Resultant multiplicity via projective degrees and applications to tensor eigenvalues

Abstract

Given a system $\mathbf{f}=(f_1,\ldots,f_n)$ of $n$ homogeneous forms in $n$ variables of the same degree, Macaulay's resultant vanishes precisely when the polynomials have a common projective zero. Its order of vanishing measures the singularity of the resultant hypersurface at $\mathbf{f}$. In this paper, we study how this multiplicity reflects the geometry of the projective zero scheme defined by $\mathbf{f}$. We give an exact formula for the multiplicity, expressed in terms of the projective degrees of the rational map defined by $\mathbf{f}$. As a consequence, we obtain a geometric lower bound involving the degrees, dimensions, and multiplicities of the irreducible components of the projective zero scheme. This extends the multiplicity estimates of Roy and Ghidelli from zero-dimensional schemes to schemes of arbitrary dimension. Finally, we apply this geometric estimate to tensor eigenvalues. It translates directly into a lower bound for the algebraic multiplicity of a tensor eigenvalue in terms of the geometry of its eigenscheme. This settles a conjecture by Canino et al. and consequently settles earlier conjectures of Qi and of Hu and Ye concerning the relationship between algebraic, geometric, and span multiplicities of tensor eigenvalues.