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Suppose we have a action of cyclic group of order $n$ on $\mathbb{P}^2$ by $k\to \{(x,y,z)\to(x,e^{2\pi ik/n}y,z)\}$. It has a fixed point and a fixed line.

Is $\mathbb{P}^2/C_n$ a variety/scheme? If it is, can we write out its defining equations? And how do we describe the quotient singularities?

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    I suppose the bracket closing before $y$ is just a typo? Anyway, how do you want it to act on the line at infinity? (Or do you mean $\mathbb{P}^1$ with homogenous coordinates $(x,y)$?) – Ben May 11 '14 at 15:41
  • Quoitents of quasi-projective schemes by finite groups always exist. Since you can always put orbits into affine charts, you can reduce to affine then glue. On an affine chart the quotient is just the spec of the invariant ring of the regular functions. – Alex Youcis May 12 '14 at 08:12
  • @AlexYoucis Thanks, but the invariant ring $f(x,y)=f(x,e^{2\pi k/n}y)$ seems complicated. It is still an affine variety, the spec of a ring. Can it be explicitly expressed as the spec of a polynomial ring? –  May 12 '14 at 23:00
  • Sorry, I found The invariant ring is $k[x^n]$ by checking definition, but as it is isomorphic to $k[T]$ the affine line, it should not have singularities? –  May 13 '14 at 01:45
  • I don't understand the action, the invariant ring of $k[x,y]$ by the action you described is $k[x,y^n]$. Can you give it on homogenous coordinates $(x,y,z)\in\mathbb{P}^2$ please? The singularity might be in another chart. If my guess is right and it's $k.(x,y,z) = (x,\zeta^k y,z)$ where $\zeta$ is a $n$-th root of unity, then the quotient should be the weighted projective space $\mathbb{P}(1,n,1)$, which has one singular point. – Ben May 16 '14 at 19:23

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It is a (normal) projective variety, the weighted projective space $\mathbb{P}(1,n,1)$, which has one singular point, a so called cyclic singularity of type $\frac{1}{n}(1,1)$, corresponding to the fixed point $(0:1:0)$. This can be seen in greater generality, see for example the survey article Weighted projective varieties by I. Dolgachev.

In this special case, consider $\mathbb{P}^2$ as $\mathrm{Proj}(\mathbb{C}[x_0,x_1,x_2])$ with the standard grading. We have the action of the group $\mu_n$ of $n$-th roots of unity on $\mathbb{C}[x_0,x_1,x_2]$ (and $\mathbb{P}^2$ as in the question) via $\zeta.x_0 = x_0$, $\zeta.x_1 = \zeta x_1$ and $\zeta.x_2 = x_2$. It is easy to see that the invariant ring $\mathbb{C}[x_0,x_1,x_2]^{\mu_n}$ is generated by $x_0$, $x_2$ and $x_1^n$. That is, $\mathbb{C}[x_0,x_1,x_2]^{\mu_n}\subset\mathbb{C}[x_0,x_1,x_2]$ is the image of the injective homomorphism $\varphi\colon\mathbb{C}[y_0,y_1,y_2]\to\mathbb{C}[x_0,x_1,x_2]$ mapping $y_0$ to $x_0$, $y_1$ to $x_1^6$ and $y_2$ to $x_2$. In order to make this an homomorphism of graded $k$-algebras, we only have to give $\mathbb{C}[y_0,y_1,y_2]$ another grading, namely such that $y_0$ and $y_2$ are of degree $1$ as usual and letting $y_1$ be of degree $6$. We thus get an isomorphism $\mathrm{Proj}(\mathbb{C}[x_0,x_1,x_2]^{\mu_n})\to \mathrm{Proj}(\mathbb{C}[y_0,y_1,y_2])$. (The latter is by definition the weighted projective space $\mathbb{P}(1,n,1)$.)

Note that $\varphi$ induces an everywhere defined morphism $f := \varphi^*\colon\mathbb{P}^2\to\mathrm{Proj}(\mathbb{C}[y_0,y_1,y_2])$. In fact, it is well defined exactly on the $\mathfrak{p}\in\mathrm{Proj}(\mathbb{C}[x_0,x_1,x_2])$ that do not contain the image of the irrelevant ideal, i.e. such that $(x_0,x_1^6,x_2)\not\subset\mathfrak{p}$. But this is true for all of them, because a prime ideal $\mathfrak{p}$ containing $x_0,x_1^6$ and $x_2$ yet contains $(x_0,x_1,x_2)$, thus $\mathfrak{p}\not\in\mathrm{Proj}(\mathbb{C}[x_0,x_1,x_2])$. This should actually be the universal geometric quotient in the sense of Mumford, but this is probably too abstract, so let's get more concrete.

People will tell you that $\mathbb{P}(1,n,1)$ is the contraction of the exceptional section of the $n$-th Hirzebruch surface, or the projective cone of the Veronese $v_n(\mathbb{P}^1)$. The latter becomes very simple for $n=2$: consider the map $p\colon\mathbb{C}^3\setminus 0\to\mathbb{P}^3$ defined by $(x_0,x_1,x_2)\mapsto(x_0^2:x_1:x_0x_2:x_2^2)$. For any $\lambda\in\mathbb{C}^\times$, $p(\lambda x_0,\lambda^2 x_1,\lambda x_2) = (x_0^2:x_1:x_0x_2:x_2^2)$ and $p(y_0,y_1,y_2) = p(x_0,x_1,x_2)$ if and only if $(y_0,y_1,y_2)=(\lambda x_0,\lambda^2 x_1,\lambda x_2)$ for some $\lambda\in\mathbb{C}^\times$. This is another defining property of $\mathbb{P}(1,2,1)$, i.e. being the quotient of $\mathbb{C}^3\setminus 0$ by the $\mathbb{C}^\times$-action $\lambda.(x_0,x_1,x_2) = (\lambda x_0,\lambda^2 x_1,\lambda x_2)$. Consequently, $\mathbb{P}(1,2,1)$ is the image of $p$, which is just the quadratic cone $\{(w:x:y:z)\in\mathbb{P}^3|\,wz=y^2\}$. Its only singular point is $(0:1:0:0)$, whose $p$-fibre is the line in $\mathbb{C}^3\setminus 0$ generated by $(0,1,0)$. In view of the original question, this corresponds to the fixed point $(0:1:0)\in\mathbb{P}^2$. Analogously, for any $n\geq 2$, the map $\mathbb{C}^3\setminus 0\to \mathbb{P}^{n+1}$, $(x,y,z)\mapsto (x^n,x^{n-1}z,x^{n-2}z^2,\dots,z^n,y)$ does the same job.

Ben
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