The Segre embedding is
Rescaling the two representatives multiplies every target coordinate by the same scalar, and at least one product is nonzero, so the map is well defined. In affine source charts its coordinate ratios are regular products, so it is a morphism.
Arrange target coordinates into a matrix . Every image matrix has rank one and satisfies all homogeneous equations
Conversely, a nonzero matrix satisfying these equations has rank one. Choose and set , . The minors imply . Therefore
a projective variety. The two projective factors are uniquely recoverable from a nonzero column and row. This also shows injectivity and supplies the local inverse formulas used in the next part.
An almost complex structure is a smooth real bundle endomorphism satisfying . In particular the real dimension is even, say . After complexifying, the type decomposition of the complexified tangent bundle is
The corresponding differential forms of type (p, q) are smooth sections of , regarded as alternating forms by the wedge product of differential forms. A form of type vanishes unless its arguments include vectors of type and of type .
Besides vanishing of the Nijenhuis tensor, two equivalent descriptions of an integrable almost complex structure are: the smooth sections of are closed under Lie bracket; and every point has complex coordinates in which is multiplication by , with holomorphic changes of coordinates. The equivalence with existence of these coordinates is the Newlander-Nirenberg theorem for smooth . A further equivalent condition is that the exterior derivative has only the two type components , with no components of bidegree or . Indeed evaluation of of a -form on two vector fields detects the component of their bracket; complex conjugation detects the other component.
For the almost complex structure induced by a complex atlas, write and put , . The differentials of holomorphic transition maps are complex linear, so these local definitions agree. In these coordinates has constant coefficients and all coordinate vector fields commute. The expression defining the Nijenhuis tensor is tensorial, so evaluating it on this frame proves it is zero everywhere. Thus the induced structure is integrable.
Here is a direct proof for the smooth submanifolds with invariant complex tangent spaces are complex assertion. At a point of , its tangent space is a complex-linear subspace, of real dimension . Make a complex-linear change of ambient holomorphic coordinates so that this tangent space is . Projection onto the first coordinates has invertible real differential on . The real inverse function theorem states that a smooth map between equal-dimensional manifolds with invertible differential is a diffeomorphism on sufficiently small neighbourhoods. It therefore writes locally as a smooth graph over an open set in .
A tangent vector to this graph is . Its image under is . Tangent-space invariance implies
so satisfies the Cauchy-Riemann equations. Smooth functions satisfying these equations are holomorphic: restrict to each coordinate complex line, use the one-variable criterion, and apply the iterated Cauchy integral formula on a small polydisc to get jointly holomorphic coefficients. Hence the graph parametrization is holomorphic. Restrictions of ambient holomorphic coordinates supply holomorphic transition maps between these graph charts. The restricted structure on is an integrable complex structure. This also proves the induced structure agrees with the original restriction, rather than merely producing some complex structure on .
A nonsingular analytic subvariety is a closed analytic subset which near each of its points is the zero set of a holomorphic submersion of constant rank; equivalently, it is locally a coordinate subspace in holomorphic coordinates. The holomorphic implicit function theorem says that if a holomorphic map to has differential of rank at a zero, its nearby zero set is a complex submanifold of codimension .
The homogeneous equation defines a subset of Complex projective space because multiplying a vector by multiplies its quadratic value by . Its gradient on is , which is nonzero for . More explicitly, in an affine chart set . If all derivatives of the restricted equation vanished at one of its zeros, all components of except possibly the th would vanish. The Euler homogeneous function theorem gives , forcing the remaining component to vanish as well. This contradicts invertibility of . The holomorphic implicit function theorem thus proves is a smooth complex surface.
To see its geometry, reduce the nondegenerate symmetric bilinear form to diagonal form over . There is a vector of nonzero self-pairing, since otherwise polarization would make the entire form zero. Normalize such a vector using a square root of its self-pairing. Its orthogonal complement remains nondegenerate, so induction gives an orthonormal basis. Apply the same argument to the nondegenerate form : the two forms are equivalent under an invertible linear change of variables. The allowed projective linear transformation therefore reduces to
View its coordinates as the nonzero rank-one matrix . At , holding fixed and varying gives a projective line, and holding fixed and varying gives another. They are distinct and meet at . In fact these are the only lines through it: if a second rank-one matrix is , the entire pencil has determinant zero only if , so one projective factor is fixed. These are the two rulings of a smooth quadric surface.
The Segre embedding is the holomorphic map
Every nonzero rank-one matrix has such a factorization, unique up to reciprocal rescaling, so is bijective. Its inverse is holomorphic on each open set where a matrix entry : the projective column recovers , and the projective row recovers . These formulas agree on overlaps. Thus the Segre description of a smooth quadric surface gives the promised stronger conclusion
Use the standard complex orientations and the product orientation. Let satisfy and , and let satisfy . These are the cohomology rings of the product of two spheres and the Complex projective plane.
For a map from the Complex projective plane, write and . Naturality of the cup product gives and . Since has infinite order, . It follows that , so every such map has degree .
In the reverse direction, write . Then
Every even mapping degree really occurs. To construct it, identify with and use the Segre embedding
The generator pulls back to : restricting to either factor gives a projective line and hence coefficient . By the cellular approximation theorem, is homotopic to a cellular map. Its four-dimensional domain then maps into the four-skeleton of . Denote that map by ; restriction of to is , so and .
For any integer , choose a map of mapping degree . For one may use on the Riemann sphere, for use , and for use a constant map. Then satisfies , so the possible degrees are exactly all even integers, with realizing . The cellular approximation here deforms this particular map into the skeleton; it does not require a retraction of onto .
Finally, take the connected sum of oriented manifolds with both summands carrying their standard complex orientations. Its degree-two cohomology has generators with
This follows by choosing the generators supported away from the two balls used to form the connected sum, so mixed cup products vanish while each square gives the common orientation class. Write
If , the three cup product relations say
Taking determinants gives , which forces . Therefore the only possible degree to the connected sum is , realized by a constant map. This is a degree constraint from intersection forms: the indefinite intersection form of the sphere product cannot pull back a definite form with a nonzero degree multiplier.
Over an algebraically closed field of characteristic different from two, a projective change of coordinates puts every smooth quadric surface in the form
The Segre embedding identifies this surface with by
Two distinct fibres of either coordinate projection are disjoint lines in one of the rulings of a smooth quadric surface. Explicitly,
both lie on and have no common projective point. Thus contains a pair of disjoint lines.
The standard affine charts of are copies of , and the product charts of are copies of . Their local rings are localizations of polynomial rings over and hence are regular local rings. Both schemes are therefore regular.
On a regular integral scheme every Weil divisor is Cartier, so the divisor class group is naturally the Picard group. Pullback of line bundles along the Segre embedding therefore defines
The two groups are
The Segre coordinates are bihomogeneous of bidegree , so . In these bases the map is and
Let be an irreducible variety of dimension . A point is nonsingular, or smooth, when
where is the Zariski tangent space; it is a singular point when . Equivalently, the local ring is regular exactly at a nonsingular point.
For an irreducible affine variety over a perfect field, the Jacobian criterion expresses the singular locus by the vanishing of the relevant Jacobian minors, so it is Zariski closed. At a point where the tangent-space dimension is minimal it equals ; equivalently, some -rowed Jacobian minor is nonzero. Its nonvanishing locus is therefore a nonempty Zariski-open set contained in the smooth locus. Every nonempty open subset of an irreducible topological space is dense, proving the density of the smooth locus.
Assume the ground field has characteristic other than two. For
the partial derivatives are . They vanish simultaneously at the unique projective point
Thus this point is the singular locus of the projective quadric cone.
For varieties ,
If is smooth of dimension , the product point is singular exactly when is singular. Hence
and
This is the singular locus of a product with a smooth variety.
To construct the requested examples, put . If , let be an irreducible quadric cone of dimension with one singular vertex. If , use instead the irreducible cuspidal cubic
whose only singular point is . Let denote the chosen -dimensional variety and embed
in projective space by the Segre embedding. It is irreducible and has dimension , while its singular locus is the vertex or cusp point times , which is nonempty and has dimension exactly . This is the projective variety with a prescribed-dimensional singular locus construction.
Finally, suppose that the irreducible plane curve were smooth of degree . Since it is birational to a smooth projective curve of genus two, its geometric genus would be two. But the genus of a smooth plane curve is
and no integer makes this number equal to two. Therefore cannot be smooth and must contain a singular point.
For an algebraically closed field , the strong Hilbert Nullstellensatz says that every ideal satisfies
Its weak form says that exactly when . Now let and let be a homogeneous ideal. The affine zero set of is the affine cone over together with the origin. Hence, when the projective zero set is empty, either
or the affine zero set is exactly the origin. In the latter case the Hilbert Nullstellensatz gives
the irrelevant ideal of projective space. Equivalently, some power is contained in . These are precisely the alternatives in the Projective Nullstellensatz.
Let be a smooth quadric surface. After a projective linear transformation, the Segre embedding identifies
Choose distinct points . The two fibres
are the promised disjoint curves on a smooth quadric surface: each is a smooth projective line, and . By the Bézout theorem, any two nonempty curves in the projective plane intersect. An isomorphism of algebraic varieties preserves intersections and takes projective curves to projective curves, so these disjoint curves prove
Next let be a smooth projective curve and let be a rational map to a projective variety. At a point outside its initial domain, write
using elements of the function field . The local ring of a smooth algebraic curve at is a discrete valuation ring. If , multiplying every coordinate by a function of valuation makes all coordinates regular at and at least one a unit there. They therefore define a morphism near . Repeating this at the finitely many missing points proves the extension of a rational map from a smooth projective curve.
Smoothness is essential. Let be the normalization of a nodal curve for a rational nodal cubic . The inverse is a rational map on the smooth locus. If it extended to a morphism , then would agree with the identity on a dense Zariski-open subset of and hence everywhere. But the two distinct points above the node would satisfy
a contradiction. This is the failure of rational-map extension on a singular curve.
Finally take the Fermat cubic curve
and define the projective hypersurface
Because and have no common irreducible factor, the bihomogeneous polynomial is irreducible, so is an algebraic variety. Let
be the second coordinate projection. Every homogeneous cubic in three variables has a projective zero over , so every fibre is nonempty and is a surjective morphism. Over the fibre is the Fermat cubic curve, which is smooth and has genus
Over the fibre is
the union of exactly three distinct projective lines, hence exactly three irreducible components. This is the cubic pencil with a triangular member required by the question.
Over an algebraically closed field, a smooth four-variable projective quadratic equation can be written , including in characteristic two. Its quadratic form splits into two hyperbolic planes: choose an isotropic vector and its paired vector, adjust the latter to be isotropic, and repeat on the orthogonal complement. In characteristic two, smoothness forces the alternating polar form in dimension four to have full rank, since a positive-dimensional radical has a nonzero isotropic vector over the algebraically closed field and would give a singular point. The Segre embedding then gives the isomorphism. Each matrix of coordinates has rank one, which supplies the inverse pair of projective factors.
For the Segre embedding of , the homogeneous coordinate ring is the algebra generated by , assigning degree one to every generator. Its degree- piece consists of all polynomials bihomogeneous of bidegree : pair the factors of an -monomial with the factors of a -monomial to express any such monomial as a product of generators. Counting the independent monomials gives the displayed Hilbert polynomial, agreeing with the Hilbert function for every integer . Its polynomial degree is , giving the variety's dimension. Its leading coefficient is , giving embedded projective degree . The two uses of degree therefore describe different quantities.
Smooth quadric surface Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
A smooth quadric surface is a smooth two-dimensional quadric hypersurface. Over an algebraically closed field of characteristic other than two, every smooth quadric surface in becomes
after a projective linear transformation. The Segre embedding identifies it with .