Limits of Weierstrass points in regular smoothings of curves with two components

Eduardo Esteves, Nivaldo Medeiros

Published 2000-03-28Version 1

In the 80's D. Eisenbud and J. Harris posed the following question: "What are the limits of Weierstrass points in families of curves degenerating to stable curves not of compact type?" We answer their question for one-dimensional families of smooth curves degenerating to stable curves with just two components meeting at points in general position. In this note we treat only those families whose total space is regular. Nevertheless, we announce here our most general answer, to be presented in detail in a forthcoming submission.