Expecting the unexpected: quantifying the persistence of unexpected hypersurfaces (Q2042013)

Let \(X \subset {\mathbb P}^n\) be a reduced subscheme of the projective space. It is said that \(X\) admits an unexpected hypersurface of degree \(t\) and multiplicity \(m\) if, for the linear system of hypersurfaces of degree \(t\) containing \(X\), the number of conditions imposed by requiring multiplicity \(m\) at a general point is smaller than the expected one. The main goal of this paper is to exhibit algebraic and geometric properties of \(X\) either to guarantee (certain kind of) unexpectedness or to exclude this possibility. New ingredients as generic initial ideals and partial elimination ideals are used to get these properties. In particular, given \(X\), one can associate a sequence, called AV-sequence in the paper, in the following way: consider \(t=m+j\) (\(j>0\) integer) and AV\(_{X,j}\) is defined as the difference between the actual and the expected dimension of the hypersurfaces of degree \(t\) containing \(X\) vanishing at a general point with multiplicity \(m\). This sequence is characterized (see Thm. 3.4) as a Hilbert function of an algebra constructed via the generic initial ideal (with respect to the lexicographic order) of \(X\), which has interesting consequences. On the other hand (see Section 4), partial elimination ideals are used to study the case of a general codimension \(2\) complete intersection. Particular descriptions of the AV-sequence are provided and some relations between the Hilbert function of \(X\) and unexpectedness are also explored.