Encomplexed Brown invariant of real algebraic surfaces in ℝP3

Abstract

We construct an invariant of parametrized generic real algebraic surfaces in ℝP³ which generalizes the Brown invariant of immersed surfaces from smooth topology. The invariant is constructed using self-intersections, which are real algebraic curves with points of three local characters: the intersection of two real sheets, the intersection of two complex conjugate sheets or a Whitney umbrella. In Kirby and Melvin (Local surgery formulas for quantum invariants and the Arf invariant, in Proceedings of the Casson Fest, Geom. Topol. Monogr. 7, pp. 213–233, Geom. Topol. Publ., Coventry, 2004) the Brown invariant was expressed through a self-linking number of the self-intersection. We extend the definition of this self-linking number to the case of parametrized generic real algebraic surfaces.