SUPERFICIAL FIBRES OF GENERIC PROJECTIONS

We consider a general fibre of given length in a generic projection of a variety. Under the assumption that the fibre is of local embedding dimension 2 or less, an assumption which can be checked in many cases, we prove that the fibre is reduced and its image on the projected variety is an ordinary multiple point.

KNOTTED SURFACES AND EQUIVALENCIES OF THEIR DIAGRAMS WITHOUT TRIPLE POINTS

The singularity set of a generic standard projection to the three space of a closed surface linked in four space, consists of at most three types: double points, triple points or branch points. We say that this generic projection image is p-diagram if it does not contain any triple point. Two p-diagrams of equivalent surface links are called p-equivalent if there exist a finite sequence of local moves, such that each of them is one of the four moves taken from the seven on the well known Roseman list, that connects only p-diagrams. It is natural to ask that whether any of two p-diagrams of equivalent surface links always p-equivalent? We introduce an invariant of p-equivalent diagrams and an example of linked surfaces that answers our question negatively.

ON RAMIFIED COVERS OF THE PROJECTIVE PLANE I: INTERPRETING SEGRE'S THEORY (WITH AN APPENDIX BY EUGENII SHUSTIN)

We study ramified covers of the projective plane ℙ2. Given a smooth surface S in ℙN and a generic enough projection ℙN → ℙ2, we get a cover π: S → ℙ2, which is ramified over a plane curve B. The curve B is usually singular, but is classically known to have only cusps and nodes as singularities for a generic projection. The main question that arises is with respect to the geometry of branch curves; i.e. how can one distinguish a branch curve from a non-branch curve with the same numerical invariants? For example, a plane sextic with six cusps is known to be a branch curve of a generic projection iff its six cusps lie on a conic curve, i.e. form a special 0-cycle on the plane. The classical work of Beniamino Segre gives a complete answer to the second question in the case when S is a smooth surface in ℙ3. We give an interpretation of the work of Segre in terms of relation between Picard and Chow groups of 0-cycles on a singular plane curve B. In addition, the appendix written by E. Shustin shows the existence of new Zariski pairs.

THE FUNDAMENTAL GROUP OF GALOIS COVER OF THE SURFACE 𝕋 × 𝕋

This is the final paper in a series of four, concerning the surface 𝕋 × 𝕋 embedded in ℂℙ8, where 𝕋 is the one-dimensional torus. In this paper we compute the fundamental group of the Galois cover of the surface with respect to a generic projection onto ℂℙ2, and show that it is nilpotent of class 3. This is the first time such a group is presented as the fundamental group of a Galois cover of a surface.

THE FUNDAMENTAL GROUP OF THE GALOIS COVER OF HIRZEBRUCH SURFACE F1(2, 2)

This paper is the second in a series of papers concerning Hirzebruch surfaces. In the first paper in this series, the fundamental group of Galois covers of Hirzebruch surfaces Fk(a, b), where a, b are relatively prime, was shown to be trivial. For the general case, the conjecture stated that the fundamental group is [Formula: see text] where c = gcd (a, b) and n = 2ab + kb2. In this paper, we degenerate the Hirzebruch surface F1(2, 2), compute the braid monodromy factorization of the branch curve in ℂ2, and verify that, in this case, the conjecture holds: the fundamental group of the Galois cover of F1(2, 2) with respect to a generic projection is isomorphic to [Formula: see text].