# Intersection of a smooth projective variety and a plane

Let $X \subset P^n$ be an irreducible smooth complex projective variety embedded in the $n$-dimensional projective space. Let $k$ be the dimension of $X$ and $d$ its degree. Let $L \subset P^n$ be a linear subspace of dimension $n-k$ and $Z=L \cap X$. Assume that

(a) $X$ is not contained in any hyperplane of $P^n$ and

(b) $Z$ is finite of cardinality $d$.

Question: Is it true that $Z$ spans $L$?

Comment: I was told that this is true if $X$ is ACM (arithmetically Cohen-Macaulay). A reference for this would be appreciated.

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It is true that $Z$ spans $L$ — even if $X$ isn't ACM. You can also allow $X$ to be singular (but you do need $X$ irreducible and non-degenerate, of course). To illustrate one of the main ideas it is useful to first look at the case when $X$ is a curve.

If $X$ is a curve. Let $M$ be the span of $Z$ and suppose that $M\neq L$. (In the curve case, $L$ will be a hyperplane). Let $p$ be any point of $X$ outside of $Z$ and let $H$ be any hyperplane containing $M$ and $p$. Then $H\cap X$ contains at least $d+1$ points, so by Bezout's theorem the intersection cannot be zero dimensional. Since $X$ is irreducible and one dimensional, this means that the intersection must be all of $X$, so $X$ is contained in $H$, contrary to hypothesis.

The general case. The idea when $k\geqslant 2$ is to show that if $H$ is a general hyperplane containing $L$ then $H \cap X$ is irreducible and non-degenerate (i.e, the intersection $H\cap X$ is not contained in a smaller linear space of $H$). But now all dimensions have been reduced by $1$, and so iterating this procedure reduces us to the curve case, which we've already solved.

To set this up, note that hyperplanes in $\mathbb{P}^n$ containing $L$ are parameterized by a $\mathbb{P}^{k-1}$ (If $V$ is the underlying vector space of $\mathbb{P}^{n}$, $W$ the underlying vector space of $L$, then the hyperplanes are parameterized by the projectivization of $(V/W)^{*}$). We'll use $H$ to refer both to a point of $\mathbb{P}^{k-1}$ and the corresponding hyperplane in $\mathbb{P}^n$ containing $L$. Define $\Gamma\subset \mathbb{P}^{k-1}\times (X\setminus Z)$ to be the set

$$\Gamma = \left\{(H,p) \mid p\in H\right\}$$

i.e, the pairs $(H,p)$ so that $H$ is a hyperplane containing $L$, and $p$ a point of $H\cap X$ not on $Z$.

If we fix $p$, then the set of possible $H$'s satisfying this condition are simply the hyperplanes $H$ containing the span of $L$ and $p$, and this is parameterized by a $\mathbb{P}^{k-2}$. In other words, $\Gamma$ is a $\mathbb{P}^{k-2}$ bundle over $X\setminus Z$. (This fibration is where we use $k\geqslant 2$.) Since $X\setminus Z$ is irreducible this implies that $\Gamma$ is irreducible.

Let $\overline{\Gamma}$ be the Zariski-closure of $\Gamma$ in $\mathbb{P}^{k-1}\times X$. Then $\overline{\Gamma}$ is irreducible since $\Gamma$ is. For a fixed $H\in \mathbb{P}^{k-1}$ the fibre of the projection $\overline{\Gamma}\longrightarrow \mathbb{P}^{k-1}$ over $H$ is simply the intersection $X\cap H$, of dimension $k-1$.

Now let $q$ be any point of $Z$. Then $q\in X\cap H$ for every $H\in \mathbb{P}^{k-1}$ so $q$ gives a section of $\overline{\Gamma}\longrightarrow\mathbb{P}^{k-1}$. Since $Z$ consists of $d$ distinct points where $d$ is the degree of $X$ we conclude that $q$ is a smooth point of $X$. Finally, since $Z$ is the intersection of all $X\cap H$ for $H\in \mathbb{P}^{k-1}$ this implies that the general intersection $X\cap H$ is smooth at $q$. Summarizing, we have a section of the map which generically lies in the smooth locus of the fibres. Since $\overline{\Gamma}$ is irreducible, this implies that the generic fibre is irreducible, i.e, if $H$ is a generic hyperplane containing $L$, then $H\cap X$ is irreducible.

(The intuitive reason for this implication is that, generically over $\mathbb{P}^{k-1}$ the section lets us pick out precisely one irreducible component of the fibre. The union of these components gives us a subset of $\overline{\Gamma}$ which has the same dimension as $\overline{\Gamma}$, and hence whose closure must be all of $\overline{\Gamma}$ by irreducibility. But if there is more than one component in a general fibre, this is a contradiction, thus the general fibre must be irreducible. To make this intuitive construction rigorous requires passing to the normalization of $\overline{\Gamma}$ and then looking at the Stein factorization of the map from the normalization to $\mathbb{P}^{k-1}$. The section gives a generic section of the finite part of the Stein factorization, and that allows one to construct the union of the components containing the section''.)

Finally, the same trick as in the curve case also shows us that for any hyperplane $H$, $H\cap X$ must be non-degenerate. Let $Y=H\cap X$, so that $Y$ is a variety of degree $d$ and dimension $k-1$. Let $M$ be the span of $Y$. If $M\neq H$ then pick any point $p\in X\setminus Y$ and let $H'$ be any hyperplane containing $M$ and $p$. Then $H'\cap X$ can't be all of $X$ (since this would contradict the non-degeneracy of $X$), so $Y'=H'\cap X$ must be a subvariety of dimension $k-1$ (more precisely, all components of $Y'$ have dimension $k-1$) and degree $d$. But $Y$ is therefore a component of $Y'$, and the equality of degrees tells us that $Y'$ can't have any other components so we must have $Y'=Y$. This contradicts the fact that $p\in Y'$ and $p\not\in Y$.

Together this shows the required inductive step: If $H$ is a general hyperplane containing $L$ then $H\cap X$ is irreducible and non-degenerate.

Other remarks. I'm guessing from the setup of the question that you want to apply the result for a particular $L$ that you have chosen. If, in the application, you're allowed to pick a general $L$ then you can say something stronger. The classical uniform position principle (where ''classical'' in this case means ''established by Joe Harris in the 80's'') states that for a general subspace $L$ of dimension $n-k$ the finite set of $d$-points in $Z=L\cap X$ have the property that any subset of $r+1$ of the points (with $r\leqslant n-k$) span a $\mathbb{P}^{r}$. Picking $r=n-k$, this means that any subset of $n-k+1$ points of $Z$ spans all of $L$, and so in particular $Z$ spans $L$. (Note that $d\geqslant n-k+1$; for instance, as a consequence of the argument above: if $d < n-k+1$ then the $d$ points of $Z$ would never span $L$.)

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Thanks for the edit. I originally couldn't justify your statement "Since $\overline{\Gamma}$ is irreducible with connected fibers over an irreducible base, its general fiber is irreducible." Of course you are right that the section is what helps out here. For other people who may have been confused, a counterexample is given as follows: consider the space of conic plane curves singular at the origin. This is naturally parameterized by a $\mathbb{P}^2$, and one can check the total space of the universal family is irreducible. –  Jack Huizenga Dec 19 '11 at 20:32
Dear Jack - Yes, my previous justification for the irreducibility of the general fibre was completely wrong. I was thinking of the case that $X$ was smooth, and so $\overline{\Gamma}$ could be assumed normal. Then the general fibre is normal and so connectedness implies irreducibility. The general case of (possibly) non-normal $\overline{\Gamma}$ requires the use of the section to get around this, as your example shows. –  Mike Roth Dec 20 '11 at 15:50