Torsion points on the cohomology jump loci of compact K\"ahler manifolds

We prove that each irreducible component of the cohomology jump loci of rank one local systems over a compact K\"ahler manifold contains at least one torsion point. This generalizes a theorem of Simpson for smooth complex projective varieties. An immediate consequence is the conjecture of Beauville and Catanese for compact K\"ahler manifolds. We also provide an example of a compact K\"ahler manifold, whose cohomology jump loci can not be realized by any smooth complex projective variety.Comment: Final version. To appear in Math. Res. Let

Enumeration of points, lines, planes, etc

One of the earliest results in enumerative combinatorial geometry is the following theorem of de Bruijn and Erd\H{o}s: Every set of points $E$ in a projective plane determines at least $|E|$ lines, unless all the points are contained in a line. Motzkin and others extended the result to higher dimensions, who showed that every set of points $E$ in a projective space determines at least $|E|$ hyperplanes, unless all the points are contained in a hyperplane. Let $E$ be a spanning subset of a $d$-dimensional vector space. We show that, in the partially ordered set of subspaces spanned by subsets of $E$, there are at least as many $(d-k)$-dimensional subspaces as there are $k$-dimensional subspaces, for every $k$ at most $d/2$. This confirms the "top-heavy" conjecture of Dowling and Wilson for all matroids realizable over some field. The proof relies on the decomposition theorem package for $\ell$-adic intersection complexes.Comment: 18 pages, major revisio

Bounding the maximum likelihood degree

Maximum likelihood estimation is a fundamental computational problem in statistics. In this note, we give a bound for the maximum likelihood degree of algebraic statistical models for discrete data. As usual, such models are identified with special very affine varieties. Using earlier work of Franecki and Kapranov, we prove that the maximum likelihood degree is always less or equal to the signed intersection-cohomology Euler characteristic. We construct counterexamples to a bound in terms of the usual Euler characteristic conjectured by Huh and Sturmfels.Comment: v2: final version, to appear in Math. Res. Let