In this paper, we study the zero loci of local systems of the form \delta\Pi , where \delta\Pi is the period sheaf of the universal family of CY hypersurfaces in a suitable ambient space \delta\Pi , and \delta\Pi is a given differential operator on the space of sections \delta\Pi . Using earlier results of three of the authors and their collaborators, we give several different descriptions of the zero locus of \delta\Pi . As applications, we prove that the locus is algebraic and in some cases, non-empty. We also give an explicit way to compute the polynomial defining equations of the locus in some cases. This description gives rise to a natural stratification to the zero locus.

In this paper, we describe all (2,3)-torus structures of a highly symmetric 39-cuspidal degree 12 curve. A direct computer-aided determination of these torus structures seems to be out of reach. We use various quotients by automorphisms to find torus structures. We use a height pairing argument to show that there are no further structures.

Every smooth cubic plane curve has 9 flex points and 27 sextatic points. We study the following question asked by Farb: Is it true that the known algebraic structures give all the possible ways to continuously choose n distinct points on every smooth cubic plane curve, for each given positive integer n? We give an affirmative answer to the question when n=9 and 18 (the smallest open cases), and a negative answer for infinitely many n's.

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Motivated by mirror symmetry, we study certain integral representations of solutions to the Gelfand-Kapranov-Zelevinsky (GKZ) hypergeometric system. Some of these solutions arise as period integrals for Calabi-Yau manifolds in mirror symmetry. We prove that for a suitable compactification of the parameter space, there exist certain special boundary points, which we called maximal degeneracy points, at which all solutions but one become singular.