A congruence modulo four in real Schubert calculus (Q278877)

Given positive integers \(m\) and \(p\) the map that associates homogeneous polynomials \(f_1,\dots ,f_m\) of degree \(m+p-1\) to its Wronskian defines a finite map between Grassmannian varieties \[ Wr: Gr(m, \mathbb{C}_{m+p-1}[t])\to Gr(1,\mathbb{C}_{mp}[t])=\mathbb{P}(\mathbb{C}_{mp}[t]). \] Eisenbud and Harris have computed explicitly the degree \(d_{m,p}\) of this map in the work [\textit{D. Eisenbud} and \textit{J. Harris}, Invent. Math. 74, 371--418 (1983; Zbl 0527.14022)]. When one changes the base field from \(\mathbb{C}\) to \(\mathbb{R}\) the problem of computing the degree \(d_{m,p}'\) of \(Wr\) is known as inverse Wronski problem. The authors show that \(d_{m,p}\) and \(d_{m,p}'\) are congruent modulo four. They do this using a general framework for congruences modulo four in Schubert calculus which they develop in the present paper.