A Pascal's Theorem for rational normal curves
Abstract: Pascal's Theorem gives a synthetic geometric condition for six points $a,\ldots,f$ in $\mathbb{P}2$ to lie on a conic. Namely, that the intersection points $\overline{ab}\cap\overline{de}$, $\overline{af}\cap\overline{dc}$, $\overline{ef}\cap\overline{bc}$ are aligned. One could ask an analogous question in higher dimension: is there a coordinate-free condition for $d+4$ points in $\mathbb{P}d$ to lie on a degree $d$ rational normal curve? In this paper we find many of these conditions by writing in the Grassmann-Cayley algebra the defining equations of the parameter space of $d+4$ ordered points in $\mathbb{P}d$ that lie on a rational normal curve. These equations were introduced and studied in a previous joint work of the authors with Giansiracusa and Moon. We conclude with an application in the case of seven points on a twisted cubic.
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