An arithmetic enrichment of Bézout's Theorem

Abstract

The classical version of Bézout's Theorem gives an integer-valued count of the intersection points of hypersurfaces in projective space over an algebraically closed field. Using work of Kass and Wickelgren, we prove a version of Bézout's Theorem over any perfect field by giving a bilinear form-valued count of the intersection points of hypersurfaces in projective space. Over non-algebraically closed fields, this enriched Bézout's Theorem imposes a relation on the gradients of the hypersurfaces at their intersection points. As corollaries, we obtain arithmetic-geometric versions of Bézout's Theorem over the reals, rationals, and finite fields of odd characteristic.

Updated and revised version for publication. 27 pages, 3 figures