Let $W$ be a closed algebraic subvariety of the $n$-dimensional projective space over the complex or real numbers and suppose that $W$ is non-empty and equidimensional. In this paper we generalize the classic notion of polar variety of $W$ associated with a given linear subvariety of the ambient space of $W$. As particular instances of this new notion of generalized polar variety we reobtain the classic ones and two new types of polar varieties, called dual and (in case that $W$ is affine) conic. We show that...

We consider the space Curv of complex affine lines t ↦ (x,y) = (ϕ(t),ψ(t)) with monic polynomials ϕ, ψ of fixed degrees and a map Expan from Curv to a complex affine space Puis with dim Curv = dim Puis, which is defined by initial Puiseux coefficients of the Puiseux expansion of the curve at infinity. We present some unexpected relations between geometrical properties of the curves (ϕ,ψ) and singularities of the map Expan. For example, the curve (ϕ,ψ) has a cuspidal singularity iff it is a critical...

Let $𝒥$ be a coherent ideal sheaf on a complex manifold $X$ with zero set $Z$, and let $G$ be a plurisubharmonic function such that $G=log\left|f\right|+𝒪\left(1\right)$ locally at $Z$, where $f$ is a tuple of holomorphic functions that defines $𝒥$. We give a meaning to the Monge-Ampère products ${\left(d{d}^{c}G\right)}^k$ for $k=0,1,2,...$, and prove that the Lelong numbers of the currents $M_k^{𝒥}:={\mathbf{1}}_Z{\left(d{d}^{c}G\right)}^k$ at $x$ coincide with the so-called Segre numbers of $J$ at $x$, introduced independently by Tworzewski, Gaffney-Gassler, and Achilles-Manaresi. More generally, we show that $M_k^{𝒥}$ satisfy a certain generalization...