Finding an ordinary conic and an ordinary hyperplane

Given a finite set of non-collinear points in the plane, there exists a line that passes through exactly two points. Such a line is called an ordinary line. An efficient algorithm for computing such a line was proposed by Mukhopadhyay et al. In this note we extend this result in two directions. We first show how to use this algorithm to compute an ordinary conic, that is, a conic passing through exactly five points, assuming that all the points do not lie on the same conic. Both our proofs of existence and the consequent algorithms are simpler than previous ones. We next show how to compute an ordinary hyperplane in three and higher dimensions.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figure

On the number of ordinary conics

We prove a lower bound on the number of ordinary conics determined by a finite point set in $\mathbb{R}^2$. An ordinary conic for a subset $S$ of $\mathbb{R}^2$ is a conic that is determined by five points of $S$, and contains no other points of $S$. Wiseman and Wilson proved the Sylvester-Gallai-type statement that if a finite point set is not contained in a conic, then it determines at least one ordinary conic. We give a simpler proof of their result and then combine it with a result of Green and Tao to prove our main result: If $S$ is not contained in a conic and has at most $c|S|$ points on a line, then $S$ determines $\Omega_c(|S|^4)$ ordinary conics. We also give a construction, based on the group structure of elliptic curves, that shows that the exponent in our bound is best possible

Voevodsky's conjecture for cubic fourfolds and Gushel-Mukai fourfolds via noncommutative K3 surfaces

In the first part of this paper we will prove the Voevodsky's nilpotence conjecture for smooth cubic fourfolds and ordinary generic Gushel-Mukai fourfolds. Then, making use of noncommutative motives, we will prove the Voevodsky's nilpotence conjecture for generic Gushel-Mukai fourfolds containing a $\tau$-plane \G(2,3) and for ordinary Gushel-Mukai fourfolds containing a quintic del Pezzo surface.Comment: 16 pages, minor mistakes corrected in version

Birationally superrigid cyclic triple spaces

We prove the birational superrigidity and the nonrationality of a cyclic triple cover of $\mathbb{P}^{2n}$ branched over a nodal hypersurface of degree $3n$ for $n\ge 2$. In particular, the obtained result solves the problem of the birational superrigidity of smooth cyclic triple spaces. We also consider certain relevant problems.Comment: 43 page

Surfaces with triple points

In this paper we compute upper bounds for the number of ordinary triple points on a hypersurface in $P^3$ and give a complete classification for degree six (degree four or less is trivial, and five is elementary). But the real purpose is to point out the intricate geometry of examples with many triple points, and how it fits with the general classification of surfaces