Singular tuples of matrices is not a null cone (and the symmetries of algebraic varieties) (Q2054204)

The authors define \(\text{SING}_{n,m}\) to be all \(m\)-tuples of \(n\times n\) complex matrices spanning only singular matrices. \(\text{SING}_{n,m}\) plays a central role in algebra, algebraic geometry, and computational complexity theory. There are algorithms for memberships in a general class of algebraic varieties called the null cones of linear group actions. However, such algorithms cannot be used for \(\text{SING}_{n,m}\) since it is not the null cone of any reductive group action (Theorem 1.9, page 85). To prove this, the authors identify the group of symmetries of \(\text{SING}_{n,m}\) (Theorem 1.12, page 85). Their work generalizes a result of Frobenius for the case when \(m=1\), and suggests a more general method to determine the symmetries of algebraic varieties.