Classifying Hilbert functions of fat point subschemes in P^2

Syzygies, resolutions, complexes and commutative rings (13D02) Hilbert-Samuel and Hilbert-Kunz functions; Poincaré series (13D40) Divisors, linear systems, invertible sheaves (14C20) Rational and ruled surfaces (14J26) Low codimension problems in algebraic geometry (14M07)

Abstract: A recent paper by the first and third authors together with Sabourin raised the question of what the possible Hilbert functions are for fat point subschemes of the form

2 p_{1} + ... + 2 p_{r}

, for all possible choices of

r

distinct points in the projective plane. We study this problem for

r

points in the plane over an algebraically closed field

k

of arbitrary characteristic in case either

r l e 8

or the points lie on a (possibly reducible) conic. In either case, it follows from work of the second author that there are only finitely many configuration types of points, where our notion of configuration type is a generalization of the notion of a representable combinatorial geometry, also known as a representable simple matroid. (We say

p_{1}, ..., p_{r}

and

p'_{1}, ..., p'_{r}

have the same {it configuration type} if for all choices of nonnegative integers

m_{i}

,

Z = m_{1} p_{1} + ... + m_{r} p_{r}

and

Z^{'} = m_{1} p'_{1} + ... + m_{r} p'_{r}

have the same Hilbert function.) Assuming either that

7 l e r l e 8

(see recent work of Guardo and the second author for the cases

r l e 6

) or that the points

p_{i}

lie on a conic, we explicitly determine all the configuration types, and show how the configuration type and the coefficients

m_{i}

determine (in an explicitly computable way) the Hilbert function (and sometimes the graded Betti numbers) of

Z = m_{1} p_{1} + ... + m_{r} p_{r}

. We demonstrate our results by explicitly listing all Hilbert functions for schemes of

r l e 8

double points, and for each Hilbert function we state precisely how the points must be arranged (in terms of the configuration type) to obtain that Hilbert function.

Review text

The study of Hilbert functions of 0-dimensional schemes of ``fat points in the plane is a problem which has a long history in Algebraic Geometry, and offers plenty of open problems which are related to many other issues in Mathematics. In this paper the question of how the possible Hilbert functions for a set of fat points \(m_1P_1+\dots +m_rP_r\) is related to the geometry of the simple points \(P_1,\dots ,P_r\) is studied (for \(r\leq 8\) or in the case when the points are on a conic). Configuration types of points are considered, i.e., equivalence classes of the set of \(r\)-tuples of distinct points in the plane given by the relation \(\{P_1,\dots ,P_r\} \cong \{P'_1,\dots ,P'_r\}\) if the schemes \(m_1P_1+\dots +m_rP_r\) and \(m_1P'_1+\dots +m_rP'_r\) have the same Hilbert function for all \(m_1,\dots ,m_r \in \mathbb{N}^r\). It was known that in the cases under study such configurations are finite in number (for \(r\geq 9\) this is no longer true). All such configuration types are determined in the paper for \(r=7\) (29 types) and \(r=8\) (143 types); the cases of \(r\leq 6\) and when points are on a conic have already been known. For every set of 8 (or fewer) points, given the Hilbert function of the reduced points, the results in the paper allow to compute the Hilbert function of \(m_1P_1+\dots +m_rP_r\) for each choice of the integers \(m_i\)'s; in the case when \(r\leq 6\) or the points lie on a conic, also the Betti numbers of such schemes can be computed. The study of configuration types is related to the study of combinatorial geometries (simple matroids) via formal configuration types, which are combinatorial objects defined on a set of points. Formal configuration types are representable when they correspond to configuration types of points in the plane. Here also formal configuration types are classified, and a new phenomenon appears with respect to the known cases for \(r\leq 6\): when treating the 7 points case it turns out that representability depends on the characteristic of the ground field, while for 8 points there are cases which are not representable at all (while for \(r\leq 6\) all cases are representable, in any characteristic).

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