arXiv subjects

Ethan Cotterill

Publications and source records attributed to Ethan Cotterill.

26 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2018

Real inflection points of real linear series on an elliptic curve

Given a real elliptic curve $E$ with non-empty real part and $[D]\in \mbox{Pic}^2 E$ its $g_2^1$, we study the real inflection points of distinguished subseries of the complete real linear series $|\mathcal{L}_\mathbb{R}(kD)|$ for $k\geq 3$. We define {\it key polynomials} whose roots index the ($x$-coordinates of) inflection points of the linear series, away from the points where $E$ ramifies over $\mathbb{P}^1$. These fit into a recursive hierarchy, in the same way that division polynomials index torsion points. Our study is motivated by, and complements, an analysis of how inflectionary loci vary in the degeneration of real {\it hyperelliptic} curves to a metrized complex of curves with elliptic curve components that we carried out in our previous article with Biswas.

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arXiv2017

Singular rational curves with points of nearly-maximal weight

In this article we study rational curves with a unique unibranch genus-$g$ singularity, which is of {\it $\ka$-hyperelliptic} type in the sense of \cite{To}; we focus on the cases $\ka=0$ and $\ka=1$, in which the semigroup associated to the singularity is of (sub)maximal weight. We obtain a partial classification of these curves according to the linear series they support, the scrolls on which they lie, and their gonality.

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arXiv2013

Counting maps from curves to projective space via graph theory

In this (mostly) survey article, we give a synopsis of a number of results relating to Brill--Noether theory on curves and metric graphs, together with some speculations about the behavior of one-dimensional linear series on a class of metric graphs that admit decompositions as triples of trees rooted on a common vertex set.

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arXiv2012

Rational curves of degree 16 on a general heptic fourfold

According to a conjecture of H. Clemens, the dimension of the space of rational curves on a general projective hypersurface should equal the number predicted by a naïve dimension count. In the case of a general hypersurface of degree 7 in $\mathbb{P}^5$, the conjecture predicts that the only rational curves should be lines. This has been verified by Hana and Johnsen for rational curves of degree at most 15. Here we extend their results to show that no rational curves of degree 16 lie on a general heptic fourfold.

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arXiv2010

Geometry of curves with exceptional secant planes: linear series along the general curve

We study linear series on a general curve of genus $g$, whose images are exceptional with regard to their secant planes. Working in the framework of an extension of Brill-Noether theory to pairs of linear series, we prove that a general curve has no linear series with exceptional secant planes, in a very precise sense, whenever the total number of series is finite. Next, we partially solve the problem of computing the number of linear series with exceptional secant planes in a one-parameter family in terms of tautological classes associated with the family, by evaluating our hypothetical formula along judiciously-chosen test families. As an application, we compute the number of linear series with exceptional secant planes on a general curve equipped with a one-dimensional family of linear series. We pay special attention to the extremal case of $d$-secant $(d-2)$-planes to $(2d-1)$-dimensional series, which appears in the study of Hilbert schemes of points on surfaces. In that case, our formula may be rewritten in terms of hypergeometric series, which allows us both to prove that it is nonzero and to deduce its asymptotics in $d$.

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arXiv2010

Rational curves of degree 11 on a general quintic threefold

We prove that the incidence scheme of rational curves of degree 11 on quintic threefolds is irreducible. This implies a strong form of the Clemens conjecture in degree 11. Namely, on a general quintic threefold $F$ in $\mathbb{P}^4$, there are only finitely many smooth rational curves of degree 11, and each curve $C$ is embedded in $F$ with normal bundle $\mathcal{O}(-1) \oplus \mathcal{O}(-1)$. Moreover, in degree 11, there are no singular, reduced, and irreducible rational curves, nor any reduced, reducible, and connected curves with rational components on $F$.

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arXiv2010

Effective divisors on $\ov{\mc{M}}_g$ associated to curves with exceptional secant planes

This paper is a sequel to \cite{C}, in which the author studies secant planes to linear series on a curve that is general in moduli. In that paper, the author proves that a general curve has no linear series with exceptional secant planes, in a very precise sense. Consequently, it makes sense to study effective divisors on $\ov{\mc{M}}_g$ associated to curves equipped with secant-exceptional linear series. Here we describe a strategy for computing the classes of those divisors. We pay special attention to the extremal case of $(2d-1)$-dimensional series with $d$-secant $(d-2)$-planes, which appears in the study of Hilbert schemes of points on surfaces. In that case, modulo a combinatorial conjecture, we obtain hypergeometric expressions for tautological coefficients that enable us to deduce the asymptotics in $d$ of our divisors' virtual slopes.

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arXiv2004

Rational curves of degree 10 on a general quintic threefold

We prove the "strong form" of the Clemens conjecture in degree 10. Namely, on a general quintic threefold F in P^4, there are only finitely many smooth rational curves of degree 10, and each curve is embedded in F with normal bundle O(-1)^2. Moreover, in degree 10, there are no singular, reduced, and irreducible rational curves, nor any reduced, reducible, and connected curves with rational components in F.

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