0000000000061408
AUTHOR
David Mond
Stable Images and Discriminants
We show that the discriminant/image of a stable perturbation of a germ of finite \(\mathcal {A}\)-codimension is a hypersurface with the homotopy type of a wedge of spheres in middle dimension, provided the target dimension does not exceed the source dimension by more than one. The number of spheres in the wedge is called the discriminant Milnor number/image Milnor number. We prove a lemma showing how to calculate this number, and show that when the target dimension does not exceed the source dimension, the discriminant Milnor number and the \(\mathcal {A}\)-codimension obey the “Milnor–Tjurina relation” familiar in the case of isolated hypersurface singularities. This relation remains conj…
Manifolds and Smooth Mappings
This is a preparatory chapter giving the necessary standard background on smooth and complex manifolds and maps.
Left-Right Equivalence and Stability
We introduce the key equivalence relations on germs of maps, which play an important role throughout the book—right-equivalence and left-right equivalence (A-equivalence). These are induced by groups of diffeomorphisms, so equivalence classes have tangent spaces, and we calculate many examples, including some multi-germs. We introduce the notions of stability and finite determinacy, and prove Mather’s infinitesimal criterion for stability.
Classification of Stable Germs by Their Local Algebras
We prove Mather’s theorem that stable germs are classified up to \(\mathscr {A}\)-equivalence by their local algebras. We sketch his calculation of the nice dimensions, together with his classification of stable germs in the nice dimensions, and prove that in the nice dimensions every stable germ is quasi-homogeneous with respect to suitable coordinates.
Logarithmic Vector Fields and the Severi Strata in the Discriminant
The discriminant, D, in the base of a miniversal deformation of an irreducible plane curve singularity, is partitioned according to the genus of the (singular) fibre, or, equivalently, by the sum of the delta invariants of the singular points of the fibre. The members of the partition are known as the Severi strata. The smallest is the δ-constant stratum, D(δ), where the genus of the fibre is 0. It is well known, by work of Givental’ and Varchenko, to be Lagrangian with respect to the symplectic form Ω obtained by pulling back the intersection form on the cohomology of the fibre via the period mapping. We show that the remaining Severi strata are also co-isotropic with respect to Ω, and mor…
Milnor Number Equals Tjurina Number for Functions on Space Curves
The equality of the Milnor number and Tjurina number for functions on space curve singularities, as conjectured recently by V. Goryunov, is proved. As a consequence, the discriminant in such a situation is a free divisor.
Stochastic factorizations, sandwiched simplices and the topology of the space of explanations
We study the space of stochastic factorizations of a stochastic matrix V, motivated by the statistical problem of hidden random variables. We show that this space is homeomorphic to the space of simplices sandwiched between two nested convex polyhedra, and use this geometrical model to gain some insight into its structure and topology. We prove theorems describing its homotopy type, and, in the case where the rank of V is 2, we give a complete description, including bounds on the number of connected components, and examples in which these bounds are attained. We attempt to make the notions of topology accessible and relevant to statisticians.
Calculating the Homology of the Image
We introduce the alternating homology of a space with a symmetric group action, and give a new construction of the image computing spectral sequence (ICSS), which computes the homology of the image of a finite map from the alternating homology of its multiple point spaces. We illustrate and motivate the ICSS with simple examples.
Multiple Points in the Target: The Case of Parameterised Hypersurfaces
We focus on parameterised hypersurfaces, and explore the information one can obtain from the matrix of a presentation of the push-forward of the structure sheaf, through the use of Fitting ideals. We show that in a number of cases the spaces defined by the Fitting ideals are Cohen–Macaulay, extending the previously known range. We prove the Milnor–Tjurina relation for parameterised hypersurfaces whose dimension is no greater than two.