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David B. Massey

Publications and source records attributed to David B. Massey.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
arXiv2015

Some Special Cases of Bobadilla's Conjecture

We prove two special cases of a conjecture of J. Fernández de Bobadilla for hypersurfaces with $1$-dimensional critical loci. We do this via a new numerical invariant for such hypersurfaces, called the beta invariant, first defined and explored by the second author in 2014. The beta invariant is an algebraically calculable invariant of the local ambient topological-type of the hypersurface, and the vanishing of the beta invariant is equivalent to the hypotheses of Bobadilla's conjecture.

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arXiv2015

Non-isolated Hypersurface Singularities and Lê Cycles

In this series of lectures, I will discuss results for complex hypersurfaces with non-isolated singularities. In Lecture 1, I will review basic definitions and results on complex hypersurfaces, and then present classical material on the Milnor fiber and fibration. In Lecture 2, I will present basic results from Morse theory, and use them to prove some results about complex hypersurfaces, including a proof of Lê's attaching result for Milnor fibers of non-isolated hypersurface singularities. This will include defining the relative polar curve. Lecture 3 will begin with a discussion of intersection cycles for proper intersections inside a complex manifold, and then move on to definitions and basic results on Lê cycles and Lê numbers of non-isolated hypersurface singularities. Lecture 4 will explain the topological importance of Lê cycles and numbers, and then I will explain, informally, the relationship between the Lê cycles and the complex of sheaves of vanishing cycles.

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arXiv2015

A New Conjecture, a New Invariant, and a New Non-splitting Result

We prove a new non-splitting result for the cohomology of the Milnor fiber, reminiscent of the classical result proved independently by Lazzeri, Gabrielov, and Lê in 1973-74. We do this while exploring a conjecture of Bobadilla about a stronger version of our non-splitting result. To explore this conjecture, we define a new numerical invariant for hypersurfaces with $1$-dimensional critical loci: the beta invariant. The beta invariant is an invariant of the ambient topological-type of the hypersurface, is non-negative, and is algebraically calculable. Results about the beta invariant remove the topology from Bobadilla's conjecture and turn it into a purely algebraic question.

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arXiv2012

The Perverse Study of the Milnor Fiber

In this note, we provide a quick introduction to the study of the Milnor fibration via the derived category and perverse sheaves. This is primarily a dictionary for translating from the standard topological setting to the derived category and/or the Abelian category of perverse sheaves.

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arXiv2011

A remark on vanishing cycles with two strata

Suppose that the critical locus $Σ$ of a complex analytic function $f$ on affine space is, itself, a space with an isolated singular point at the origin $\0$, and that the Milnor number of $f$ restricted to normal slices of $Σ-\{\0\}$ is constant. Then, the general theory of perverse sheaves puts severe restrictions on the cohomology of the Milnor fiber of $f$ at $\0$, and even more surprising restrictions on the cohomology of the Milnor fiber of generic hyperplane slices.

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arXiv2010

Vanishing Vanishing Cycles

If $\Adot$ is a bounded, constructible complex of sheaves on a complex analytic space $X$, and $f:X\to\C$ and $g:X\to\C$ are complex analytic functions, then the iterated vanishing cycles $ϕ_g[-1](ϕ_f[-1]\Adot)$ are important for a number of reasons. We give a formula for the stalk cohomology $H^*(ϕ_g[-1]ϕ_f[-1]\Adot)_x$ in terms of relative polar curves, algebra, and the normal Morse data and micro-support of $\Adot$.

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arXiv2008

Real Analytic Milnor Fibrations and a Strong Łojasiewicz Inequality

We give a strong version of a classic inequality of Łojasiewicz; one which collapses to the usual inequality in the complex analytic case. We show that this inequality for a pair, quadruple, or octuple of real analytic functions allows us to construct a real Milnor fibration inside a ball.

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arXiv2006

Enriched Relative Polar Curves and Discriminants

Let $(f, g)$ be a pair of complex analytic functions on a singular analytic space $X$. We give ``the correct'' definition of the relative polar curve of $(f, g)$, and we give a very formal generalization of Lê's attaching result, which relates the relative polar curve to the relative cohomology of the Milnor fiber modulo a hyperplane slice. We also give the technical arguments which allow one to work with a derived category version of the discriminant and Cerf diagram of a pair of functions. From this, we derive a number of generalizations of results which are classically proved using the discriminant. In particular, we give applications to families of isolated ``critical points''.

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arXiv2005

Hypersurface Singularities and Milnor Equisingularity

Suppose that $f$ defines a singular, complex affine hypersurface. If the critical locus of $f$ is one-dimensional at the origin, we obtain new general bounds on the ranks of the homology groups of the Milnor fiber, $F_{f, \mathbf 0}$, of $f$ at the origin, with either integral or $\mathbb Z/p\mathbb Z$ coefficients. If the critical locus of $f$ has arbitrary dimension, we show that the smallest possibly non-zero reduced Betti number of $F_{f, \mathbf 0}$ completely determines if $f$ defines a family of isolated singularities, over a smooth base, with constant Milnor number. This result has a nice interpretation in terms of the structure of the vanishing cycles as an object in the perverse category.

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arXiv2005

Lê Modules and Traces

We show how some of our recent results clarify the relationship between the Lê numbers and the cohomology of the Milnor fiber of a non-isolated hypersurface singularity. The Lê numbers are actually the ranks of the free Abelian groups -- the Lê modules -- appearing in a complex whose cohomology is that of the Milnor fiber. Moreover, the Milnor monodromy acts on the Lê module complex, and we describe the traces of these monodromy actions in terms of the topology of the critical locus.

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arXiv2005

Hypersurface Singularities and the Swing

Suppose that $f$ defines a singular, complex affine hypersurface. If the critical locus of $f$ is one-dimensional, we obtain new general bounds on the ranks of the homology groups of the Milnor fiber of $f$. This result has an interesting implication on the structure of the vanishing cycles in the category of perverse sheaves.

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arXiv2005

Intersection Cohomology, Monodromy, and the Milnor Fiber

We say that a complex analytic space, $X$, is an intersection cohomology manifold if and only if the shifted constant sheaf on $X$ is isomorphic to intersection cohomology; this is quickly seen to be equivalent to $X$ being a homology manifold. Given an analytic function $f$ on an intersection cohomology manifold, we describe a simple relation between $V(f)$ being an intersection cohomology manifold and the vanishing cycle Milnor monodromy of $f$. We then describe how the Sebastiani-Thom isomorphism allows us to easily produce intersection cohomology manifolds with arbitrary singular sets. Finally, as an easy application, we obtain restrictions on the cohomology of the Milnor fiber of a hypersurface with a special type of one-dimensional critical locus.

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arXiv2004

Semi-simple Carrousels and the Monodromy

Let $\Cal U$ be an open neighborhood of the origin in $\Bbb C^{n+1}$ and let $f:(\Cal U, \bold 0)\to(\Bbb C, 0)$ be complex analytic. Let $z_0$ be a generic linear form on $\Bbb C^{n+1}$. If the relative polar curve $Γ^1_{f, z_0}$ at the origin is irreducible and the intersection number $\big(Γ^1_{f, z_0}\cdot V(f))_\bold 0$ is prime, then there are severe restrictions on the possible degree $n$ cohomology of the Milnor fiber at the origin. We also obtain some interesting, weaker, results when $\big(Γ^1_{f, z_0}\cdot V(f))_\bold 0$ is not prime.

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