Adjoints and canonical forms of polypols (Q7007892)

Let \(C\subset\mathbb{P}^2\) be a complex plane curve with \(k\geq 2\) irreducible components \(C_i\). Assume there are \(k\) points \(v_{12}\in C_1\cap C_2\), \(\ldots\), \(v_{k1}\in C_k\cap C_1\) such that \(v_{ij}\) is nonsingular on \(C_i\) and \(C_j\), and that \(C_i\) and \(C_j\) intersect transversally at \(v_{ij}\). Then the irreducible curves \(C_i\) and the points \(v_{ij}\) form a polypol \(P\). The points \(v_{ij}\) are the vertices of \(P\), and the complement of the vertices in the singular locus of \(C\) is the set of residual points of \(C\). The polypol \(P\) is rational if the curves \(C_i\) are rational. Thus polypols are natural generalizations of polytopes, with boundaries given by non-linear algebraic hypersurfaces. The authors describe polypols in the plane and in 3-space that admit a unique adjoint hypersurface and study them from an algebro-geometric perspective. They relate planar polypols to positive geometries introduced originally in particle physics, and identify the adjoint curve of a planar polypol with the numerator of the canonical differential form associated with the positive geometry. They settle several cases of a conjecture by Wachspress claiming that the adjoint curve of a regular planar polypol does not intersect its interior. They provide a complete characterization of the real topology of the adjoint curve for arbitrary convex polygons. Finally, they determine all types of planar polypols such that the rational map sending a polypol to its adjoint is finite, and explore connections of the topic with algebraic statistics.