Linearly dependent subsets of Segre varieties (Q2176080)

The author studies finite subsets \(S\) of products \(X=\prod_{i=1}^k \mathbb P^{n_i}\) of projective spaces, with the target of determining conditions for which the set is linearly independent in the Segre embedding \(\nu(X)\) of the product. Since \(\nu(X)\) contains many lines, and sets with many points on a line are clearly linearly dependent, the author assumes that there are no three points of \(\nu(X)\) which are aligned in the Segre varieties. With this natural restriction, the author classifies all subsets \(S\) of cardinality at most \(5\) in a product of projective spaces, whose Segre embedding is linearly dependent. It turns out that, except for trivial cases in which the Segre varieties lies in \(\mathbb P^3\), the minimal products containing such subsets satisfy \(k\leq 3\) and \(\sum n_i=3\).