Questions tagged [real-algebraic-geometry]

Real algebraic geometry is the study of real solutions to algebraic equations with real coefficients. Its methods are rather different from classical algebraic geometry, which is typically done over an algebraically closed field (like the complex numbers).

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Positive 4-form

Denote by $W$ the space of all symmetric bilinear forms on $\mathbb{R}^n$. Let $Q$ be a quadratic form on $W$. Suppose that $Q(b)\geqslant 0$ for any $b\in W$ such that $b(X,Y)=\ell(X)\cdot\ell(Y)$ ...
Anton Petrunin's user avatar
12 votes
1 answer
990 views

Positive quadratic polynomial

Let $S$ be solutions of a system of quadratic polynomials on $\mathbb{R}^n$. Suppose $q$ is another quadratic polynomial such that $q|_S\geqslant 0$. Is it possible to find a polynomial $\tilde q$ ...
Anton Petrunin's user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
54 views

Sufficient condition for pair of real quadrics to have real intersection

In the following, when I talk about the zero of a homogeneous polynomial I always mean a projective zero. Let $ q $ be a real quadric. Then $ q $ has a real zero if and only if $ q $ has indefinite ...
Ian Gershon Teixeira's user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
89 views

Real-isability of a (relatively small) subconfiguration of the Klein configuration

The Klein configuration consists of $60$ points and $60$ planes in $\mathbb C\mathbf P^3$, each point lying on $15$ of the planes and each plane containing $15$ of the points. It appears, among many ...
მამუკა ჯიბლაძე's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
206 views

How small need a perturbation be to not change the diffeomorphism type of a variety?

Let $f,g \in \mathbb{R}[x_0,\dots,x_k]$ be homogeneous polynomials and $X:=Z(f) \subset \mathbb{RP}^k$ be the projective variety defined by $f$. Assume that $X$ is smooth and has codimension $1$. Then ...
user505117's user avatar
5 votes
2 answers
257 views

An inequality problem for certain positive-definite matrices

Suppose that $G=(G_{ij})$ is an $n\times n$ positive-definite symmetric matrix with the diagonal entries all equal $1$ and all off-diagonal entries $<0$. Let $a$ be a column $n\times1$ matrix such ...
Iosif Pinelis's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
195 views

An inequality for certain positive-definite matrices

Suppose that $G=(G_{ij})$ is an $n\times n$ positive-definite symmetric matrix with the diagonal entries all equal $1$ and all off-diagonal entries $\le0$. Let $a$ be a column $n\times1$ matrix with ...
Iosif Pinelis's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
399 views

An inequality for certain positive-semidefinite matrices

Suppose that $G=(G_{ij})$ is a positive-semidefinite symmetric matrix with the diagonal entries all equal $1$ and all off-diagonal entries $\le0$. Does it then necessarily follow that $$\sum_{i,j}(G^5)...
Iosif Pinelis's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
109 views

How many strict local minima can a quintic polynomial in two real variables have?

A quadratic or cubic polynomial (in two variables) can have at most one strict local minimum. A quartic polynomial can have up to five strict local minima [1]. So, how many strict local minima can a ...
Pavel Kocourek's user avatar
9 votes
1 answer
583 views

How many saddle points can a quartic polynomial in two real variables have? All 9?

By Bézout's theorem a quartic polynomial $p(x,y)$ can have at most 9 isolated critical points. Can all of them be saddle points? In case of a cubic polynomial there is a mechanical way to answer this ...
Pavel Kocourek's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
901 views

Can a cubic polynomial in two real variables have three saddle points?

Is there a cubic polynomial $c(x,y)$ with exactly 3 saddle point critical points? In other words, can a cubic polynomial in two variables have three critical points, all of which are saddle points? ...
Pavel Kocourek's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
57 views

Feasibility of a polynomial system of equalities and inequalities

Consider a system of the form $f_i(x) = 0$ and $g_j(x) \ge 0$ ,where $f_i,i=1,\dots,r$ and $g_j,j=1,\dots,s$ are polynomials in real unknowns $x_i,i=1,\dots,n$ with rational coefficients. Is there a ...
giulio bullsaver's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
315 views

The real dimension of any real algebraic set equals the complex dimension of its complexification

I want to prove the following statement. Please help! Given any semialgebraic set $A$, consider its real Zariski closure $V_{\mathbb{R}}$ (which always has the same real dimension of $A$). Now ...
user86954's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
132 views

Does Thom-Milnor theorem provide a bound for the number of connected components of a zero set of a polynomial system?

I have a system $$f_1(x_1,\dots,x_m) = 0,...,f_p(x_1,\dots,x_m) = 0,$$ where $f_1,\dots,f_p$ are real polynomials and $x_1,\dots,x_m$ are real independent variables. I'm interested in an upper bound ...
Vladimir Zolotov's user avatar
29 votes
1 answer
1k views

Can a real quartic polynomial in two variables have more than 4 isolated local minima?

This question: "Can a real quartic polynomial in two variables have at most 4 isolated local minima?" came up in this post on Math SE but with no answer so far. Finding examples of 4 ...
Jap88's user avatar
  • 431
0 votes
1 answer
275 views

Roots of linear combination of $x \sin x$

Let $\theta=(\theta_1,\theta_2,\cdots \theta_n)$, and $a_{ij}$ are constants. There is no condition on the positiveness of $a_{ij}$. Under which condition on $\theta$, such that the following function ...
M.K's user avatar
  • 143
2 votes
1 answer
191 views

What do the Pauli matrices say about the Threefold Way?

The Pauli matrices $$\sigma_1=\begin{pmatrix} 0 & 1 \\ 1 & 0 \end{pmatrix}, \sigma_2=\begin{pmatrix} 0 & -i \\ i & 0 \end{pmatrix}, \sigma_3=\begin{pmatrix} 1 & 0 \\ 0 & -1 \...
Andrius Kulikauskas's user avatar
6 votes
2 answers
600 views

Consequences of Nash-Tognoli Theorem

The Nash-Tognoli theorem states that every closed and smooth manifold is diffeomorphic to a real algebraic variety. This appears to me as a very strong and surprising fact. However, I am not aware of ...
David.D's user avatar
  • 423
4 votes
1 answer
159 views

Is a continuous rational function Lipschitz?

Let $f\in \mathbb{R}(x_1,\ldots,x_n)$ be a rational function. Suppose that $f$ is continuous on $\mathbb{R} ^n$. Must it be Lipschitz on the unit ball? This question might be related to Are continuous ...
Rami's user avatar
  • 2,461
2 votes
0 answers
178 views

Degree four polynomials with no real roots

Consider a degree four polynomial $$ f = a_4x^4 + a_3x^3 + a_2x^2 + a_1x+ a_0 \in \mathbb{R}[x] $$ with real coefficients. The discriminant $\Delta_f$ of $f$ is a homogeneous polynomials of degree six ...
BlaCa's user avatar
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3 votes
0 answers
70 views

Monge–Ampère equation with polynomials

Let $P$ be a real polynomial of $n$ variables. Does the Monge–Ampère equation $$ \det D^2 Q=P $$ always have a (global) real polynomial solution $Q$? I think this should be something standard, but I ...
Thomas Yang's user avatar
10 votes
2 answers
421 views

A category of spaces in which $\mathbb{R}_{>0}$ is not isomorphic to $\mathbb{R}$

$\def\CC{\mathbb{C}}\def\RR{\mathbb{R}}$I am writing up notes on totally positivity in flag varieties. I often have the following situation: I have a complex variety $X$ defined over $\RR$ and a real ...
David E Speyer's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
123 views

Is the Segre embedding of two real varieties a real variety?

$\newcommand{\complex}{\mathbb{C}}\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb{R}}\newcommand{\proj}{\mathbb{P}}\DeclareMathOperator\Hom{Hom}\DeclareMathOperator\Seg{Seg}$I apologize in advance for my naïve ...
Ben's user avatar
  • 1,000
3 votes
0 answers
127 views

Topology types in families of real or complex varieties

In René Thom, "Structural Stability and Morphogenesis" on p. 21ff there is the following statement: Let $$P_j(x_i,s_k) = 0$$ be a set of polynomial equations over the real or complex numbers,...
Jürgen Böhm's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
112 views

Multivariate polynomials with given real zeros

Given natural numbers $N$ and $n$, I am looking for a family $P_{Nn}$ of polynomials in $n$ variables with the following properties: (i) Every polynomial in $P_{Nn}$ is determined by the function ...
Arnold Neumaier's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
419 views

About Euclidean distances

$\newcommand\R{\mathbb R}$Let $0<d_1<\cdots<d_k<\infty$ and let $m_1,\dots,m_k$ be any integers $\ge1$. Let $n:=m_1+\dots+m_k-1$. Let $d$ denote the Euclidean distance in $\R^n$. Do then ...
Iosif Pinelis's user avatar
9 votes
0 answers
277 views

Computer algebra tools for finding real dimension of an algebraic variety

I have a system of polynomial equations with the unknowns being real numbers. The set of solutions is infinite. What software can I use to compute the real dimension of the solution set? The CAD-based ...
bcp's user avatar
  • 165
0 votes
1 answer
427 views

Plot two implicit surfaces in 3D and highlight their intersection [closed]

I want to plot the two surfaces which are defined in $ \mathbb{ R }^3 \ni ( x, y, z ) $ via the equations $ 0 = y^2 - x*(x^2 + 1) $ and $ 0 = z^2 - y*(y^2 + 1) $, respectively. Moreover, I want also ...
diddy's user avatar
  • 327
1 vote
1 answer
294 views

An inequality in four variables

Let $f(x,y)=\frac{10xy-(x+y)+1}{8xy-2(x+y)+5}$ and $g(x,y)=\frac{1}{4}\left[1+\frac{1}{3}(4x-1)(4y-1)\right]$. I want to prove that for any $0.5\le a\le b\le 1$ and $0.7\le c\le d\le 1$, it holds that ...
lchen's user avatar
  • 459
16 votes
1 answer
1k views

Is the "equidistant curve" to an algebraic curve algebraic?

Let $ L \subseteq \mathbb{R}^2 $ be a smooth real algebraic curve. Let's fix some parameter $ \delta \in \mathbb{R} $ and for every point $ (x,y) \in L $ define $$ L_{\delta}(x,y) = (x,y) + \delta n(x,...
Danil Skuridin's user avatar
10 votes
1 answer
265 views

Rational even polynomials maximally tangent to the unit circle

This question is motivated by College Mathematics Journal problem 1196, proposed by Ferenc Beleznay and Daniel Hwang. My solution to this problem (pre-publication version here) uses Chebyshev ...
Mark Wildon's user avatar
  • 10.6k
3 votes
1 answer
184 views

Positivity of real functions in two variables

Assume that $f_0,f_1,f_2$ are polynomial functions of degree two in two variables. This means that the $f_i$ are linear combinations with real coefficients of $x^2,xy,x,y^2,y,1$. Consider the function ...
BlaCa's user avatar
  • 1
5 votes
4 answers
346 views

Dual norm of a subspace of $\ell_\infty^3$

We define a norm on $\mathbb C^2$ as $\|(\alpha,\beta)\|:=\max\left\{|\alpha|,|\beta|,\big|\frac{\alpha+\beta}{\sqrt{2}}\big|\right\}.$ Can the dual norm be calculated explicitly?
A beginner mathmatician's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
205 views

Fixed points of a function $z\mapsto\overline{P(z)}$ of a complex variable

The equation $z^2=\overline{z}$ has four zeros and this example motivates us to generalize the problem to this form; How many zeros does the equation $P(z)=\overline{z}$ have if $P(z)$ is a polynomial ...
user159888's user avatar
8 votes
1 answer
219 views

Projections of compact real algebraic sets

Suppose that $M$ is a compact, real algebraic subset of $\mathbb R^n$ and $f:\mathbb R^n \to \mathbb R^m$ is the projection to the first $m$ coordinates. If $f$ maps $M$ bijectively unto its image $f(...
Dmitrii Korshunov's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
272 views

Quantifier elimination in $S^1$

Does quantifier elimination (by cylindrical decomposition) work for systems of polynomial equations and inequalities where some or all of the variables are complex numbers of unit modulus, rather than ...
H A Helfgott's user avatar
  • 18.9k
3 votes
1 answer
194 views

Reference request: ordered list of dimensions of components of a variety?

Let $V$ be an affine real algebraic set. That is, $V$ is the zero set of some polynomials in $\mathbb{R}^n$. I would like to show that there is not a proper algebraic subset $W\subset V$ which admits ...
Ian Agol's user avatar
  • 65.7k
1 vote
0 answers
238 views

When is a topological manifold which is not an almost complex manifold algebraic?

When is a topological manifold which is not an almost complex manifold isomorphic to a real algebraic variety in the sense of locally ringed space? It is well known that Serre's GAGA theorem solves ...
user472602's user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
110 views

An approach to the Atiyah problem on configurations via real semi-algebraic geometry

The cross-ratio $$ C(z_1, z_2; z_3, z_4) = \frac{(z_4 - z_1)(z_3 - z_2)}{(z_3 - z_1)(z_4 - z_2)} $$ has a degree $3$ analogue $$ H(z_1, z_2, z_3; z_4, z_5, z_6) = \frac{(z_5 - z_1)(z_6 - z_2)(z_4 - ...
Malkoun's user avatar
  • 4,487
1 vote
0 answers
90 views

Finite number of topological spaces realized by varieties of bounded degree?

I am not familiar with algebraic geometry so I am sorry if this question is terribly ignorant. Any basic reference is appreciated. Is there a finite bound on the number of topological spaces that can ...
Sprotte's user avatar
  • 973
2 votes
2 answers
180 views

On an angle distribution of a random linear subspace of a given dimension

$\newcommand\R{\mathbb R}$ Let $u$ be a fixed unit vector in $\R^n$, and let $\Pi_u$ be the hyperplane in $\R^n$ with normal vector $u$. Let $B$ be the (say open) unit ball in $\R^n$ centered at the ...
Iosif Pinelis's user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
152 views

Certificates of connectivity of basic semi-algebraic sets

Given real polynomials $p_1, \ldots, p_n \in {\mathbb R}[x_1, \ldots, x_d]$, consider the closed basic semi-algebraic set $S \subseteq {\mathbb R}^d$ given by $$S := \{x \in {\mathbb R}^d : p_i(x) \...
opti's user avatar
  • 51
6 votes
1 answer
390 views

Homotopy equivalence of stably equivalent semialgebraic sets

In his book [1], Richter-Gebert introduces a notion of stable equivalence for primary basic semialgebraic sets (subsets of $\mathbb{R}^n$ defined by a conjunction of polynomial equations and strict ...
Tobias Boege's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
97 views

Only Zariski-closed subsets of compact Lie groups with nonempty interior have nonzero measure

In this question, the following fact was used by the respondent A Zariski-closed subset of a compact Lie group $G$ with nonzero Haar measure contains a coset of $G^0$, the connected component of $G$ ...
Meisam Soleimani Malekan's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
185 views

Convex hull of a variety in real space

I am a physicist currently working on a question posed as part of an algebraic geometric description of a physical set: I did not find a question that is closely related to what I am searching for yet,...
Timo59's user avatar
  • 71
2 votes
1 answer
269 views

If a variety over a real closed field has finitely many points they are singular

Let $F$ be a real closed field. Let $X$ be a positive-dimensional algebraic variety over $F$. If $X$ finitely many $F$-points are they all singular?
nedelcho's user avatar
4 votes
0 answers
111 views

Delta distributions that are smooth on strata of a singular manifold

This is a mild reformulation of a previous question. Let $R = C^\infty(\mathbb{R}^N)$ and let $I$ be an ideal in $R$ which cuts out an $n$-dimensional "singular $C^\infty$ manifold $X$" in $\...
Dmitry Vaintrob's user avatar
6 votes
0 answers
87 views

forms on singular spaces that can be integrated on an LCI

I'd like to characterize rational $k$-forms on a singular scheme $X$ which can be integrated on any (real) bounded submanifold that is locally LCI in $X$ in a real sense (i.e., which is the real ...
Dmitry Vaintrob's user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
212 views

Characterizing non-zero polynomials on semialgebraic sets: a kind of positivstellensatz generalization

A polynomial positivstellensatz is an algebraic characterization of polynomials which are positive on a semialgebraic sets. Is there a similar kind of characterization which can determine whether a ...
opti's user avatar
  • 51
9 votes
2 answers
690 views

Bialynicki-Birula decomposition for real analytic varieties

Let $X$ be a smooth complex algebraic variety endowed with a $\mathbb{C}^*$ action. We assume also to have an antiholomorphic involution $\sigma$ over $X$ such that it anticommutes with the action ...
Tommaso Scognamiglio's user avatar

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