Gap orders of rational functions on plane curves with few singular points (Q810104)

The Lüroth semigroup of a smooth irreducible algebraic curve C contains by definition all the degrees of the linear series on C having no base point. In a previous paper [Pac. J. Math. (to appear; Zbl 0691.14022)] the authors investigated the ``gaps'' of the Lüroth semigroup, i.e. the \(integers\quad n\) such that every linear series of degree n has at least a base point. The present paper considers the normalization C of a singular plane curve X having only nodes and ordinary cusps as singularities and shows that, if the number of singular points on X is ``small'' enough, then certain integers are necessarily ``gaps'' on C. This result gives also information on the gonality of the curve. The problem was posed in Algebraic curves and projective geometry, Proc. Conf., Trento/Italy 1988, Lect. Notes Math. 1389, ``Open problems'', collected by \textit{E. Ballico} and \textit{C. Ciliberto}, 276-285 (1989; Zbl 0675.14008)].