Sextactic points on the Fermat cubic curve and arrangements of conics

Abstract

The purpose of this note is to report, in narrative rather than rigorous style, about the nice geometry of 6-division points on the Fermat cubic F and various conics naturally attached to them. Most facts presented here were derived by symbolic algebra programs and the idea of the note is to propose a research direction in the search of conceptual proofs of facts stated here and their generalisations. Extensions in several directions seem possible (taking curves of higher degree and contact to F, studying higher degree curves passing through higher order division points on F, studying curves passing through intersection points of already constructed curves, taking the duals etc.) and we hope some younger colleagues might find pleasure in following proposed paths as well as finding their own.