Algebraic Geometry Seminar
Brooke Ullery
University of Michigan
Normality of Secant Varieties
Abstract: If X is a smooth variety embedded in projective space, we can form a new variety by looking at the closure of the union of all the lines through 2 points on X. This is called the secant variety to X. Similarly, the Hilbert scheme of 2 points on X parametrizes all length 2 zero-dimensional subschemes. I will talk about how these two constructions are related. More specifically, I will show how we can use certain tautological vector bundles on the Hilbert scheme to help us understand the geometry of the secant variety, leading to a proof that for sufficiently positive embeddings of X, the secant variety is a normal variety.
Wednesday October 29, 2014 at 4:00 PM in SEO 427