arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Pim Spelier.
We define a new theory of logarithmic Gromov--Witten invariants allowing negative contact orders using pierced logarithmic curves. We prove that these classes satisfy logarithmic birational invariance and satisfy loop and splitting theorems generalising those for classical Gromov--Witten invariants.
As the mathematical capabilities of large language models (LLMs) improve, it becomes increasingly important to evaluate their performance on research-level tasks at the frontier of mathematical knowledge. However, existing benchmarks are limited, as they focus solely on final-answer questions or high-school competition problems. To address this gap, we introduce IMProofBench, a private benchmark consisting of 77 peer-reviewed problems developed by expert mathematicians. Each problem requires a detailed proof and is paired with subproblems that have final answers, supporting both an evaluation by human experts and a large-scale quantitative analysis through automated grading. Furthermore, unlike prior benchmarks, the evaluation setup simulates a realistic research environment: models operate in an agentic framework with tools like web search for literature review and mathematical software such as SageMath. Our results show that current LLMs can already solve a significant percentage of research-level questions. IMProofBench will continue to evolve as a dynamic benchmark in collaboration with the mathematical community, ensuring its relevance for evaluating the next generation of LLMs.
The logarithmic double ramification cycle is roughly a logarithmic Gromov--Witten invariant of $\mathbb{P}^1$. For classical Gromov--Witten invariants, formulas for the pullback along the gluing maps have been invaluable to the theory. For logarithmic Gromov--Witten invariants, such formulas have not yet been found. One issue is the fact that log stable maps cannot be glued. In this paper, we use the framework from [HS23] for gluing pierced log curves (a refinement of classical log curves) to give formulas for the pullback of the (log) (twisted) double ramification cycle along the loop gluing map.
We define a Grothendieck ring of varieties for log schemes. It is generated by one additional class ``$P$'' over the usual Grothendieck ring. We show the na\"ive definition of log Hodge numbers does not make sense for all log schemes. We offer an alternative that does.
We define the logarithmic tautological rings of the moduli spaces of Deligne-Mumford stable curves (together with a set of additive generators lifting the decorated strata classes of the standard tautological rings). While these algebras are infinite dimensional, a connection to polyhedral combinatorics via a new theory of homological piecewise polynomials allows an effective study. A complete calculation is given in genus 0 via the algebra of piecewise polynomials on the cone stack of the associated Artin fan (lifting Keel's presentation of the Chow ring of $\overline{\mathcal{M}}_{0,n}$). Counterexamples to the simplest generalizations in genus 1 are presented. We show, however, that the structure of the log tautological rings is determined by the complete knowledge of all relations in the standard tautological rings of the moduli spaces of curves. In particular, Pixton's conjecture concerning relations in the standard tautological rings lifts to a complete conjecture for relations in the log tautological rings of the moduli spaces of curves. Several open questions are discussed. We develop the entire theory of logarithmic tautological classes in the context of arbitrary smooth normal crossings pairs $(X,D)$ with explicit formulas for intersection products. As a special case, we give an explicit set of additive generators of the full logarithmic Chow ring of $(X,D)$ in terms of Chow classes on the strata of $X$ and piecewise polynomials on the cone stack.
Let $A = (a_1,\dots,a_n)\in \mathbb{Z}^n$ be a sequence with sum $k(2g-2+n)$. The double ramification cycle $\mathsf{DR}_g(A) \in \mathsf{CH}^g(\bar{\mathcal{M}}_{g,n})$ is the virtual class of the locus of curves $(C,p_1,\dots,p_n)$ where the line bundle $(\omega_C^{\log})^{-k}\left(\sum a_i p_i\right)$ is trivial. Although there has long been a formula for $\mathsf{DR}_g(A)$ [JPPZ17], the exact dependence on $A$ was unknown for a long time, though it was conjectured to be polynomial in $A$. A proof was announced in [JPPZ17], and Pixton gave a proof incorporating ideas of Zagier in [Pix23]. Here we present an alternative proof of the polynomiality of the double ramification cycle.
Quadratic Chabauty is a $p$-adic method for determining rational points on curves. Local heights are arithmetic invariants used in the quadratic Chabauty method. We present an algorithm to compute these local heights for hyperelliptic curves at odd primes $\ell \neq p$. This algorithm significantly broadens the applicability of quadratic Chabauty to curves which were previously inaccessible due to the presence of non-trivial local heights. We provide numerous examples, including the first quadratic Chabauty computation for a curve having two primes with non-trivial local heights.
We introduce a new logarithmic structure on the moduli stack of stable curves, admitting logarithmic gluing maps. Using this we define cohomological field theories taking values in the logarithmic Chow cohomology ring, a refinement of the usual notion of a cohomological field theory. We realise the double ramification cycle as a partial logarithmic cohomological field theory.
Let $X$ be a curve of genus $g>1$ over $\mathbb{Q}$ whose Jacobian $J$ has Mordell--Weil rank $r$ and N\'eron--Severi rank $\rho$. When $r < g+ \rho - 1$, the geometric quadratic Chabauty method determines a finite set of $p$-adic points containing the rational points of $X$. We describe algorithms for geometric quadratic Chabauty that translate the geometric quadratic Chabauty method into the language of $p$-adic heights and $p$-adic (Coleman) integrals. This translation also allows us to give a comparison to the (original) cohomological method for quadratic Chabauty. We show that the finite set of $p$-adic points produced by the geometric method is contained in the finite set produced by the cohomological method, and give a description of their difference.
Enriched curves have been studied over algebraically closed fields by Main\`o ([Mai98]) and recently over general base schemes in [BH19]. In this paper, we study enriched curves from a logarithmic viewpoint: we give a succinct definition of the stack of rich log curves, which is an open substack of the stack of log curves, and define an enriched curve to be a curve with a minimal rich log structure on it. This logarithmic view point turns out to be a natural language for enriched structures, leading naturally to a simple modular compactification. This modular compactification is a smooth log blowup of the stack of log curves, answering affirmatively two questions from [BH19]. We also generalise the concept of rich curves to $r$-rich curves, and show similar results. We include a chapter phrasing some of the key definitions solely in the language of real tropical geometry.
The Chabauty-Coleman method is a $p$-adic method for finding all rational points on curves of genus $g$ whose Jacobians have Mordell-Weil rank $r < g$. Recently, Edixhoven and Lido developed a geometric quadratic Chabauty method that was adapted by Spelier to cover the case of geometric linear Chabauty. We compare the geometric linear Chabauty method and the Chabauty-Coleman method and show that geometric linear Chabauty can outperform Chabauty-Coleman in certain cases. However, as Chabauty-Coleman remains more practical for general computations, we discuss how to strengthen Chabauty-Coleman to make it theoretically equivalent to geometric linear Chabauty. We apply these methods to genus 2 and genus 3 curves.
Given a finite abelian group $G$ and $t\in \mathbb{N}$, there are two natural types of subsets of the Cartesian power $G^t$; namely, Cartesian powers $S^t$ where $S$ is a subset of $G$, and (cosets of) subgroups $H$ of $G^t$. A basic question is whether two such sets intersect. In this paper, we show that this decision problem is NP-complete. Furthermore, for fixed $G$ and $S$ we give a complete classification: we determine conditions for when the problem is NP-complete, and show that in all other cases the problem is solvable in polynomial time. These theorems play a key role in the classification of algebraic decision problems in finitely generated rings developed in [Spe21].
Given an order, a commutative ring whose additive group is free of finite rank, a natural computational question is whether a fixed univariate polynomial $f \in \mathbb{Z}[X]$ has a root in this ring. In this paper, we show that the computational difficulty of this depends strongly on the arithmetic properties of $f$. We show that with probability 1, determining whether $f$ has a root is NP-complete. For $\text{deg } f \leq 3$ we give a full classification of the computational complexity: some special $f$ admit a polynomial-time algorithm, and for all other $f$ the problem is NP-complete. Additionally, we prove the problem is undecidable for $f = (X^2+1)^2$, conditional on Hilberts Tenth Problem for $\mathbb{Q}(i)$. The key ingredients for proving NP-completeness are a new source of NP-complete group-theoretic problems developed in previous work, and a full classification of cubic polynomials with discriminant divisible only by $3$.