Generic ED and GD degree formulas for surfaces and threefolds in Gr(2,4){\rm Gr}(2,4)

Let a surface in Gr(2,4){\rm Gr}(2,4) be defined by generic polynomials of degrees d1,d2d_1,d_2, and let a threefold in Gr(2,4){\rm Gr}(2,4) be defined by a generic polynomial ff of degree dd. The ED degree and GD degree refer respectively to the Euclidean-distance and Grassmannian-distance optimization problems. Generic degree conjecture. The GD degree of the surface is

2d1d2(d12+d22+d1d2+2),2d_1d_2(d_1^2+d_2^2+d_1d_2+2),

which is 2d1d22d_1d_2 less than its ED degree. The threefold has ED degree 2d(d3+3d+2)2d(d^3+3d+2) and GD degree 2d(d3+2d)2d(d^3+2d). These formulas are stated as conjectural in the supplied span, while nearby results prove related ED-degree formulas.

Sources & referencesView supporting material

Primary source

Hannah Friedman, Andrea Rosana and Bernd Sturmfels, “Distance Optimization in the Grassmannian of Lines”, arXiv:2601.22843 (2026).

Additional references

4 papers in this index state this conjecture (2014–2026). The statement above is taken from the most recent of them; the others are arXiv:2501.14611, arXiv:2406.16172, arXiv:1412.6185.

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