Quadratic types and the dynamic Euler number of lines on a quintic threefold (Q2155193)

The classical theorem of Cayley and Salmon counts 27 lines on any smooth cubic surface over \(\mathbb{C}\). By the work of Schläfli, Segre, Okonek-Teleman, and Finashin-Kharlamov, the number of lines on a smooth cubic surface over \(\mathbb{R}\) is always 3 -- provided that one counts these lines with a sign determined by their geometry. These two results were later clarified by \textit{J. L. Kass} and \textit{K. Wickelgren} [Compos. Math. 157, No. 4, 677--709 (2021; Zbl 1477.14085)], who proved that the lines on a smooth cubic surface \(X\) over any field \(k\) satisfy an equality \(15\langle 1\rangle+12\langle -1\rangle=\sum_{L\subset X}\mathrm{Tr}_{k(L)/k}\mathrm{type}(L)\) of isomorphism classes of symmetric, non-degenerate bilinear forms over \(k\). Taking the rank and signature of this equation recover the complex and real counts, respectively, of lines on smooth cubic surfaces. In this article, the author gives an enriched count of the lines on a generic quintic threefold in a manner analogous to Kass and Wickelgren's seminal theorem. Under the assumption that \(\mathrm{char}(k)\) is not 2 or 5, the author counts \(1445\langle 1\rangle+1430\langle-1\rangle\) lines on a generic quintic threefold. Of particular note is the weight with which each line is counted. In Kass and Wickelgren's count of lines on cubic surfaces, each line is weighted according to its \textit{Segre involution}, which is determined by the geometry of the line relative to the surface. The author shows that lines on quintic threefolds should be weighted according to a product of three Segre involutions, each of which is determined by the geometry of the line relative to the threefold. It is an open question whether (products of) Segre involutions analogously provide an appropriate weight when counting lines on higher dimensional hypersurfaces. Perhaps the most exciting contribution of this article is the development of a dynamic \(\mathbb{A}^1\)-Euler class. The Fermat quintic threefold has infinitely many lines, but \textit{A. Albano} and \textit{S. Katz} [Trans. Am. Math. Soc. 324, No. 1, 353--368 (1991; Zbl 0767.14016)] show that these lines fall into families from which the desired 2875 lines can be recovered. By defining a dynamic Euler class, the author is able to use ideas from deformation theory to enrich Albano and Katz's result on the Fermat quintic. The author and \textit{K. Wickelgren} have also constructed a dynamic \(\mathbb{A}^1\)-Milnor number [Res. Math. Sci. 8, No. 2, Paper No. 24, 29 p. (2021; Zbl 1469.14047)], which allows one to study complicated singularities via deformation.