Singular points of real quartic and quintic curves

Authors David A. Weinberg, Nicholas J. Willis

Publication date 7 September 2010

Published in Tbilisi Mathematical Journal (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://arxiv.org/abs/0807.0010, http://www.tcms.org.ge/Journals/TMJ/Volume2/abstract2_7.html

zbMATH Keywords

real quartic curves real quintic curves

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Local theory in algebraic geometry (14B99) Singularities of curves, local rings (14H20) Topology of real algebraic varieties (14P25)

Abstract: There are 42 types of real singular points for irreducible real quintic curves and 49 types of real singular points for reducible real quintic curves. The classification of real singular points for irreducible real quintic curves is originally due to Golubina and Tai. There are 28 types of singular points for irreducible complex quintic curves and 33 types of singular points for reducible complex quintic curves. We derive the complete classification with proof by using the computer algebra system Maple. We clarify that the classification is based on computing just enough of the Puiseux expansion to separate the branches. Thus, a major component of the proof consists of a sequence of large symbolic computations that can be done nicely using Maple.

Review text

The classification of singular points of real quartic curves is originally due to \textit{D. A. Gudkov} et al. [Mat. Sb., N. Ser. 69(111), 222--256 (1966; Zbl 0178.23703)], that of singular points of real quintic curves is due to \textit{L. V. Golubina} and \textit{K. K. Tai} [Classification of singular points of real plane curves of fifth order. in: E. Leontovich-Andronova, editor, Methods of qualitative theory of differential equations, pages 130--136. Gor'kovskij Gosudarstvennyj Universitet (1978)] while the classification for complex projective quintic curves appears in a paper by \textit{A. Degtyarev} [Leningr. Math. J. 1, No. 4, 881--904 (1990; Zbl 0725.14025)]. In this paper, the authors derive the complete classification with proof, giving an illustration of the role that computer algebra can play in doing proofs. The objects being classified are pairs whose first coordinate is a polynomial with real coefficients and the second coordinate is a singular point of the corresponding curve. The authors' work is essentially based on taking just enough of the Puiseux expansions to separate the branches: to carry out these symbolic computations they use the computer algebra system Maple; then they associate a tree-diagram, which codifies how the branches separate and serves to classify the type of singular point; such a classification gives a finite number of types for each fixed degree. The new description of equivalence relation used by the authors is based on the idea of exponent of contact between pro-branches defined by \textit{C.T.C Wall} in his book [Singular points of plane curves. London Mathematical Society Student Texts 63. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (2004; Zbl 1057.14001)] and appeals to the Puiseux expansions in an invariant way.

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