Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-geometry-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2009/b/5/i/solution
Past exam of the geometry course of the University of Oxford 2009 B 5 i Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-31
An inflection point of an algebraic plane curve is a smooth point where the tangent has intersection multiplicity at least three. For a homogeneous defining polynomial of degree , its Hessian curve is defined by the determinant of the matrix of second partial derivatives, of degree . In characteristic zero, the smooth inflection points are exactly the smooth points of .
For a local verification, move a smooth point to and its tangent to , and scale so . The tangent contact is at least three exactly when . The homogeneous Euler identities give the Hessian matrix at that point as , whose determinant is . This proves the criterion for .
For the given cubic, the singularity equations are . No coordinate can vanish at a projective solution, since that would force all three to vanish. Multiplying the equations therefore gives , so singularity requires . Conversely, under that condition the point satisfies all three equations, and the Euler identity places it on the cubic. Thus
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