Lemniscate of Gerono

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The Lemniscate of Gerono
The Lemniscate of Gerono

In algebraic geometry, the Lemniscate of Gerono, or figure-eight curve, is a plane algebraic curve of degree four and genus zero shaped like an ∞ symbol, or figure eight. It has equation

x4x2 + y2 = 0.

It was studied by Camille-Christophe Gerono.

Because the curve is of genus zero, it can be parametrized by rational functions; one means of doing that is

x = \frac{t^2-1}{t^2+1},\ y = \frac{2t(t^2-1)}{(t^2+1)^2}.

Unlike the Lemniscate of Bernoulli or the Lemniscate of Booth, the double point at the origin of the Lemniscate of Gerono is not an ordinary double point, having a delta invariant of two. The dual curve, pictured below, has therefore a somewhat different character. Its equation is

(x2y2)3 + 8y4 + 20x2y2x4 − 16y2 = 0.
Dual to the Lemniscate of Gerono
Dual to the Lemniscate of Gerono
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