On the total order of reducibility of a pencil of algebraic plane curves (Q661865)

The authors obtain an upper bound for the number of reducible fibers, counted with multiplicity, in a pencil of plane algebraic curves. This bound was already known, but before the multiplicities were not taken into account. The proof is based on previous results by Ruppert and Scheiblechner, relating the question to the de Rham cohomology of a curve complement in the complex affine plane. In some cases the bound can be improved using information on the Newton's polygon of the pencil.