The Resultant, Episode 3: Inside the Episode
So we have, at long last, several expressions for the resultant:
Wallpaper Groups
Escher: Alhambra Sketch
I first learned as a kid that “there are only 17 basically different wallpapers” from W.W.Sawyer’s Prelude to Mathematics. (The quote appears on p.102. Aside: this remains an excellent gift for a youngster with a yen for math.) I remember my father pointing out the absurdity of this claim: are all mural wallpapers of van Gogh’s paintings basically the same?
Algebraic Geometry Jottings 12
The Resultant, Episode 3
Last time the linear operator
Φ: Kn[x]⊕Km[x] → Km+n[x]
Φ(p,q)=pE+qF
made its grand entrance, clothed in the Sylvester matrix. (Recall that Kn[x] is the vector space of all polynomials of degree <n with coefficients in K, likewise for Km[x] and Km+n[x].)
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Algebraic Geometry Jottings 11
The Resultant, Episode 2
By now you know the characters: the polynomials E(x) (degree m) and F(x) (degree n) with coefficients in an integral domain R, its fraction field K, and the extension field L of K in which E and F split completely:
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Algebraic Geometry Jottings 10
The Resultant, Episode 1: Inside the Episode
In Episode 1 of our miniseries, “The Resultant”, the characters were introduced: integral domain R with fraction field K and extension field L, and polynomials E(x) and F(x) in R[x], factoring completely in L as a(x–u1)···(x–um) and b(x–v1)···(x–vn). (Repeated roots allowed.) We had our first formulas for the resultant:
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Algebraic Geometry Jottings 9
The Resultant, Episode 1
Time to discuss the resultant; we’ll need it for Kendig’s proof of Bézout’s theorem, but it has other uses too. The story will take several episodes, plus extras. Like a miniseries!
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Algebraic Geometry Jottings 8
Filed under Algebraic Geometry
Algebraic Geometry Jottings 7
Fulton characterizes the intersection number, I(P, E∩F), with seven properties. Let me just repeat the last one:
- I(E∩F) = I(E∩(F+AE)) for any A.
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Algebraic Geometry Jottings 6
The tome Commutative Algebra by Zariski and Samuel opens with the memorable sentence, “This book is the child of an unborn parent.” As Zariski explains,
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Algebraic Geometry Jottings 5
We’ve been looking at Kendig‘s two definitions of intersection multiplicity; now let’s look at Fulton‘s.
Fulton characterizes the multiplicity I(E∩F) with seven properties (§3.3). (Fulton calls it the intersection number. Also, he writes I(P,E∩F) for the intersection number at P. I’ll usually assume P is the origin O, and omit writing it.) The last three properties stand out:
Filed under Algebraic Geometry
Diagonal Argument 