Limits of dual curves via foliations (Q2031513)

Let \(k\) be an algebraically closed field of characteristic zero and \(k[[t]]\) the ring of formal power series in \(t\) with coefficients in \(k\). Let us take \(S=k[X_0, X_1,X_2]\) and define \(S[[t]]=S {\otimes}_{k}\, k[[t]] \) as the graded \(k[[t]]-\)module of power series on \(t\) with coefficients in \(S\) with respect the induced grading (\(t\) has degree zero). An homogeneous element \(F(t)\) of \(S[[t]]\) is said to be an homogeneous power series. The authors of the work under review study families of curves \(C(t)\) in \(\mathbb{P}_{k}^{2}\) defined by the zeros of a homogeneous power series \[ F(t)=F_{0}+F_{1}t+F_{2}t^{2}+\dots, \] with \(F_{0}=E^{2}A\) where \(A\) and \(E\) are square-free and coprime. For such a \(F(t)\), if \(E=E_{1} \cdot E_{2}\cdots E_{m}\) is the decomposition of \(E\) in irreducible factors, they define, for any \(E_{j}\) (\(j=1,\dots,m\)): \begin{itemize} \item [1.] \(B_{j}=E^{2}A/E^2_{j},\) \item [2.] \({\Delta}_{1,j}=F_{1}\), and \item [3.] \({\Delta}_{n+2,j}=B_{j}^{n+1}F_{n+2}- \sum\limits_{i+r=n+2}\frac{{\Delta}'_{i,j}}{2} \cdot \frac{{\Delta}'_{r,j}}{2},\) for each integer \(n\geq{0}\), where \({\Delta}'_{i,j}={\Delta}_{i,j}/E_{j}\) for all \(i,j\). \end{itemize} The main result of this work is Theorem 7.5, where it is proved that if the generic curve \(C^{\ast}\) of the family \(C(t)\) defined by \(F(t)=0\) is geometrically reduced, for each \(E_{j}\) there exists an integer \(n_{j}\) such that \(E_{j}\) divides \({\Delta}_{1,j}\),\dots,\({\Delta}_{{n}_{j}-1,j}\) but it does not divide \({\Delta}_{{n}_{j},j}\), what allows to define Zeuthen families of type \(n\) for every natural number \(n\). Moreover, in this theorem it is computed the schematic boundary (limit) of the generic ramification scheme for these Zeuthen families. As corollary (Corollary 7.6), they obtain the limit of the dual curves of the family \(F(t)=0\) in terms of a few terms of the homogeneous power series \(F(t)\). To prove these results the authors study family of linear systems \(V(t)\) on \(C(t)\) and use a family of foliations that leaves invariant \(C(t)\) to compute the limit of the generic ramification schemes of \(V(t)\). The motivation of the present work comes from classic works on plane curves devoted to find limits of dual curves for several families as first milestone to find their characteristic numbers. This work is above all of interest for both specialists in enumerative algebraic geometry of plane curves and specialists in algebraic foliations.