On conic-line arrangements with nodes, tacnodes, and ordinary triple points (Q2164978)

The authors consider in this well-written article conic-line (\(\mathcal{CL}\)) arrangements such that their singularities are nodes, tacnodes and ordinary triple points. All these three types of singularities are quasi-homogeneuous singularities. The first result is a Hirzebruch-type inequality for such a type of \(\mathcal{CL}\) arrangements. It says that if \(\mathcal{CL}\) is an arrangement in \(\mathbb{P}^2_{\mathbb{C}}\) of \(d\) lines and \(k\) smooth conics such that \(2k+d\geq 12\) with \(n_2\) nodes, \(t\) tacnodes, and \(n_3\) ordinary triple points then \(20k+n_2+\frac34n_3\geq d+4t\). This result is proved using Langer's variation on the Miyaoka-Yau inequality which involves the local orbifold Euler numbers \(e_{orb}\) of singular points. The second result provides bounds on the number of tacnodes and ordinary triple points using the properties of spectra of singularities as in the seminal paper of \textit{A. N. Varchenko} [Sov. Math., Dokl. 27, 735--739 (1983; Zbl 0537.14003); translation from Dokl. Akad. Nauk SSSR 270, 1294--1297 (1983)]. It says that if \(\mathcal{CL}\) is an arrangement in \(\mathbb{P}^2_{\mathbb{C}}\) of \(d\) lines and \(k\) smooth conics with \(n_2\) nodes, \(t\) tacnodes, and \(n_3\) ordinary triple points and \(m=d+2k=3m'+\epsilon, \epsilon\in \{1,2,3\}\) then \(t+n_3\leq \binom{m-1}{2}+k-\frac{m'(5m'-3)}{2}\) and \(n_3\leq (m'+1)(2m'+1)\). The third result gives a combinatorial constraint which says that if \(C=\{f=0\}\subset \mathbb{P}^2_{\mathbb{C}}\) is a reduced curve of degree \(m\) having only nodes, tacnodes and ordinary triple points as singularities, then \(mdr(f)\geq \frac 23m-2\) and in particular if \(C\) is free then \(m\leq 9\). Here \(mdr(f)\) is the minimal degree of a relation among the partial derivatives. Using this combinatorial constraint for a free reduced curve having such singularities, the authors completely classify free \(\mathcal{CL}\) arrangements having nodes, tacnodes and ordinary triple points as singularities. In particular they prove that such a free conic-line arrangement is determined up to a projective equivalence by the numerical/combinatorial data \(\{n_2,n_3,t\}\) where \(n_2\) is the number of nodes, \(n_3\) is the number of ordinary triple points and \(t\) is the number of tacnodes. Consequentially they prove that the Numerical Terao's Conjecture holds for conic-line arrangements with nodes, tacnodes and ordinary triple points. The conjecture says that if \(\mathcal{CL}_1,\mathcal{CL}_2\) are two such conic-line arrangements, \(\mathcal{CL}_1\) is free and both \(\mathcal{CL}_1,\mathcal{CL}_2\) have the same combinatorics \((m;n_2,t,n_3)\) with \(m\) being the degree of the arrangements then \(\mathcal{CL}_2\) is also free.