Configuration types and cubic surfaces (Q958640)

This paper takes into consideration sets of six points (also infinitely near) \(P_1,\dots ,P_6\) in \({\mathbb P}^2\), and studies how the Hilbert function and graded Betti numbers of schemes of ``fat points'' (i.e. schemes defined by ideals of type \(I_{P_1}^{m_1}\cap \dots \cap I_{P_6}^{m_6}\)) are related to the geometry of the surface \(X\) obtained by blowing up \({\mathbb P}^2\) at the points. The case treated here is when \(-K_X\) is effective and the points are allowed to be infinitely near (thus generalizing previous work by the authors which considered the case of distinct points). It turns out that the graded Betti numbers (hence also the Hilbert function) only depend on multiplicities \(m_1,\dots ,m_6\) and the structure of effective divisor classes on \(X\) having negative self-intersection. The structure of these divisor classes is determined via the ``configuration type'' \(T\) of the points, i.e. (given an order to the points) by using a matrix made of 1's and 0's, with 7 columns and a row for each line which contains three or more of the \(P_i\)'s. An explicit numerical procedure is given to get the Betti numbers of the fat points from \(T\) and \(m_1,\dots ,m_6\).