Secant varieties of toric varieties arising from simplicial complexes (Q2174459)

The secant variety \(\sigma_2(X)\) of a projective variety \(X\subset\mathbb P^n\) is the variety determined by projective points which are linear combination of two points of \(X\). When \(X\) is a variety of elementary tensors of a given species, then \(\sigma_2(X)\) is the variety determined by rank \(2\) tensors. In several relevant cases, the variety \(X\) has a toric structure coming from a simplicial complex, and \(\sigma_2(X)\) acquires a consequent toric structure. This is the case, for instance, of partially symmetric tensors, in which elementary tensors belong to a Segre-Veronese embedding \(X\) of a product of projective spaces. The authors exploit the toric structure of secant varieties of toric varieties, in order to determine their geometric properties, with a special focus on the nature of the singularities. By using properties of the associated graph, the authors determine a full list of Segre-Veronese varieties \(X\) such that the singular locus of \(\sigma_2(X)\) coincides with \(X\). Furthermore, they classify Segre-Veronese varieties whose secant varieties are Gorenstein or \(\mathbb Q\)-Gorenstein.