arXiv subjects

Graham Denham

Publications and source records attributed to Graham Denham.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Tropical resolutions of configuration hypersurfaces

Configuration polynomials generalize the Kirchhoff polynomial of a graph, as well as the Symanzik polynomials that appear in the denominators of Feynman integrands. The configuration hypersurfaces cut out by such polynomials are typically highly singular, which poses a challenge for the evaluation of Feynman integrals even in simplified settings. In this paper, we provide a two-step recipe for a resolution of singularities of any irreducible configuration hypersurface. We first consider the normalization of the Nash blow-up, which we identify with an incidence variety introduced by Bloch. This variety is typically still not smooth, but it is the closure of a smooth subvariety of a torus. The latter then a smooth, tropical compactification, using work of Tevelev. We construct explicitly such a compactification and a morphism to the normalized Nash blow-up for every configuration, described in terms of bipermutohedral matroid combinatorics introduced by Ardila, Denham and Huh. Along the way, we find that the normalized Nash blow-up of the configuration hypersurface has strongly $F$-regular singularities in positive characteristic. We deduce this by certifying $F$-rationality of its biprojective cone, and infer from it that the normalized Nash blow-up has rational singularities over the complex numbers.

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arXiv2026

Tree metrics and log-concavity for matroids

We show that a set function $\nu$ satisfies the gross substitutes property if and only if its homogeneous generating polynomial $Z_{q,\nu}$ is a Lorentzian polynomial for all positive $q \le 1$, answering a question of Eur-Huh. We achieve this by giving a rank 1 upper bound for the distance matrix of an ultrametric tree, refining a classical result of Graham-Pollak. This characterization enables us to resolve two open problems that strengthen Mason's log-concavity conjectures for the number of independent sets of a matroid: one posed by Giansiracusa-Rinc\'on-Schleis-Ulirsch for valuated matroids, and two posed by Dowling in 1980 and Zhao in 1985 for ordinary matroids.

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arXiv2025

Cleanliness and the Varchenko-Gelfand algebra

A central question in the theory of hyperplane arrangements is when the complement of a complex arrangement is aspherical. Barkley and Speyer introduced a class of real arrangements that are called "clean," and Yoshinaga proved that every real arrangement whose complexification is $K(\pi,1)$ is clean. We show that cleanliness is equivalent to a natural statement about the Varchenko-Gelfand ring, which in practice allows for fast calculation. We conclude with an investigation of the relationships between various properties of arrangements, including cleanliness and the asphericity of the arrangement complement.

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arXiv2023

On Ziegler's conjectures for logarithmic derivations of arrangements

In his paper and thesis in 1989, Ziegler posed several conjectures regarding commutative algebra related to hyperplane arrangements. In this article, we revisit two of them. One is on generic cuts of free arrangements, and the other has to do with minimal degree generators for the logarithmic differential forms. We prove the first one, and disprove the second one. We also give some positive answers to related problems he posed, using recent developments in arrangement theory.

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arXiv2022

Deletion-Restriction for Logarithmic Forms on Multiarrangements

We consider the behaviour of logarithmic differential forms on arrangements and multiarrangements of hyperplanes under the operations of deletion and restriction, extending early work of G\"unter Ziegler. The restriction of logarithmic forms to a hyperplane may or may not be surjective, and we measure the failure of surjectivity in terms of commutative algebra of logarithmic forms and derivations. We find that the dual notion of restriction of logarithmic vector fields behaves similarly but inequivalently. A main result is that, if an arrangement is free, then any arrangement obtained by adding a hyperplane has the "dual strongly plus-one generated" property. One application is another proof of a main result of a paper by the first author characterizing when adding a hyperplane to a free arrangement remains free. A further application is to resolve two conjectures due to Ziegler, which we defer to a sequel.

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arXiv2021

Geometry of logarithmic derivations of hyperplane arrangements

We study the Hadamard product of the linear forms defining a hyperplane arrangement with those of its dual, which we view as generating an ideal in a certain polynomial ring. We use this ideal, which we call the ideal of pairs, to study logarithmic derivations and critical set varieties of arrangements in a way which is symmetric with respect to matroid duality. Our main result exhibits the variety of the ideal of pairs as a subspace arrangement whose components correspond to cyclic flats of the arrangement. As a corollary, we are able to give geometric explanations of some freeness and projective dimension results due to Ziegler and Kung--Schenck.

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arXiv2021

Lagrangian combinatorics of matroids

The Lagrangian geometry of matroids was introduced in [ADH20] through the construction of the conormal fan of a matroid M. We used the conormal fan to give a Lagrangian-geometric interpretation of the h-vector of the broken circuit complex of M: its entries are the degrees of the mixed intersections of certain convex piecewise linear functions $\gamma$ and $\delta$ on the conormal fan of M. By showing that the conormal fan satisfies the Hodge-Riemann relations, we proved Brylawski's conjecture that this h-vector is a log-concave sequence. This sequel explores the Lagrangian combinatorics of matroids, further developing the combinatorics of biflats and biflags of a matroid, and relating them to the theory of basis activities developed by Tutte, Crapo, and Las Vergnas. Our main result is a combinatorial strengthening of the $h$-vector computation: we write the k-th mixed intersection of $\gamma$ and $\delta$ explicitly as a sum of biflags corresponding to the nbc-bases of internal activity k+1.

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arXiv2020

Configuration polynomials under contact equivalence

Configuration polynomials generalize the classical Kirchhoff polynomial defined by a graph. Their study sheds light on certain polynomials appearing in Feynman integrands. Contact equivalence provides a way to study the associated configuration hypersurface. In the contact equivalence class of any configuration polynomial we identify a polynomial with minimal number of variables; it is a configuration polynomial. This minimal number is bounded by $r+1\choose 2$, where $r$ is the rank of the underlying matroid. We show that the number of equivalence classes is finite exactly up to rank $3$ and list explicit normal forms for these classes.

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arXiv2020

Graph hypersurfaces with torus action and a conjecture of Aluffi

Generalizing the star graphs of M\"uller-Stach and Westrich, we describe a class of graphs whose associated graph hypersurface is equipped with a non-trivial torus action. For such graphs, we show that the Euler characteristic of the corresponding projective graph hypersurface complement is zero. In contrast, we also show that the Euler characteristic in question can take any integer value for a suitable graph. This disproves a conjecture of Aluffi in a strong sense.

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arXiv2020

Lagrangian geometry of matroids

We introduce the conormal fan of a matroid M, which is a Lagrangian analog of the Bergman fan of M. We use the conormal fan to give a Lagrangian interpretation of the Chern-Schwartz-MacPherson cycle of M. This allows us to express the h-vector of the broken circuit complex of M in terms of the intersection theory of the conormal fan of M. We also develop general tools for tropical Hodge theory to prove that the conormal fan satisfies Poincar\'e duality, the hard Lefschetz theorem, and the Hodge-Riemann relations. The Lagrangian interpretation of the Chern-Schwartz-MacPherson cycle of M, when combined with the Hodge-Riemann relations for the conormal fan of M, implies Brylawski's and Dawson's conjectures that the h-vectors of the broken circuit complex and the independence complex of M are log-concave sequences.

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arXiv2019

A Leray model for the Orlik-Solomon algebra

We construct a combinatorial generalization of the Leray models for hyperplane arrangement complements. Given a matroid and some combinatorial blowup data, we give a presentation for a bigraded (commutative) differential-graded algebra. If the matroid is realizable over $\mathbb{C}$, this is the familiar Morgan model for a hyperplane arrangement complement, embedded in a blowup of projective space. In general, we obtain a cdga that interpolates between the Chow ring of a matroid and the Orlik-Solomon algebra. Our construction can also be expressed in terms of sheaves on combinatorial blowups of geometric lattices. As a key technical device, we construct a monomial basis via a Gr\"obner basis for the ideal of relations. Combining these ingredients, we show that our algebra is quasi-isomorphic to the classical Orlik-Solomon algebra of the matroid.

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arXiv2019

Matroid connectivity and singularities of configuration hypersurfaces

Consider a linear realization of a matroid over a field. One associates with it a configuration polynomial and a symmetric bilinear form with linear homogeneous coefficients. The corresponding configuration hypersurface and its non-smooth locus support the respective first and second degeneracy scheme of the bilinear form. We show that these schemes are reduced and describe the effect of matroid connectivity: for (2-)connected matroids, the configuration hypersurface is integral, and the second degeneracy scheme is reduced Cohen-Macaulay of codimension 3. If the matroid is 3-connected, then also the second degeneracy scheme is integral. In the process, we describe the behavior of configuration polynomials, forms and schemes with respect to various matroid constructions.

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arXiv2015

Abelian duality and propagation of resonance

We explore the relationship between a certain "abelian duality" property of spaces and the propagation properties of their cohomology jump loci. To that end, we develop the analogy between abelian duality spaces and those spaces which possess what we call the "EPY property." The same underlying homological algebra allows us to deduce the propagation of jump loci: in the former case, characteristic varieties propagate, and in the latter, the resonance varieties. We apply the general theory to arrangements of linear and elliptic hyperplanes, as well as toric complexes, right-angled Artin groups, and Bestvina-Brady groups. Our approach brings to the fore the relevance of the Cohen-Macaulay condition in this combinatorial context.

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arXiv2015

Torsion in the homology of Milnor fibers of hyperplane arrangements

As is well-known, the homology groups of the complement of a complex hyperplane arrangement are torsion-free. Nevertheless, as we showed in a recent paper [arXiv:1209.3414] the homology groups of the Milnor fiber of such an arrangement can have non-trivial integer torsion. We give here a brief account of the techniques that go into proving this result, outline some of its applications, and indicate some further questions that it brings to light.

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arXiv2015

Higher resonance varieties of matroids

We present some new results about the resonance varieties of matroids and hyperplane arrangements. Though these have been the objects of ongoing study, most work so far has focussed on cohomological degree 1. We show that certain phenomena become apparent only by considering all degrees at once.

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arXiv2014

Combinatorial covers and vanishing of cohomology

We use a Mayer-Vietoris-like spectral sequence to establish vanishing results for the cohomology of complements of linear and elliptic hyperplane arrangements, as part of a more general framework involving duality and abelian duality properties of spaces and groups. In the process, we consider cohomology of local systems with a general, Cohen-Macaulay-type condition. As a result, we recover known vanishing theorems for rank-1 local systems as well as group ring coefficients, and obtain new generalizations.

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arXiv2013

Toric and tropical compactifications of hyperplane complements

These lecture notes are based on lectures given by the author at the summer school "Arrangements in Pyr\'en\'ees" in June 2012. We survey and compare various compactifications of complex hyperplane arrangement complements. In particular, we review the Gel'fand-MacPherson construction, Kapranov's visible contours compactification, and De Concini and Procesi's wonderful compactification. We explain how these constructions are unified by some ideas from the modern origins of tropical geometry. The paper contains a few new arguments intended to make the presentation as self-contained as possible.

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arXiv2012

Modular decomposition of the Orlik-Terao algebra of a hyperplane arrangement

Let A be a collection of n linear hyperplanes in k^l, where k is an algebraically closed field. The Orlik-Terao algebra of A is the subalgebra R(A) of the rational functions generated by reciprocals of linear forms vanishing on hyperplanes of A. It determines an irreducible subvariety of projective space. We show that a flat X of A is modular if and only if R(A) is a split extension of the Orlik-Terao algebra of the subarrangement A_X. This provides another refinement of Stanley's modular factorization theorem and a new characterization of modularity, similar in spirit to the modular fibration theorem of Paris. We deduce that if A is supersolvable, then its Orlik-Terao algebra is Koszul. In certain cases, the algebra is also a complete intersection, and we characterize when this happens.

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