Flat families of point schemes for connected graded algebras

Abstract: We study truncated point schemes of connected graded algebras as families over the parameter space of varying relations for the algebras, proving that the families are flat over the open dense locus where the point schemes achieve the expected (i.e. minimal) dimension. When the truncated point scheme is zero-dimensional we obtain its number of points counted with multiplicity via a Chow ring computation. This latter application in particular confirms a conjecture of Brazfield to the effect that a generic two-generator, two-relator 4-dimensional Artin-Schelter regular algebra has seventeen truncated point modules of length six.