On Hermite's invariant for binary quintics

We provide a geometric characterisation of binary sextics with vanishing quadratic invariant.

We use classical invariant theory to construct invariants of complex graded Gorenstein algebras of finite vector space dimension. As a consequence, we obtain a way of extracting certain numerical invariants of quasi-homogeneous isolated hypersurface singularities from their moduli algebras, which extends an earlier result due to the first author. Furthermore, we conjecture that the invariants so constructed solve the biholomorphic equivalence problem in the homogeneous case. ...

We obtain an alternate proof of an injectivity result by Beauville for a map from the moduli space of quartic del Pezzo surfaces to the set of conjugacy classes of certain subgroups of the Cremona group. This amounts to showing that a projective configuration of five distinct unordered points on the line can be reconstructed from its five projective four-point subconfigurations. This is done by reduction to a question in the classical invariant theory of the binary quintic, w...

Basic invariants of binary forms over $\mathbb C$ up to degree 6 (and lower degrees) were constructed by Clebsch and Bolza in the 19-th century using complicated symbolic calculations. Igusa extended this to algebraically closed fields of any characteristic using difficult techniques of algebraic geometry. In this paper a simple proof is supplied that works in characteristic $p > 5$ and uses some concepts of invariant theory developed by Hilbert (in characteristic 0) and Mumf...

In this paper, we express the reduction types of Picard curves in terms of tropical invariants associated to binary quintics. These invariants are connected to Picard modular forms using recent work by Cl{\'e}ry and van der Geer. We furthermore give a general framework for tropical invariants associated to group actions on arbitrary varieties. The previous problem fits in this general framework by mapping the space of binary forms to symmetrized versions of the Deligne--Mumfo...

In this work, we offer a historical stroll through the vast topic of binary quadratic forms. We begin with a quick review of their history and then an overview of contemporary algebraic developments on the subject.

In this paper we study symplectic involutions and quadratic pairs that become hyperbolic over the function field of a conic. In particular, we classify them in degree 4 and deduce results on 5 dimensional minimal quadratic forms, thus extending to arbitrary fields some results of [24], which were only known in characteristic different from 2.

Let ${\mathcal Q}_n^d$ be the vector space of forms of degree $d\ge 3$ on ${\mathbb C}^n$, with $n\ge 2$. The object of our study is the map $\Phi$, introduced in papers [EI], [AI1], that assigns every nondegenerate form in ${\mathcal Q}_n^d$ the so-called associated form, which is an element of ${\mathcal Q}_n^{n(d-2)*}$. We focus on two cases: those of binary quartics ($n=2$, $d=4$) and ternary cubics ($n=3$, $d=3$). In these situations the map $\Phi$ induces a rational equ...

In this paper we determine the group of rational automorphisms of binary cubic and quartic forms with integer coefficients and non-zero discriminant in terms of certain quadratic covariants of cubic and quartic forms. This allows one to give precise asymptotic formulae for the number of integers in an interval representable by a binary cubic or quartic form and extends work of Hooley. Further, we give the field of definition of lines contained in certain cubic and quartic sur...

There is a classical geometric construction which uses a binary quadratic form to define an involution on the space of binary d-ics. We give a complete characterization of a general class of such involutions which are definable using compound transvectant formulae. We also study the associated varieties of forms which are preserved by such involutions. Along the way we prove a recoupling formula for transvectants, which is used to deduce a system of equations satisfied by the...