Quasi-ordinary singularities: tree model, discriminant and irreducibility

Abstract

Let $f(Y)\in K[[X_1,\dots,X_d]][Y]$ be a quasi-ordinary Weierstrass polynomial with coefficients in the ring of formal power series over an algebraically closed field of characteristic zero. In this paper we study the discriminant $D_f$ of $f(Y)-V$, where $V$ is a new variable. We show that the Newton polytope of $D_f$ depends only on contacts between the roots of $f(Y)$. Then we prove that $f(Y)$ is irreducible if and only if the Newton polytope of $D_f$ satisfies some arithmetic conditions. Finally we generalize these results to quasi-ordinary power series.