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<span id="openzim-page-title" class="mw-page-title-main"><span class="mw-page-title-main">Intersection theory</span></span>
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</style><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Not to be confused with <a href="Intersection_(set_theory)" title="Intersection (set theory)">Intersection (set theory)</a> or <a href="Intersectionality" title="Intersectionality">Intersectionality</a>.</div>
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<p>In <a href="Mathematics" title="Mathematics">mathematics</a>, <b>intersection theory</b> is one of the main branches of <a href="Algebraic_geometry" title="Algebraic geometry">algebraic geometry</a>, where it gives information about the <a href="Intersection" title="Intersection">intersection</a> of two <a href="Subvariety_(algebraic_geometry)" class="mw-redirect" title="Subvariety (algebraic geometry)">subvarieties</a> of a given variety.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEisenbudHarris201614_1-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEEisenbudHarris201614-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The theory for varieties is older, with roots in <a href="B%C3%A9zout's_theorem" title="Bézout's theorem">Bézout's theorem</a> on curves and <a href="Elimination_theory" title="Elimination theory">elimination theory</a>. On the other hand, the topological theory more quickly reached a definitive form.
</p><p>There is yet an ongoing development of intersection theory. Currently the main focus is on: virtual fundamental cycles, quantum intersection rings, <a href="Gromov%E2%80%93Witten_theory" class="mw-redirect" title="Gromov–Witten theory">Gromov–Witten theory</a> and the extension of intersection theory from <a href="Scheme_(mathematics)" title="Scheme (mathematics)">schemes</a> to <a href="Stack_(mathematics)" title="Stack (mathematics)">stacks</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEisenbudHarris20162_2-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEEisenbudHarris20162-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>
</p>
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<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Topological_intersection_form">Topological intersection form</h2></div>
<div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">See also: <a href="%CE%95-quadratic_form#Manifolds" title="Ε-quadratic form">ε-quadratic form §&nbsp;Manifolds</a>, and <a href="Intersection_form_(4-manifold)" class="mw-redirect" title="Intersection form (4-manifold)">Intersection form (4-manifold)</a></div>
<p>For a <a href="Connected_space" title="Connected space">connected</a> <a href="Orientability" title="Orientability">oriented manifold</a> <span class="mwe-math-element mwe-math-element-inline"><span class="mwe-math-mathml-inline mwe-math-mathml-a11y" style="display: none;"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="{\displaystyle M}">
<semantics>
<mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD">
<mstyle displaystyle="true" scriptlevel="0">
<mi>M</mi>
</mstyle>
</mrow>
<annotation encoding="application/x-tex">{\displaystyle M}</annotation>
</semantics>
</math></span><img src="./f82cade9898ced02fdd08712e5f0c0151758a0dd.svg" class="mwe-math-fallback-image-inline mw-invert skin-invert" aria-hidden="true" style="vertical-align: -0.338ex; width:2.442ex; height:2.176ex;" alt="{\displaystyle M}" loading="lazy"></span> of <a href="Dimension_of_a_manifold" class="mw-redirect" title="Dimension of a manifold">dimension</a> <span class="mwe-math-element mwe-math-element-inline"><span class="mwe-math-mathml-inline mwe-math-mathml-a11y" style="display: none;"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="{\displaystyle 2n}">
<semantics>
<mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD">
<mstyle displaystyle="true" scriptlevel="0">
<mn>2</mn>
<mi>n</mi>
</mstyle>
</mrow>
<annotation encoding="application/x-tex">{\displaystyle 2n}</annotation>
</semantics>
</math></span><img src="./134afa8ff09fdddd24b06f289e92e3a045092bd1.svg" class="mwe-math-fallback-image-inline mw-invert skin-invert" aria-hidden="true" style="vertical-align: -0.338ex; width:2.557ex; height:2.176ex;" alt="{\displaystyle 2n}" loading="lazy"></span> the <b>intersection form</b> is defined on the <span class="mwe-math-element mwe-math-element-inline"><span class="mwe-math-mathml-inline mwe-math-mathml-a11y" style="display: none;"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="{\displaystyle n}">
<semantics>
<mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD">
<mstyle displaystyle="true" scriptlevel="0">
<mi>n</mi>
</mstyle>
</mrow>
<annotation encoding="application/x-tex">{\displaystyle n}</annotation>
</semantics>
</math></span><img src="./a601995d55609f2d9f5e233e36fbe9ea26011b3b.svg" class="mwe-math-fallback-image-inline mw-invert skin-invert" aria-hidden="true" style="vertical-align: -0.338ex; width:1.395ex; height:1.676ex;" alt="{\displaystyle n}" loading="lazy"></span>-th <a href="Cohomology_group" class="mw-redirect" title="Cohomology group">cohomology group</a> (what is usually called the 'middle dimension') by the evaluation of the <a href="Cup_product" title="Cup product">cup product</a> on the <a href="Fundamental_class" title="Fundamental class">fundamental class</a> <span class="mwe-math-element mwe-math-element-inline"><span class="mwe-math-mathml-inline mwe-math-mathml-a11y" style="display: none;"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="{\displaystyle [M]}">
<semantics>
<mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD">
<mstyle displaystyle="true" scriptlevel="0">
<mo stretchy="false">[</mo>
<mi>M</mi>
<mo stretchy="false">]</mo>
</mstyle>
</mrow>
<annotation encoding="application/x-tex">{\displaystyle [M]}</annotation>
</semantics>
</math></span><img src="./e5ca74e595b2281c0aef1897ecafa282d1f182e2.svg" class="mwe-math-fallback-image-inline mw-invert skin-invert" aria-hidden="true" style="vertical-align: -0.838ex; width:3.736ex; height:2.843ex;" alt="{\displaystyle [M]}" loading="lazy"></span> in <span class="mwe-math-element mwe-math-element-inline"><span class="mwe-math-mathml-inline mwe-math-mathml-a11y" style="display: none;"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="{\displaystyle H_{2n}(M,\partial M)}">
<semantics>
<mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD">
<mstyle displaystyle="true" scriptlevel="0">
<msub>
<mi>H</mi>
<mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD">
<mn>2</mn>
<mi>n</mi>
</mrow>
</msub>
<mo stretchy="false">(</mo>
<mi>M</mi>
<mo>,</mo>
<mi mathvariant="normal">∂<!-- ∂ --></mi>
<mi>M</mi>
<mo stretchy="false">)</mo>
</mstyle>
</mrow>
<annotation encoding="application/x-tex">{\displaystyle H_{2n}(M,\partial M)}</annotation>
</semantics>
</math></span><img src="./46e6ecc08b30cb33e161702b7484baed1ae7fb8b.svg" class="mwe-math-fallback-image-inline mw-invert skin-invert" aria-hidden="true" style="vertical-align: -0.838ex; width:13.017ex; height:2.843ex;" alt="{\displaystyle H_{2n}(M,\partial M)}" loading="lazy"></span>. Stated precisely, there is a <a href="Bilinear_form" title="Bilinear form">bilinear form</a>
</p>
<dl><dd><span class="mwe-math-element mwe-math-element-inline"><span class="mwe-math-mathml-inline mwe-math-mathml-a11y" style="display: none;"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="{\displaystyle \lambda _{M}\colon H^{n}(M,\partial M)\times H^{n}(M,\partial M)\to \mathbf {Z} }">
<semantics>
<mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD">
<mstyle displaystyle="true" scriptlevel="0">
<msub>
<mi>λ<!-- λ --></mi>
<mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD">
<mi>M</mi>
</mrow>
</msub>
<mo>:<!-- : --></mo>
<msup>
<mi>H</mi>
<mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD">
<mi>n</mi>
</mrow>
</msup>
<mo stretchy="false">(</mo>
<mi>M</mi>
<mo>,</mo>
<mi mathvariant="normal">∂<!-- ∂ --></mi>
<mi>M</mi>
<mo stretchy="false">)</mo>
<mo>×<!-- × --></mo>
<msup>
<mi>H</mi>
<mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD">
<mi>n</mi>
</mrow>
</msup>
<mo stretchy="false">(</mo>
<mi>M</mi>
<mo>,</mo>
<mi mathvariant="normal">∂<!-- ∂ --></mi>
<mi>M</mi>
<mo stretchy="false">)</mo>
<mo stretchy="false">→<!-- → --></mo>
<mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD">
<mi mathvariant="bold">Z</mi>
</mrow>
</mstyle>
</mrow>
<annotation encoding="application/x-tex">{\displaystyle \lambda _{M}\colon H^{n}(M,\partial M)\times H^{n}(M,\partial M)\to \mathbf {Z} }</annotation>
</semantics>
</math></span><img src="./ac049c37858cc3f00ae99c97aff5e45f569ff5d9.svg" class="mwe-math-fallback-image-inline mw-invert skin-invert" aria-hidden="true" style="vertical-align: -0.838ex; width:37.172ex; height:2.843ex;" alt="{\displaystyle \lambda _{M}\colon H^{n}(M,\partial M)\times H^{n}(M,\partial M)\to \mathbf {Z} }" loading="lazy"></span></dd></dl>
<p>given by
</p>
<dl><dd><span class="mwe-math-element mwe-math-element-inline"><span class="mwe-math-mathml-inline mwe-math-mathml-a11y" style="display: none;"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="{\displaystyle \lambda _{M}(a,b)=\langle a\smile b,[M]\rangle \in \mathbf {Z} }">
<semantics>
<mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD">
<mstyle displaystyle="true" scriptlevel="0">
<msub>
<mi>λ<!-- λ --></mi>
<mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD">
<mi>M</mi>
</mrow>
</msub>
<mo stretchy="false">(</mo>
<mi>a</mi>
<mo>,</mo>
<mi>b</mi>
<mo stretchy="false">)</mo>
<mo>=</mo>
<mo fence="false" stretchy="false">⟨<!-- ⟨ --></mo>
<mi>a</mi>
<mo>⌣<!-- ⌣ --></mo>
<mi>b</mi>
<mo>,</mo>
<mo stretchy="false">[</mo>
<mi>M</mi>
<mo stretchy="false">]</mo>
<mo fence="false" stretchy="false">⟩<!-- ⟩ --></mo>
<mo>∈<!-- ∈ --></mo>
<mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD">
<mi mathvariant="bold">Z</mi>
</mrow>
</mstyle>
</mrow>
<annotation encoding="application/x-tex">{\displaystyle \lambda _{M}(a,b)=\langle a\smile b,[M]\rangle \in \mathbf {Z} }</annotation>
</semantics>
</math></span><img src="./5224441f15083b73af07a158d2c8f3ddc7e2ce70.svg" class="mwe-math-fallback-image-inline mw-invert skin-invert" aria-hidden="true" style="vertical-align: -0.838ex; width:28.379ex; height:2.843ex;" alt="{\displaystyle \lambda _{M}(a,b)=\langle a\smile b,[M]\rangle \in \mathbf {Z} }" loading="lazy"></span></dd></dl>
<p>with
</p>
<dl><dd><span class="mwe-math-element mwe-math-element-inline"><span class="mwe-math-mathml-inline mwe-math-mathml-a11y" style="display: none;"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="{\displaystyle \lambda _{M}(a,b)=(-1)^{n}\lambda _{M}(b,a)\in \mathbf {Z} .}">
<semantics>
<mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD">
<mstyle displaystyle="true" scriptlevel="0">
<msub>
<mi>λ<!-- λ --></mi>
<mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD">
<mi>M</mi>
</mrow>
</msub>
<mo stretchy="false">(</mo>
<mi>a</mi>
<mo>,</mo>
<mi>b</mi>
<mo stretchy="false">)</mo>
<mo>=</mo>
<mo stretchy="false">(</mo>
<mo>−<!-- − --></mo>
<mn>1</mn>
<msup>
<mo stretchy="false">)</mo>
<mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD">
<mi>n</mi>
</mrow>
</msup>
<msub>
<mi>λ<!-- λ --></mi>
<mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD">
<mi>M</mi>
</mrow>
</msub>
<mo stretchy="false">(</mo>
<mi>b</mi>
<mo>,</mo>
<mi>a</mi>
<mo stretchy="false">)</mo>
<mo>∈<!-- ∈ --></mo>
<mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD">
<mi mathvariant="bold">Z</mi>
</mrow>
<mo>.</mo>
</mstyle>
</mrow>
<annotation encoding="application/x-tex">{\displaystyle \lambda _{M}(a,b)=(-1)^{n}\lambda _{M}(b,a)\in \mathbf {Z} .}</annotation>
</semantics>
</math></span><img src="./13520cffe5226d07c80153cfffe39f9afcae3654.svg" class="mwe-math-fallback-image-inline mw-invert skin-invert" aria-hidden="true" style="vertical-align: -0.838ex; width:30.988ex; height:2.843ex;" alt="{\displaystyle \lambda _{M}(a,b)=(-1)^{n}\lambda _{M}(b,a)\in \mathbf {Z} .}" loading="lazy"></span></dd></dl>
<p>This is a <a href="Symmetric_bilinear_form" title="Symmetric bilinear form">symmetric form</a> for <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">n</span> even (so <span class="texhtml">2<i>n</i> = 4<i>k</i></span> <a href="Doubly_even" class="mw-redirect" title="Doubly even">doubly even</a>), in which case the <a href="Signature_(topology)" title="Signature (topology)">signature</a> of <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">M</span> is defined to be the signature of the form, and an <a href="Alternating_form" class="mw-redirect" title="Alternating form">alternating form</a> for <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">n</span> odd (so <span class="texhtml">2<i>n</i> = 4<i>k</i> + 2</span> is <a href="Singly_even" class="mw-redirect" title="Singly even">singly even</a>). These can be referred to uniformly as <a href="%CE%95-symmetric_form" class="mw-redirect" title="Ε-symmetric form">ε-symmetric forms</a>, where <span class="texhtml"><i>ε</i> = (−1)<sup><i>n</i></sup> = ±1</span> respectively for symmetric and skew-symmetric forms. It is possible in some circumstances to refine this form to an <a href="%CE%95-quadratic_form" title="Ε-quadratic form"><span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">ε</span>-quadratic form</a>, though this requires additional data such as a <a href="Framed_manifold" class="mw-redirect" title="Framed manifold">framing</a> of the tangent bundle. It is possible to drop the orientability condition and work with <span class="texhtml"><b>Z</b>/2<b>Z</b></span> coefficients instead.
</p><p>These forms are important <a href="Topological_invariant" class="mw-redirect" title="Topological invariant">topological invariants</a>. For example, a theorem of <a href="Michael_Freedman" title="Michael Freedman">Michael Freedman</a> states that <a href="Simply_connected" class="mw-redirect" title="Simply connected">simply connected</a> <a href="Compact_space" title="Compact space">compact</a> <a href="4-manifold" title="4-manifold">4-manifolds</a> are (almost) determined by <a href="Intersection_form_(4-manifold)" class="mw-redirect" title="Intersection form (4-manifold)">their intersection forms</a> up to <a href="Homeomorphism" title="Homeomorphism">homeomorphism</a>.
</p><p>By <a href="Poincar%C3%A9_duality" title="Poincaré duality">Poincaré duality</a>, it turns out that there is a way to think of this geometrically. If possible, choose representative <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">n</span>-dimensional submanifolds <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">A</span>, <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">B</span> for the Poincaré duals of <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">a</span> and <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">b</span>. Then <span class="texhtml"><i>λ<sub>M</sub></i> (<i>a</i>, <i>b</i>)</span> is the oriented intersection number of <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">A</span> and <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">B</span>, which is well-defined because since dimensions of <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">A</span> and <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">B</span> sum to the total dimension of <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">M</span> they generically intersect at isolated points. This explains the terminology <i>intersection form</i>.
</p>
<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Intersection_theory_in_algebraic_geometry">Intersection theory in algebraic geometry</h2></div>
<p><a href="William_Fulton_(mathematician)" title="William Fulton (mathematician)">William Fulton</a> in <i>Intersection Theory</i> (1984) writes
</p>
<blockquote><p>... if <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">A</span> and <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">B</span> are subvarieties of a non-singular variety <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">X</span>, the intersection product <span class="texhtml"><i>A</i> · <i>B</i></span> should be an equivalence class of algebraic cycles closely related to the geometry of how <span class="texhtml"><i>A</i> ∩ <i>B</i></span>, <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">A</span> and <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">B</span> are situated in <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">X</span>. Two extreme cases have been most familiar. If the intersection is <i>proper</i>, i.e. <span class="texhtml">dim(<i>A</i> ∩ <i>B</i>) = dim <i>A</i> + dim <i>B</i> − dim <i>X</i></span>, then <span class="texhtml"><i>A</i> · <i>B</i></span> is a linear combination of the irreducible components of <span class="texhtml"><i>A</i> ∩ <i>B</i></span>, with coefficients the intersection multiplicities. At the other extreme, if <span class="texhtml"><i>A</i> = <i>B</i></span> is a non-singular subvariety, the self-intersection formula says that <span class="texhtml"><i>A</i> · <i>B</i></span> is represented by the top <a href="Chern_class" title="Chern class">Chern class</a> of the <a href="Normal_bundle" title="Normal bundle">normal bundle</a> of <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">A</span> in <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">X</span>.</p></blockquote>
<p>To give a definition, in the general case, of the <b>intersection multiplicity</b> was the major concern of <a href="Andr%C3%A9_Weil" title="André Weil">André Weil</a>'s 1946 book <i>Foundations of Algebraic Geometry</i>. Work in the 1920s of <a href="Bartel_Leendert_van_der_Waerden" title="Bartel Leendert van der Waerden">B. L. van der Waerden</a> had already addressed the question; in the <a href="Italian_school_of_algebraic_geometry" title="Italian school of algebraic geometry">Italian school of algebraic geometry</a> the ideas were well known, but foundational questions were not addressed in the same spirit.
</p>
<div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Moving_cycles">Moving cycles</h3></div>
<p>A well-working machinery of intersecting <a href="Algebraic_cycle" title="Algebraic cycle">algebraic cycles</a> <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">V</span> and <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">W</span> requires more than taking just the set-theoretic intersection <span class="texhtml"><i>V</i> ∩ <i>W</i></span> of the cycles in question. If the two cycles are in "good position" then the <i>intersection product</i>, denoted <span class="texhtml"><i>V</i> · <i>W</i></span>, should consist of the set-theoretic intersection of the two subvarieties. However cycles may be in bad position, e.g. two parallel lines in the plane, or a plane containing a line (intersecting in 3-space). In both cases the intersection should be a point, because, again, if one cycle is moved, this would be the intersection. The intersection of two cycles <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">V</span> and <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">W</span> is called <i>proper</i> if the <a href="Codimension" title="Codimension">codimension</a> of the (set-theoretic) intersection <span class="texhtml"><i>V</i> ∩ <i>W</i></span> is the sum of the codimensions of <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">V</span> and <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">W</span>, respectively, i.e. the "expected" value.
</p><p>Therefore, the concept of <i>moving cycles</i> using appropriate <a href="Equivalence_relations_on_algebraic_cycles" class="mw-redirect" title="Equivalence relations on algebraic cycles">equivalence relations on algebraic cycles</a> is used. The equivalence must be broad enough that given any two cycles <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">V</span> and <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">W</span>, there are equivalent cycles <span class="texhtml"><i>V′</i></span> and <span class="texhtml"><i>W′</i></span> such that the intersection <span class="texhtml"><i>V′</i> ∩ <i>W′</i></span> is proper. Of course, on the other hand, for a second equivalent <span class="texhtml"><i>V′′</i></span> and <span class="texhtml"><i>W′′</i></span>, <span class="texhtml"><i>V′</i> ∩ <i>W′</i></span> needs to be equivalent to <span class="texhtml"><i>V′′</i> ∩ <i>W′′</i></span>.
</p><p>For the purposes of intersection theory, <i>rational equivalence</i> is the most important one. Briefly, two <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">r</span>-dimensional cycles on a variety <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">X</span> are rationally equivalent if there is a rational function <span class="texhtml"> <i>f</i> </span> on a <span class="texhtml">(<i>r</i> + 1)</span>-dimensional subvariety <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">Y</span>, i.e. an element of the <a href="Function_field_of_an_algebraic_variety" title="Function field of an algebraic variety">function field</a> <span class="texhtml"><i>k</i>(<i>Y</i>)</span> or equivalently a function <span class="texhtml"> <i>f</i> &nbsp;: <i>Y</i> → <b>P</b><sup>1</sup></span>, such that <span class="texhtml"><i>V</i> − <i>W</i> =  <i>f</i> <sup>−1</sup>(0) −  <i>f</i> <sup>−1</sup>(∞)</span>, where <span class="texhtml"> <i>f</i> <sup>−1</sup>(⋅)</span> is counted with multiplicities. Rational equivalence accomplishes the needs sketched above.
</p>
<div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Intersection_multiplicities">Intersection multiplicities</h3></div>

<p>The guiding principle in the definition of <a href="Intersection_multiplicity" class="mw-redirect" title="Intersection multiplicity">intersection multiplicities</a> of cycles is continuity in a certain sense. Consider the following elementary example: the intersection of a parabola <span class="texhtml"><i>y</i> = <i>x</i><sup>2</sup></span> and an axis <span class="texhtml"><i>y</i> = 0</span> should be <span class="texhtml">2 · (0, 0)</span>, because if one of the cycles moves (yet in an undefined sense), there are precisely two intersection points which both converge to <span class="texhtml">(0, 0)</span> when the cycles approach the depicted position. (The picture is misleading insofar as the apparently empty intersection of the parabola and the line <span class="texhtml"><i>y</i> = −3</span> is empty, because only the real solutions of the equations are depicted).
</p><p>The first fully satisfactory definition of intersection multiplicities was given by <a href="Jean-Pierre_Serre" title="Jean-Pierre Serre">Serre</a>: Let the ambient variety <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">X</span> be smooth (or all local rings <a href="Regular_local_ring" title="Regular local ring">regular</a>). Further let <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">V</span> and <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">W</span> be two (irreducible reduced closed) subvarieties, such that their intersection is proper. The construction is local, therefore the varieties may be represented by two ideals <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">I</span> and <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">J</span> in the coordinate ring of <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">X</span>. Let <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">Z</span> be an irreducible component of the set-theoretic intersection <span class="texhtml"><i>V</i> ∩ <i>W</i></span> and <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">z</span> its <a href="Generic_point" title="Generic point">generic point</a>. The multiplicity of <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">Z</span> in the intersection product <span class="texhtml"><i>V</i> · <i>W</i></span> is defined by
</p>
<dl><dd><span class="mwe-math-element mwe-math-element-inline"><span class="mwe-math-mathml-inline mwe-math-mathml-a11y" style="display: none;"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="{\displaystyle \mu (Z;V,W):=\sum _{i=0}^{\infty }(-1)^{i}{\text{length}}_{{\mathcal {O}}_{X,z}}{\text{Tor}}_{i}^{{\mathcal {O}}_{X,z}}({\mathcal {O}}_{X,z}/I,{\mathcal {O}}_{X,z}/J),}">
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<annotation encoding="application/x-tex">{\displaystyle \mu (Z;V,W):=\sum _{i=0}^{\infty }(-1)^{i}{\text{length}}_{{\mathcal {O}}_{X,z}}{\text{Tor}}_{i}^{{\mathcal {O}}_{X,z}}({\mathcal {O}}_{X,z}/I,{\mathcal {O}}_{X,z}/J),}</annotation>
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</math></span><img src="./bf0d568cba394f0f6da089926da33437a3a2a951.svg" class="mwe-math-fallback-image-inline mw-invert skin-invert" aria-hidden="true" style="vertical-align: -3.005ex; width:59.496ex; height:6.843ex;" alt="{\displaystyle \mu (Z;V,W):=\sum _{i=0}^{\infty }(-1)^{i}{\text{length}}_{{\mathcal {O}}_{X,z}}{\text{Tor}}_{i}^{{\mathcal {O}}_{X,z}}({\mathcal {O}}_{X,z}/I,{\mathcal {O}}_{X,z}/J),}" loading="lazy"></span></dd></dl>
<p>the alternating sum over the <a href="Length_of_a_module" title="Length of a module">length</a> over the local ring of <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">X</span> in <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">z</span> of <a href="Tor_functor" title="Tor functor">torsion</a> groups of the factor rings corresponding to the subvarieties. This expression is sometimes referred to as <i>Serre's Tor-formula</i>.
</p><p>Remarks:
</p>
<ul><li>The first summand, the length of
<dl><dd><dl><dd><span class="mwe-math-element mwe-math-element-inline"><span class="mwe-math-mathml-inline mwe-math-mathml-a11y" style="display: none;"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="{\displaystyle \left({\mathcal {O}}_{X,z}/I\right)\otimes _{{\mathcal {O}}_{X,z}}\left({\mathcal {O}}_{X,z}/J\right)={\mathcal {O}}_{Z,z}}">
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<annotation encoding="application/x-tex">{\displaystyle \left({\mathcal {O}}_{X,z}/I\right)\otimes _{{\mathcal {O}}_{X,z}}\left({\mathcal {O}}_{X,z}/J\right)={\mathcal {O}}_{Z,z}}</annotation>
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</math></span><img src="./9a4964c382c94457bbbd496923cd2cfa02537e98.svg" class="mwe-math-fallback-image-inline mw-invert skin-invert" aria-hidden="true" style="vertical-align: -1.171ex; width:32.278ex; height:3.176ex;" alt="{\displaystyle \left({\mathcal {O}}_{X,z}/I\right)\otimes _{{\mathcal {O}}_{X,z}}\left({\mathcal {O}}_{X,z}/J\right)={\mathcal {O}}_{Z,z}}" loading="lazy"></span></dd></dl></dd>
<dd>is the "naive" guess of the multiplicity; however, as Serre shows, it is not sufficient.</dd></dl></li>
<li>The sum is finite, because the regular local ring <span class="mwe-math-element mwe-math-element-inline"><span class="mwe-math-mathml-inline mwe-math-mathml-a11y" style="display: none;"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="{\displaystyle {\mathcal {O}}_{X,z}}">
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</math></span><img src="./e8d491fa73494f70ad2e6151badad1eabfd0f013.svg" class="mwe-math-fallback-image-inline mw-invert skin-invert" aria-hidden="true" style="vertical-align: -1.005ex; width:4.709ex; height:2.843ex;" alt="{\displaystyle {\mathcal {O}}_{X,z}}" loading="lazy"></span> has finite Tor-dimension.</li>
<li>If the intersection of <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">V</span> and <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">W</span> is not proper, the above multiplicity will be zero. If it is proper, it is strictly positive. (Both statements are not obvious from the definition).</li>
<li>Using a <a href="Spectral_sequence" title="Spectral sequence">spectral sequence</a> argument, it can be shown that <span class="texhtml"><i>μ</i>(<i>Z</i>; <i>V</i>, <i>W</i>) = <i>μ</i>(<i>Z</i>; <i>W</i>, <i>V</i>)</span>.</li></ul>
<div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="The_Chow_ring">The Chow ring</h3></div>
<div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="Chow_ring" class="mw-redirect" title="Chow ring">Chow ring</a></div>
<p>The <a href="Chow_ring" class="mw-redirect" title="Chow ring">Chow ring</a> is the group of algebraic cycles modulo <a href="Equivalence_relations_on_algebraic_cycles" class="mw-redirect" title="Equivalence relations on algebraic cycles">rational equivalence</a> together with the following commutative <i>intersection product</i>:
</p>
<dl><dd><span class="mwe-math-element mwe-math-element-inline"><span class="mwe-math-mathml-inline mwe-math-mathml-a11y" style="display: none;"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="{\displaystyle V\cdot W:=\sum _{i}\mu (Z_{i};V,W)Z_{i}}">
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<p>whenever <i>V</i> and <i>W</i> meet properly, where <span class="mwe-math-element mwe-math-element-inline"><span class="mwe-math-mathml-inline mwe-math-mathml-a11y" style="display: none;"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="{\displaystyle V\cap W=\cup _{i}Z_{i}}">
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</math></span><img src="./596600bc8bf745ac871f8f35621c31d9ded29657.svg" class="mwe-math-fallback-image-inline mw-invert skin-invert" aria-hidden="true" style="vertical-align: -0.671ex; width:14.641ex; height:2.509ex;" alt="{\displaystyle V\cap W=\cup _{i}Z_{i}}" loading="lazy"></span> is the decomposition of the set-theoretic intersection into irreducible components.
</p>
<div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Self-intersection">Self-intersection</h3></div>
<p>Given two subvarieties <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">V</span> and <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">W</span>, one can take their intersection <span class="texhtml"><i>V</i> ∩ <i>W</i></span>, but it is also possible, though more subtle, to define the <i>self</i>-intersection of a single subvariety.
</p><p>Given, for instance, a curve <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">C</span> on a surface <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">S</span>, its intersection with itself (as sets) is just itself: <span class="texhtml"><i>C</i> ∩ <i>C</i> = <i>C</i></span>. This is clearly correct, but on the other hand unsatisfactory: given any two <i>distinct</i> curves on a surface (with no component in common), they intersect in some set of points, which for instance one can count, obtaining an <i>intersection number</i>, and we may wish to do the same for a given curve: the analogy is that intersecting distinct curves is like multiplying two numbers: <span class="texhtml"><i>xy</i></span>, while self-intersection is like squaring a single number: <span class="texhtml"><i>x</i><sup>2</sup></span>. Formally, the analogy is stated as a <a href="Symmetric_bilinear_form" title="Symmetric bilinear form">symmetric bilinear form</a> (multiplication) and a <a href="Quadratic_form" title="Quadratic form">quadratic form</a> (squaring).
</p><p>A geometric solution to this is to intersect the curve <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">C</span> not with itself, but with a slightly pushed off version of itself. In the plane, this just means translating the curve <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">C</span> in some direction, but in general one talks about taking a curve <span class="texhtml"><i>C′</i></span> that is <a href="Linear_system_of_divisors" title="Linear system of divisors">linearly equivalent</a> to <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">C</span>, and counting the intersection <span class="texhtml"><i>C</i> · <i>C′</i></span>, thus obtaining an intersection number, denoted <span class="texhtml"><i>C</i> · <i>C</i></span>. Note that <i>unlike</i> for distinct curves <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">C</span> and <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">D</span>, the <i>actual points of intersection</i> are not defined, because they depend on a choice of <span class="texhtml"><i>C′</i></span>, but the “self intersection points of <span class="texhtml"><i>C′′</i></span> can be interpreted as <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">k</span> <a href="Generic_point" title="Generic point">generic points</a> on <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">C</span>, where <span class="texhtml"><i>k</i> = <i>C</i> · <i>C</i></span>. More properly, the self-intersection point of <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">C</span> is <i>the</i> generic point of <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">C</span>, taken with multiplicity <span class="texhtml"><i>C</i> · <i>C</i></span>.
</p><p>Alternatively, one can “solve” (or motivate) this problem algebraically by dualizing, and looking at the class of <span class="texhtml">[<i>C</i>] ∪ [<i>C</i>]</span> – this both gives a number, and raises the question of a geometric interpretation. Note that passing to cohomology <i>classes</i> is analogous to replacing a curve by a linear system.
</p><p>Note that the self-intersection number can be negative, as the example below illustrates.
</p>
<div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Examples">Examples</h4></div>
<p>Consider a line <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">L</span> in the <a href="Projective_plane" title="Projective plane">projective plane</a> <span class="texhtml"><b>P</b><sup>2</sup></span>: it has self-intersection number 1 since all other lines cross it once: one can push <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">L</span> off to <span class="texhtml"><i>L′</i></span>, and <span class="texhtml"><i>L</i> · <i>L′</i> = 1</span> (for any choice) of <span class="texhtml"><i>L′</i></span>, hence <span class="texhtml"><i>L</i> · <i>L</i> = 1</span>. In terms of intersection forms, we say the plane has one of type <span class="texhtml"><i>x</i><sup>2</sup></span> (there is only one class of lines, and they all intersect with each other).
</p><p>Note that on the <a href="Euclidean_plane" title="Euclidean plane"><i>affine</i> plane</a>, one might push off <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">L</span> to a parallel line, so (thinking geometrically) the number of intersection points depends on the choice of push-off. One says that “the affine plane does not have a good intersection theory”, and intersection theory on non-projective varieties is much more difficult.
</p><p>A line on a <span class="texhtml"><b>P</b><sup>1</sup> × <b>P</b><sup>1</sup></span> (which can also be interpreted as the non-singular <a href="Quadric" title="Quadric">quadric</a> <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">Q</span> in <span class="texhtml"><b>P</b><sup>3</sup></span>) has self-intersection <span class="texhtml">0</span>, since a line can be moved off itself. (It is a <a href="Ruled_surface" title="Ruled surface">ruled surface</a>.) In terms of intersection forms, we say <span class="texhtml"><b>P</b><sup>1</sup> × <b>P</b><sup>1</sup></span> has one of type <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">xy</span> – there are two basic classes of lines, which intersect each other in one point (<span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">xy</span>), but have zero self-intersection (no <span class="texhtml"><i>x</i><sup>2</sup></span> or <span class="texhtml"><i>y</i><sup>2</sup></span> terms).
</p>
<div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Blow-ups">Blow-ups</h4></div>
<p>A key example of self-intersection numbers is the exceptional curve of a blow-up, which is a central operation in <a href="Birational_geometry" title="Birational geometry">birational geometry</a>. Given an <a href="Algebraic_surface" title="Algebraic surface">algebraic surface</a> <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">S</span>, <a href="Blowing_up" title="Blowing up">blowing up</a> at a point creates a curve <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">C</span>. This curve <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">C</span> is recognisable by its <a href="Genus_(mathematics)#Algebraic_geometry" title="Genus (mathematics)">genus</a>, which is <span class="texhtml">0</span>, and its self-intersection number, which is <span class="texhtml">−1</span>. (This is not obvious.) Note that as a corollary, <span class="texhtml"><b>P</b><sup>2</sup></span> and <span class="texhtml"><b>P</b><sup>1</sup> × <b>P</b><sup>1</sup></span> are <a href="Minimal_model_(birational_geometry)" class="mw-redirect" title="Minimal model (birational geometry)">minimal surfaces</a> (they are not blow-ups), since they do not have any curves with negative self-intersection. In fact, <a href="Guido_Castelnuovo" title="Guido Castelnuovo">Castelnuovo</a>’s <a href="Castelnuovo's_contraction_theorem" title="Castelnuovo's contraction theorem">contraction theorem</a> states the converse: every <span class="texhtml">(−1)</span>-curve is the exceptional curve of some blow-up (it can be “blown down”).
</p>
<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2></div>
<ul><li><a href="Chow_group" title="Chow group">Chow group</a></li>
<li><a href="Grothendieck%E2%80%93Riemann%E2%80%93Roch_theorem" title="Grothendieck–Riemann–Roch theorem">Grothendieck–Riemann–Roch theorem</a></li>
<li><a href="Enumerative_geometry" title="Enumerative geometry">Enumerative geometry</a></li></ul>
<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Citations">Citations</h2></div>
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<div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references">
<li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEEisenbudHarris201614-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEisenbudHarris201614_1-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFEisenbudHarris2016">Eisenbud &amp; Harris 2016</a>, p.&nbsp;14.</span>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEEisenbudHarris20162-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEisenbudHarris20162_2-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFEisenbudHarris2016">Eisenbud &amp; Harris 2016</a>, p.&nbsp;2.</span>
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</ol></div></div>
<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2></div>
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