arXiv subjects

Joerg Schuermann

Publications and source records attributed to Joerg Schuermann.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Around a class version of the Hodge index theorem for singular varieties

We give an overview of recent developments around a characteristic class version of the Hodge index theorem for singular complex algebraic varieties. This was formulated by Brasselet-Schuermann-Yokura as a conjecture expressing the Goresky-MacPherson homology L-classes in terms of suitable Hodge-theoretic L-classes. Along the way, we clarify the relationship between several notions of L-classes appearing in the literature, but we also include many new cases for which the conjecture is true, e.g., all compact toric varieties, all (matroid) Schubert varieties, all Richardson and intersection varieties, all projective simply connected spherical varieties, and all compact complex algebraic surfaces and threefolds.

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arXiv2022

Shadows of characteristic cycles, Verma modules, and positivity of Chern-Schwartz-MacPherson classes of Schubert cells

Chern-Schwartz-MacPherson (CSM) classes generalize to singular and/or noncompact varieties the classical total homology Chern class of the tangent bundle of a smooth compact complex manifold. The theory of CSM classes has been extended to the equivariant setting by Ohmoto. We prove that for an arbitrary complex projective manifold $X$, the homogenized, torus equivariant CSM class of a constructible function $φ$ is the restriction of the characteristic cycle of $φ$ via the zero section of the cotangent bundle of $X$. This extends to the equivariant setting results of Ginzburg and Sabbah. We specialize $X$ to be a (generalized) flag manifold $G/B$. In this case CSM classes are determined by a Demazure-Lusztig (DL) operator. We prove a `Hecke orthogonality' of CSM classes, determined by the DL operator and its Poincar{é} adjoint. We further use the theory of holonomic $\mathcal{D}_X$-modules to show that the characteristic cycle of a Verma module, restricted to the zero section, gives the CSM class of the corresponding Schubert cell. Since the Verma characteristic cycles naturally identify with the Maulik and Okounkov's stable envelopes, we establish an equivalence between CSM classes and stable envelopes; this reproves results of Rim{á}nyi and Varchenko. As an application, we obtain a Segre type formula for CSM classes. In the non-equivariant case this formula is manifestly positive, showing that the expansion in the Schubert basis of the CSM class of a Schubert cell is effective. This proves a previous conjecture by Aluffi and Mihalcea, and it extends previous positivity results by J. Huh in the Grassmann manifold case. Finally, we generalize all of this to partial flag manifolds $G/P$.

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arXiv2018

Thom-Sebastiani theorems for filtered D-modules and for multiplier ideals

We give a proof of the Thom-Sebastiani type theorem for holonomic filtered $D$-modules satisfying certain good conditions (including Hodge modules) by using algebraic partial microlocalization. By a well-known relation between multiplier ideals and $V$-filtrations of Kashiwara and Malgrange, the argument in the proof implies also a Thom-Sebastiani type theorem for multiplier ideals, which cannot be deduced from a already known proof of the Thom-Sebastiani theorem for mixed Hodge modules (since the latter gives only the information of graded pieces of multiplier ideals). We also sketch a more elementary proof of the Thom-Sebastiani type theorem for multiplier ideals (as communicated to us by M.~Mustaţǎ), which seems to be known to specialists, although it does not seem to be stated explicitly in the literature.

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arXiv2017

Plethysm and cohomology representations of external and symmetric products

We prove refined generating series formulae for characters of (virtual) cohomology representations of external products of suitable coefficients, e.g., (complexes of) constructible or coherent sheaves, or (complexes of) mixed Hodge modules on spaces such as (possibly singular) complex quasi-projective varieties. These formulae generalize our previous results for symmetric and alternating powers of such coefficients, and apply also to other Schur functors. The proofs of these results are reduced via an equivariant Künneth formula to a more general generating series identity for abstract characters of tensor powers $\mathcal{V}^{\otimes n}$ of an element $\mathcal{V}$ in a suitable symmetric monoidal category $A$. This abstract approach applies directly also in the equivariant context for spaces with additional symmetries (e.g., finite group actions, finite order automorphisms, resp., endomorphisms), as well as for introducing an abstract plethysm calculus for symmetric sequences of objects in $A$.

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arXiv2017

Equivariant characteristic classes of external and symmetric products of varieties

We obtain refined generating series formulae for equivariant characteristic classes of external and symmetric products of singular complex quasi-projective varieties. More concretely, we study equivariant versions of Todd, Chern and Hirzebruch classes for singular spaces, with values in delocalized Borel-Moore homology of external and symmetric products. As a byproduct, we recover our previous characteristic class formulae for symmetric products, and obtain new equivariant generalizations of these results, in particular also in the context of twisting by representations of the symmetric group.

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arXiv2017

Spectral Hirzebruch-Milnor classes of singular hypersurfaces

We introduce spectral Hirzebruch-Milnor classes for singular hypersurfaces. These can be identified with Steenbrink spectra in the isolated singularity case, and may be viewed as their global analogues in general. Their definition uses vanishing cycles of mixed Hodge modules and the Todd class transformation. These are compatible with the pushforward by proper morphisms, and the classes can be calculated by using resolutions of singularities. Formulas for Hirzebruch-Milnor classes of projective hypersurfaces in terms of these classes are given in the case where the multiplicity of a generic hyperplane section is not 1. These formulas using hyperplane sections instead of hypersurface ones are easier to calculate in certain cases. Here we use the Thom-Sebastiani theorem for the underlying filtered $D$-modules of vanishing cycles, from which we can deduce the Thom-Sebastiani type theorem for spectral Hirzebruch-Milnor classes. For the Chern classes after specializing to $y=-1$, we can give a relatively simple formula for the localized Milnor classes, which implies a new formula for the Euler numbers of projective hypersurfaces, using iterated hyperplane sections. Applications to log canonical thresholds and Du Bois singularities are also explained; for instance, the latter can be detected by using Hirzebruch-Milnor classes in the projective hypersurface case.

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arXiv2016

Hirzebruch-Milnor classes and Steenbrink spectra of certain projective hypersurfaces

We show that the Hirzebruch-Milnor class of a projective hypersurface, which gives the difference between the Hirzebruch class and the virtual one, can be calculated by using the Steenbrink spectra of local defining functions of the hypersurface if certain good conditions are satisfied, e.g. in the case of projective hyperplane arrangements, where we can give a more explicit formula. This is a natural continuation of our previous paper on the Hirzebruch-Milnor classes of complete intersections.

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arXiv2016

Motivic and derived motivic Hirzebruch classes

In this paper we give a formula for the Hirzebruch $χ_y$-genus $χ_y(X)$ and similarly for the motivic Hirzebruch class $T_{y*}(X)$ for possibly singular varieties $X$, using the Vandermonde matrix. Motivated by the notion of secondary Euler characteristic and higher Euler characteristic, we consider a similar notion for the motivic Hirzebruch class, which we call a \emph{derived motivic Hirzebruch class}

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arXiv2016

Chern classes and transversality for singular spaces

In this paper we compare different notions of transversality for possible singular complex algebraic or analytic subsets of an ambient complex manifold and prove a refined intersection formula for their Chern-Schwartz-MacPherson classes. In case of a transversal intersection of complex Whitney stratified sets, this result is well known. For splayed subsets it was conjectured (and proven in some cases) by Aluffi and Faber. Both notions are stronger than a micro-local "non-characteristic intersection" condition for the characteristic cycles of (associated) constructible functions, which nevertheless is enough to imply the asked refined intersection formula for the Chern-Schwartz-MacPherson classes. The proof is based the multiplicativity of Chern-Schwartz-MacPherson classes with respect to cross products, as well as a new Verdier-Riemann-Roch theorem for "non-characteristic pullbacks".

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arXiv2014

Purity for graded potentials and quantum cluster positivity

Consider a smooth quasiprojective variety X equipped with a C*-action, and a regular function f: X -> C which is C*-equivariant with respect to a positive weight action on the base. We prove the purity of the mixed Hodge structure and the hard Lefschetz theorem on the cohomology of the vanishing cycle complex of f on proper components of the critical locus of f, generalizing a result of Steenbrink for isolated quasi-homogeneous singularities. Building on work of Kontsevich-Soibelman, Nagao and Efimov, we use this result to prove the quantum positivity conjecture for cluster mutations for all quivers admitting a positively graded nondegenerate potential. We deduce quantum positivity for all quivers of rank at most 4; quivers with nondegenerate potential admitting a cut; and quivers with potential associated to triangulations of surfaces with marked points and nonempty boundary.

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arXiv2013

Motivic Bivariant Characteristic Classes

Let K_0(V/X) be the relative Grothendieck group of varieties over X in obj(V), with V the category of (quasi-projective) algebraic (resp. compact complex analytic) varieties over a base field k. Then we constructed the motivic Hirzebruch class transformation in the algebraic context for k of characteristic zero and in the compact complex analytic context. It unifies the well-known three characteristic class transformations of singular varieties: MacPherson's Chern class, Baum-Fulton-MacPherson's Todd class and the L-class of Goresky-MacPherson and Cappell-Shaneson. In this paper we construct a bivariant relative Grothendieck group K_0(V/-) and in the algebraic context (in any characteristic) two Grothendieck transformations mC_y resp. T_y defined on K_0(V/-). Evaluating at y=0, we get a motivic lift T_0 of Fulton-MacPherson's bivariant Riemann-Roch transformation. The associated covariant transformations agree for k of characteristic zero with our motivic Chern- and Hirzebruch class transformations defined on K_0(V/X). Finally, evaluating at y=-1, we get for k of characteristic zero, a motivic lift T_{-1} of Ernström-Yokura's bivariant Chern class transformation.

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arXiv2013

Characteristic classes of mixed Hodge modules and applications

These notes are an extended version of the authors' lectures at the 2013 CMI Workshop "Mixed Hodge Modules and Their Applications". We give an overview, with an emphasis on applications, of recent developments on the interaction between characteristic class theories for singular spaces and Saito's theory of mixed Hodge modules in the complex algebraic context.

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arXiv2013

Characteristic classes of singular toric varieties

In this paper we compute the motivic Chern classes and homology Hirzebruch characteristic classes of (possibly singular) toric varieties, which in the complete case fit nicely with a generalized Hirzebruch-Riemann-Roch theorem. As special cases, we obtain new (or recover well-known) formulae for the Baum-Fulton-MacPherson Todd (or MacPherson-Chern) classes of toric varieties, as well as for the Thom-Milnor L-classes of simplicial projective toric varieties. We present two different perspectives for the computation of these characteristic classes of toric varieties. First, we take advantage of the torus-orbit decomposition and the motivic properties of the motivic Chern and resp. homology Hirzebruch classes to express the latter in terms of dualizing sheaves and resp. the (dual) Todd classes of closures of orbits. This method even applies to torus-invariant subspaces of a given toric variety. The obtained formula is then applied to weighted lattice point counting in lattice polytopes and their subcomplexes, yielding generalized Pick-type formulae. Secondly, in the case of simplicial toric varieties, we compute our characteristic classes by using the Lefschetz-Riemann-Roch theorem of Edidin-Graham in the context of the geometric quotient description of such varieties. In this setting, we define mock Hirzebruch classes of simplicial toric varieties and investigate the difference between the (actual) homology Hirzebruch class and the mock Hirzebruch class. We show that this difference is localized on the singular locus, and we obtain a formula for it in which the contribution of each singular cone is identified explicitly. Finally, the two methods of computing characteristic classes are combined for proving several characteristic class formulae originally obtained by Cappell and Shaneson in the early 1990s.

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arXiv2013

Hirzebruch-Milnor classes of complete intersections

We prove a new formula for the Hirzebruch-Milnor classes of global complete intersections with arbitrary singularities describing the difference between the Hirzebruch classes and the virtual ones. This generalizes a formula for the Chern-Milnor classes in the hypersurface case that was conjectured by S. Yokura and was proved by A. Parusinski and P. Pragacz. It also generalizes a formula of J. Seade and T. Suwa for the Chern-Milnor classes of complete intersections with isolated singularities.

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arXiv2012

Characteristic classes of symmetric products of complex quasi-projective varieties

We prove generating series formulae for suitable twisted characteristic classes of symmetric products of a singular complex quasi-projective variety. More concretely, we study homology Hirzebruch classes for motivic coefficients, as well as for complexes of mixed Hodge modules. As a special case, we obtain a generating series formula for the (intersection) homology Hirzebruch classes of symmetric products. In some cases, the latter yields a similar formula for twisted homology L-classes generalizing results of Hirzebruch-Zagier and Moonen. Our methods also apply to the study of Todd classes of (complexes of) coherent sheaves, as well as Chern classes of (complexes of) constructible sheaves, generalizing to arbitrary coefficients results of Moonen and resp. Ohmoto.

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arXiv2012

Characteristic classes of Hilbert schemes of points via symmetric products

We obtain a formula for the generating series of (the push-forward under the Hilbert-Chow morphism of) the Hirzebruch homology characteristic classes of the Hilbert schemes of points for a smooth quasi-projective variety of arbitrary pure dimension. This result is based on a geometric construction of a motivic exponentiation generalizing the notion of motivic power structure, as well as on a formula for the generating series of the Hirzebruch homology characteristic classes of symmetric products. We apply the same methods for the calculation of generating series formulae for the Hirzebruch classes of the push-forwards of "virtual motives" of Hilbert schemes of a threefold. As corollaries, we obtain counterparts for the MacPherson (and Aluffi) Chern classes of Hilbert schemes of a smooth quasi-projective variety (resp. for threefolds). For a projective Calabi-Yau threefold, the latter yields a Chern class version of the dimension zero MNOP conjecture.

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arXiv2011

Grothendieck groups and a categorification of additive invariants

A topologically-invariant and additive homology class is mostly not a natural transformation as it is. In this paper we discuss turning such a homology class into a natural transformation; i.e., a "categorification" of it. In a general categorical set-up we introduce a generalized relative Grothendieck group from a cospan of functors of categories and also consider a categorification of additive invariants on objects. As an example, we obtain a general theory of characteristic homology classes of singular varieties.

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arXiv2011

Equivariant characteristic classes of singular complex algebraic varieties

Homology Hirzebruch characteristic classes for singular varieties have been recently defined by Brasselet-Schuermann-Yokura as an attempt to unify previously known characteristic class theories for singular spaces (e.g., MacPherson-Chern classes, Baum-Fulton-MacPherson Todd classes, and Goresky-MacPherson L-classes, respectively). In this note we define equivariant analogues of these classes for singular quasi-projective varieties acted upon by a finite group of algebraic automorphisms, and show how these can be used to calculate the homology Hirzebruch classes of global quotient varieties. We also compute the new classes in the context of monodromy problems, e.g., for varieties that fiber equivariantly (in the complex topology) over a connected algebraic manifold. As another application, we discuss Atiyah-Meyer type formulae for twisted Hirzebruch classes of global orbifolds.

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