Level lines of a polynomial on a plane (Q2132546)

Assume that \(f\) is a polynomial in terms of the variables \(x_1\) and \(x_2\) over the real numbers. For any real constant \(c\), the curve \(f(x_1,x_2)=c\) on the plane is called a level line of \(f\). The aim of this paper is to propose a computational method to describe all the types of level lines associated to \(f\). To this end, they show that we can consider the ideal \[ I=\langle f(x_1,x_2)-c,\frac{\partial f}{\partial x_1},\frac{\partial f}{\partial x_2}\rangle \] as an ideal in terms of \(x_1,x_2\) and \(c\) over the real numbers. Then, discussing the roots of this system gives rise to the description of all types of level lines of \(f\). To find the roots of this system they calculate the Gröbner basis and the primary decomposition of \(I\). In this direction, we shall note that we shall consider the monomial ordering \(c\prec_{\mathrm{lex}}x_1 \prec_{\mathrm{lex}} x_2\) to find a univariate polynomial in terms of \(c\). Moreover, once a lex Gröbner basis of \(I\) is computed, (instead of calculating a primary decomposition for \(I\)) we can use this basis to find the solutions of the system associated to \(I\).