UC Berkeley

Using the possibility of computationally determining points on a finite cover of a unirational variety over a finite field, we determine all possibilities for direct Gorenstein linkages between general sets of points in P over an algebraically closed field of characteristic 0. As a consequence, we show that a general set of d points is glicci (that is, in the Gorenstein linkage class of a complete intersection) if d ≤33 or d = 37, 38. Computer algebra plays an essential role in the proof. The case of 20 points had been an outstanding problem in the area for a dozen years [8]. For Rob Lazarsfeld on the occasion of his 60th birthday 3