The moving curve ideal and the Rees algebra (Q2476010)

The Rees algebra of an ideal \(I\) in a noetherian commutative ring \(R\) is in a natural way a quotient of a polynomial ring by its ideal of defining relations. For \(R\) a polynomial ring over a field \(k\), this ideal was discovered independently by the geometric modeling community, where it is called the moving curve ideal. After reviewing some properties of the Rees algebra of an ideal, the authors discuss how the moving curve ideal can be computed where \(I\) is an ideal of the polynomial ring \(k[s,t]\) which is generated by three elements of the same degree. Parts of the paper are purely expository and there are several examples and a conjecture.