Friday, April 20, 2012

1111.1552 (R. Pandharipande et al.)

13/2 ways of counting curves    [PDF]

R. Pandharipande, R. P. Thomas
In the past 20 years, compactifications of the families of curves in algebraic varieties X have been studied via stable maps, Hilbert schemes, stable pairs, unramified maps, and stable quotients. Each path leads to a different enumeration of curves. A common thread is the use of a 2-term deformation/obstruction theory to define a virtual fundamental class. The richest geometry occurs when X is a nonsingular projective variety of dimension 3. We survey here the 13/2 principal ways to count curves with special attention to the 3-fold case. The different theories are linked by a web of conjectural relationships which we highlight. Our goal is to provide a guide for graduate students looking for an elementary route into the subject.
View original: http://arxiv.org/abs/1111.1552

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