Chapter 16 the Tangent Space and the Notion of Smoothness
Chapter 16 The tangent space and the notion of smoothness We will always assume K algebraically closed. In this chapter we follow the approach of ˇ n Safareviˇc[S]. We define the tangent space TX,P at a point P of an affine variety X A as ⇢ the union of the lines passing through P and “ touching” X at P .Itresultstobeanaffine n subspace of A .Thenwewillfinda“local”characterizationofTX,P ,thistimeinterpreted as a vector space, the direction of T ,onlydependingonthelocalring :thiswill X,P OX,P allow to define the tangent space at a point of any quasi–projective variety. 16.1 Tangent space to an affine variety Assume first that X An is closed and P = O =(0,...,0). Let L be a line through P :if ⇢ A(a1,...,an)isanotherpointofL,thenageneralpointofL has coordinates (ta1,...,tan), t K.IfI(X)=(F ,...,F ), then the intersection X L is determined by the following 2 1 m \ system of equations in the indeterminate t: F (ta ,...,ta )= = F (ta ,...,ta )=0. 1 1 n ··· m 1 n The solutions of this system of equations are the roots of the greatest common divisor G(t)of the polynomials F1(ta1,...,tan),...,Fm(ta1,...,tan)inK[t], i.e. the generator of the ideal they generate. We may factorize G(t)asG(t)=cte(t ↵ )e1 ...(t ↵ )es ,wherec K, − 1 − s 2 ↵ ,...,↵ =0,e, e ,...,e are non-negative, and e>0ifandonlyifP X L.The 1 s 6 1 s 2 \ number e is by definition the intersection multiplicity at P of X and L.
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