mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

, the degree of an

affine Affine may describe any of various topics concerned with connections or affinities. It may refer to: * Affine, a relative by marriage in law and anthropology * Affine cipher, a special case of the more general substitution cipher * Affine comb ...

projective variety In algebraic geometry, a projective variety over an algebraically closed field ''k'' is a subset of some projective ''n''-space \mathbb^n over ''k'' that is the zero-locus of some finite family of homogeneous polynomials of ''n'' + 1 variables wi ...

dimension In physics and mathematics, the dimension of a mathematical space (or object) is informally defined as the minimum number of coordinates needed to specify any point within it. Thus, a line has a dimension of one (1D) because only one coord ...

is the number of intersection points of the variety with

hyperplane In geometry, a hyperplane is a subspace whose dimension is one less than that of its '' ambient space''. For example, if a space is 3-dimensional then its hyperplanes are the 2-dimensional planes, while if the space is 2-dimensional, its hyper ...

s in

general position In algebraic geometry and computational geometry, general position is a notion of genericity for a set of points, or other geometric objects. It means the ''general case'' situation, as opposed to some more special or coincidental cases that are ...

.In the affine case, the general-position hypothesis implies that there is no intersection point at infinity. For an

algebraic set Algebraic may refer to any subject related to algebra in mathematics and related branches like algebraic number theory and algebraic topology. The word algebra itself has several meanings. Algebraic may also refer to: * Algebraic data type, a data ...

, the intersection points must be counted with their intersection multiplicity, because of the possibility of multiple components. For (irreducible) varieties, if one takes into account the multiplicities and, in the affine case, the points at infinity, the hypothesis of ''general position'' may be replaced by the much weaker condition that the intersection of the variety has the dimension zero (that is, consists of a finite number of points). This is a generalization of

Bézout's theorem Bézout's theorem is a statement in algebraic geometry concerning the number of common zeros of polynomials in indeterminates. In its original form the theorem states that ''in general'' the number of common zeros equals the product of the deg ...

(For a proof, see ). The degree is not an intrinsic property of the variety, as it depends on a specific embedding of the variety in an affine or projective space. The degree of a

hypersurface In geometry, a hypersurface is a generalization of the concepts of hyperplane, plane curve, and surface. A hypersurface is a manifold or an algebraic variety of dimension , which is embedded in an ambient space of dimension , generally a Euclidea ...

is equal to the

total degree In mathematics, the degree of a polynomial is the highest of the degrees of the polynomial's monomials (individual terms) with non-zero coefficients. The degree of a term is the sum of the exponents of the variables that appear in it, and thus i ...

of its defining equation. A generalization of

asserts that, if an intersection of projective hypersurfaces has codimension , then the degree of the intersection is the product of the degrees of the hypersurfaces. The degree of a projective variety is the evaluation at of the numerator of the

Hilbert series In commutative algebra, the Hilbert function, the Hilbert polynomial, and the Hilbert series of a graded commutative algebra finitely generated over a field are three strongly related notions which measure the growth of the dimension of the homog ...

of its

coordinate ring In algebraic geometry, an affine variety, or affine algebraic variety, over an algebraically closed field is the zero-locus in the affine space of some finite family of polynomials of variables with coefficients in that generate a prime ideal ...

. It follows that, given the equations of the variety, the degree may be computed from a

Gröbner basis In mathematics, and more specifically in computer algebra, computational algebraic geometry, and computational commutative algebra, a Gröbner basis is a particular kind of generating set of an ideal in a polynomial ring over a field . A Gröbn ...

of the

ideal Ideal may refer to: Philosophy * Ideal (ethics), values that one actively pursues as goals * Platonic ideal, a philosophical idea of trueness of form, associated with Plato Mathematics * Ideal (ring theory), special subsets of a ring considered ...

of these equations.

Definition

For ''V'' embedded in a

projective space In mathematics, the concept of a projective space originated from the visual effect of perspective, where parallel lines seem to meet ''at infinity''. A projective space may thus be viewed as the extension of a Euclidean space, or, more generally ...

''P''^''n'' and defined over some

algebraically closed field In mathematics, a field is algebraically closed if every non-constant polynomial in (the univariate polynomial ring with coefficients in ) has a root in . Examples As an example, the field of real numbers is not algebraically closed, because ...

''K'', the degree ''d'' of ''V'' is the number of points of intersection of ''V'', defined over ''K'', with a

linear subspace In mathematics, and more specifically in linear algebra, a linear subspace, also known as a vector subspaceThe term ''linear subspace'' is sometimes used for referring to flats and affine subspaces. In the case of vector spaces over the reals, l ...

''L'' in

, such that :

\dim(V) + \dim(L) = n.

Here dim(''V'') is the

of ''V'', and the

codimension In mathematics, codimension is a basic geometric idea that applies to subspaces in vector spaces, to submanifolds in manifolds, and suitable subsets of algebraic varieties. For affine and projective algebraic varieties, the codimension equals ...

of ''L'' will be equal to that dimension. The degree ''d'' is an extrinsic quantity, and not intrinsic as a property of ''V''. For example, the

projective line In mathematics, a projective line is, roughly speaking, the extension of a usual line by a point called a ''point at infinity''. The statement and the proof of many theorems of geometry are simplified by the resultant elimination of special cases; ...

has an (essentially unique) embedding of degree ''n'' in ''P''^''n''.

Properties

The degree of a

''F'' = 0 is the same as the

of the

homogeneous polynomial In mathematics, a homogeneous polynomial, sometimes called quantic in older texts, is a polynomial whose nonzero terms all have the same degree. For example, x^5 + 2 x^3 y^2 + 9 x y^4 is a homogeneous polynomial of degree 5, in two variables; ...

''F'' defining it (granted, in case ''F'' has repeated factors, that intersection theory is used to count intersections with multiplicity, as in

Other approaches

For a more sophisticated approach, the

linear system of divisors In algebraic geometry, a linear system of divisors is an algebraic generalization of the geometric notion of a family of curves; the dimension of the linear system corresponds to the number of parameters of the family. These arose first in the fo ...

defining the embedding of ''V'' can be related to the

line bundle In mathematics, a line bundle expresses the concept of a line that varies from point to point of a space. For example, a curve in the plane having a tangent line at each point determines a varying line: the '' tangent bundle'' is a way of organisi ...

invertible sheaf In mathematics, an invertible sheaf is a coherent sheaf ''S'' on a ringed space ''X'', for which there is an inverse ''T'' with respect to tensor product of ''O'X''-modules. It is the equivalent in algebraic geometry of the topological notion of ...

defining the embedding by its space of sections. The tautological line bundle on ''P''^''n'' pulls back to ''V''. The degree determines the first

Chern class In mathematics, in particular in algebraic topology, differential geometry and algebraic geometry, the Chern classes are characteristic classes associated with complex vector bundles. They have since found applications in physics, Calabi–Yau ...

. The degree can also be computed in the

cohomology ring In mathematics, specifically algebraic topology, the cohomology ring of a topological space ''X'' is a ring formed from the cohomology groups of ''X'' together with the cup product serving as the ring multiplication. Here 'cohomology' is usually un ...

of ''P''^''n'', or

Chow ring In algebraic geometry, the Chow groups (named after Wei-Liang Chow by ) of an algebraic variety over any field are algebro-geometric analogs of the homology of a topological space. The elements of the Chow group are formed out of subvarieties (so- ...

, with the class of a

intersecting the class of ''V'' an appropriate number of times.

Extending Bézout's theorem

The degree can be used to generalize Bézout's theorem in an expected way to intersections of ''n'' hypersurfaces in ''P''^''n''.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Degree Of An Algebraic Variety Algebraic varieties