Surfaces that are covered by two pencils of circles (Q2664643)

Surfaces in Euclidean 3-space \(\mathbb{R}^3\) or, after inverse stereographic projection, in the sphere \(S^3 \subset \mathbb{R}^4\) have recently been classified up to Möbius equivalence in by \textit{M. Skopenkov} and \textit{R. Krasauskas} in [Math. Ann. 373, No. 3--4, 1299--1327 (2019; Zbl 1416.51003).] The author of the article under review contributes to research in this area but does not restrict the dimension of the ambient space. The main result lists all triples \((\lambda, d, n)\) such that a surface in \(S^n\) of degree \(d\) exists and a generic surface point is incident with \(\lambda\) circles. A further result states that surfaces with \(\lambda \ge 3\) are covered by a hexagonal web of circles. The main tools of proof are smooth models and their Néron-Severi groups. Within this more technical framework, the sets of classes of irreducible complex curves in the smooth model that are contracted to a complex point and the cardinality of the class of complex lines in \(X\) are determined. The article makes efforts to remain accessible to readers with a lesser background in algebraic geometry. It talks about historical background and applications in astronomy or architecture and features beautifully rendered images of surfaces and their circles.