Search arXiv⌕ Search
Home/Archive/arXiv

arXiv · math/0402394

On tangents to quadric surfaces

Ciprian Borcea·Xavier Goaoc·Sylvain Lazard·Sylvain Petitjean
View original source ↗Read source document ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

We study the variety of common tangents for up to four quadric surfaces in projective three-space, with particular regard to configurations of four quadrics admitting a continuum of common tangents. We formulate geometrical conditions in the projective space defined by all complex quadric surfaces which express the fact that several quadrics are tangent along a curve to one and the same quadric of rank at least three, and called, for intuitive reasons: a basket. Lines in any ruling of the latter will be common tangents. These considerations are then restricted to spheres in Euclidean three-space, and result in a complete answer to the question over the reals: ``When do four spheres allow infinitely many common tangents?''.

Explore related subjects

math.AG

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Ciprian Borcea, Xavier Goaoc, Sylvain Lazard, Sylvain Petitjean. 2004-02-24. On tangents to quadric surfaces. https://arxiv.org/abs/math/0402394

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

arXiv2026

G3-Criteria and Applications

The G3-property of a subvariety was introduced by Hironaka-Matsumura, and plays an important role for deducing connectedness and extension results. Unfortunately, it's a rather elusive notion, which is not always easy to establish. Most of the existing work is concentrated on subvarieties of homogeneous varieties. The first goal of this article is to show that mobility assumptions on the subvariety, considered in works of Badescu, Chow, Debarre, Voisin, yield a certain partial positivity property, slightly stronger than G3, previously introduced by the author. Second, we apply the result to prove that, in numerous situations, the splitting of the normal bundle of a smooth two-codimensional subvariety implies that it is a complete intersection.

math.AG↗
arXiv2026

Nodal degeneration of chiral algebras I: Global structure and gluing formula

We define a natural extension of a universal factorization algebra $\mathcal{A}$ to families of stable punctured curves, by integrating over all semistable modifications. We prove that the resulting sheaf of factorization homology satisfies a natural gluing formula, by tensoring over a certain derived associative algebra $\mathfrak{Z}_{\mathcal{A}}^0$, generalizing the Verlinde formula for gluing of conformal blocks.

math.AG↗