introduction, there are three short sections introducing classical degree theory, the Grothendieck-Witt ring of a field, and enough \(\mathbb A^1\)-homotopy theory to articulate the further results in the notes. This takes the first quarter of the documents. In an economical Section 5, the local \(\mathbb A^1\)-degree is defined and its coincidence with the Eisenbud-Levine/Khimshiashvili (ELK) signature form is explained. This marks the transition of the lectures from background to the real topic under discussion. Section 6 discusses the Milnor number. The reader will be grateful for the worked examples in this section; they carry a great explanatory power. Section 6.3 contains the main original research in these notes, which is to apply the ``dynamic local degree'' ideas developed by S. Pauli employed [\textit{S. Pauli}, ``Quadratic types and the dynamic Euler number of lines on a quintic threefold'', Preprint, \url{arXiv:2006.12089}] to the Milnor number. The idea underlying the dynamic degree is that degrees should remain unchanged after a controlled infinitesimal perturbation. In this instance, the result in Theorems 5 is that the Milnor number of an isolated singularity \(p\) of the hypersurface defined by \(f=0\) is equal to the sum of the singularities obtained by an infinitesimal deformation, suitably defined, and then the result in Theorem 6 is that a suitable generic infinitesimal deformation causes the original singularity to degenerate into a collection of nodes, the easiest kind of singularity to handle. By this method, we arrive at a workable method for computing Milnor numbers, even of rather difficult singularities. A brief Section 8 defines the total \(\mathbb A^1\)-degree of a smooth map, which is defined as a sum of local degrees, in contrast to the classical case where it may be defined independently of the local degree. Finally, Section 9 is an application of the total degree: containing much of the proof of a theorem, Theorem 11, that generalizes the classical count of the number of degree-\(d\) rational curves passing through \(3d-1\) points in \(\mathbb C \mathbb P^1\). The rest of the proof is work in progress by Kass and Wickelgren. The result says that the `count' \(N \in GW(k)\) of the degree-\(d\) curves through \(3d-1\) points in \(\mathbb P^2(\bar k)\) depends only on \(d\) and on \(\sigma\), the group of Galois automorphisms of the points over \(k\). The quantity \(N\) is expressed as a weighted sum of traces of the fields of definitions of the curves. The notes are augmented by an extensive bibliography, that is sure to be of great use to anyone wishing to start out in the area of \(\mathbb A^1\)-degrees, or anyone looking for a guide to the recent literature on the subject.