47 research outputs found
The Secant Conjecture in the real Schubert calculus
We formulate the Secant Conjecture, which is a generalization of the Shapiro
Conjecture for Grassmannians. It asserts that an intersection of Schubert
varieties in a Grassmannian is transverse with all points real, if the flags
defining the Schubert varieties are secant along disjoint intervals of a
rational normal curve. We present theoretical evidence for it as well as
computational evidence obtained in over one terahertz-year of computing, and we
discuss some phenomena we observed in our data.Comment: 19 page
Enumerative Real Algebraic Geometry
Enumerative Geometry is concerned with the number of solutions to a
structured system of polynomial equations, when the structure comes from
geometry. Enumerative real algebraic geometry studies real solutions to such
systems, particularly a priori information on their number. Recent results in
this area have, often as not, uncovered new and unexpected phenomena, and it is
far from clear what to expect in general. Nevertheless, some themes are
emerging.
This comprehensive article describe the current state of knowledge,
indicating these themes, and suggests lines of future research. In particular,
it compares the state of knowledge in Enumerative Real Algebraic Geometry with
what is known about real solutions to systems of sparse polynomials.Comment: Revised, corrected version. 40 pages, 18 color .eps figures. Expanded
web-based version at http://www.math.umass.edu/~sottile/pages/ERAG/index.htm
On two conjectures concerning convex curves
We recall two basic conjectures on the developables of convex projective
curves, prove one of them and disprove the other in the firdt nontrivial case
of curves in RP^3. Namely, we show that i) the tangent developable surface of
any convex curve in RP^3 has 'degree' 4 and ii) construct an example of 4
tangent lines to a convex curve in RP^3 such that no real line intersects all
four of them.Comment: AMSTEX, 15 pages, 3 eps pictures. to appear in Int. J. Mat
A primal-dual formulation for certifiable computations in Schubert calculus
Formulating a Schubert problem as the solutions to a system of equations in
either Pl\"ucker space or in the local coordinates of a Schubert cell typically
involves more equations than variables. We present a novel primal-dual
formulation of any Schubert problem on a Grassmannian or flag manifold as a
system of bilinear equations with the same number of equations as variables.
This formulation enables numerical computations in the Schubert calculus to be
certified using algorithms based on Smale's \alpha-theory.Comment: 21 page
Schubert calculus of Richardson varieties stable under spherical Levi subgroups
We observe that the expansion in the basis of Schubert cycles for
of the class of a Richardson variety stable under a spherical Levi subgroup is
described by a theorem of Brion. Using this observation, along with a
combinatorial model of the poset of certain symmetric subgroup orbit closures,
we give positive combinatorial descriptions of certain Schubert structure
constants on the full flag variety in type . Namely, we describe
when and are inverse to Grassmannian permutations with unique descents
at and , respectively. We offer some conjectures for similar rules in
types and , associated to Richardson varieties stable under spherical
Levi subgroups of SO(2n+1,\C) and SO(2n,\C), respectively.Comment: Section 4 significantly shortened, and other minor changes made as
suggested by referees. Final version, to appear in Journal of Algebraic
Combinatoric
Galois groups of Schubert problems via homotopy computation
Numerical homotopy continuation of solutions to polynomial equations is the
foundation for numerical algebraic geometry, whose development has been driven
by applications of mathematics. We use numerical homotopy continuation to
investigate the problem in pure mathematics of determining Galois groups in the
Schubert calculus. For example, we show by direct computation that the Galois
group of the Schubert problem of 3-planes in C^8 meeting 15 fixed 5-planes
non-trivially is the full symmetric group S_6006.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures. 3 references adde