Canonical systems and their limits on stable curves

We propose an object called 'sepcanonical system' on a stable curve $X_0$ which is to serve as limiting object- distinct from other such limits introduced previously- for the canonical system, as a smooth curve degenerates to $X_0$. First for curves which cannot be separated by 2 or fewer nodes, the so-called '2-inseparable' curves, the sepcanonical system is just the sections of the dualizing sheaf, which is not very ample iff $X_0$ is a limit of smooth hyperelliptic curves (such $X_0$ are called 2-inseparable hyperelliptics). For general, 2-separable curves $X_0$ this assertion is false, leading us to introduce the sepcanonical system, which is a collection of linear systems on the '2-inseparable parts' of $X_0$, each associated to a different twisted limit of the canonical system, where the entire collection varies smoothly with $X_0$. To define sepcanonical system, we must endow the curve with extra structure called an 'azimuthal structure'. We show that the sepcanonical system is 'essentially very ample' unless the curve is a tree-like arrangement of 2-inseparable hyperelliptics. In a subsequent paper, we will show that the latter property is equivalent to the curve being a limit of smooth hyperelliptics, and will essentially give defining equation for the closure of the locus of smooth hyperelliptic curves in the moduli space of stable curves. The current version includes additional references to, among others, Catanese, Maino, Esteves and Caporaso.Comment: arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1011.0406; to appear in J. Algebr

Incidence stratifications on Hilbert schemes of smooth surfaces, and an application to Poisson structures

Given a smooth curve on a smooth surface, the Hilbert scheme of the surface is stratified according to the length of the intersection with the curve. The strata are highly singular. We show that this stratification admits a natural log-resolution, namely the stratified blowup. As a consequence, the induced Poisson structure on the Hilbert scheme of a Poisson surface has unobstructed deformations.Comment: To appear in Int. J. Mat

Comment on "Orientational Distribution of Free O-H Groups of Interfacial Water is Exponential"

In a recent letter (PRL,121,246101,2018), Sun et al. reported that combined MD simulation and sum frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy (SFG-VS) measurements led to conclusions of a broad and exponentially decaying orientational distribution, and the presence of the free O-H group pointing down to the bulk at the air/water interface. In this comment, we show that their main conclusions are based on questionable interpretation of the SFG-VS data presented in the letter [1], and are also contrary to the established data analysis and interpretations in the literature [2-5].Comment: 2 pages, 0 figure

Discrete diffraction managed solitons: Threshold phenomena and rapid decay for general nonlinearities

We prove a threshold phenomenon for the existence/non-existence of energy minimizing solitary solutions of the diffraction management equation for strictly positive and zero average diffraction. Our methods allow for a large class of nonlinearities, they are, for example, allowed to change sign, and the weakest possible condition, it only has to be locally integrable, on the local diffraction profile. The solutions are found as minimizers of a nonlinear and nonlocal variational problem which is translation invariant. There exists a critical threshold ?cr such that minimizers for this variational problem exist if their power is bigger than ?cr and no minimizers exist with power less than the critical threshold. We also give simple criteria for the finiteness and strict positivity of the critical threshold. Our proof of existence of minimizers is rather direct and avoids the use of Lions' concentration compactness argument. Furthermore, we give precise quantitative lower bounds on the exponential decay rate of the diffraction management solitons, which confirm the physical heuristic prediction for the asymptotic decay rate. Moreover, for ground state solutions, these bounds give a quantitative lower bound for the divergence of the exponential decay rate in the limit of vanishing average diffraction. For zero average diffraction, we prove quantitative bounds which show that the solitons decay much faster than exponentially. Our results considerably extend and strengthen the results of [15] and [16].Comment: 49 pages, no figure