Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 August 2022
Let $ {\mathbb {C}}^{n+1}_o$ denote the germ of $ {\mathbb {C}}^{n+1}$ at the origin. Let $V$ be a hypersurface germ in $ {\mathbb {C}}^{n+1}_o$ and $W$ a deformation of $V$ over $ {\mathbb {C}}_{o}^{m}$. Under the hypothesis that $W$ is a Newton non-degenerate deformation, in this article we prove that $W$ is a $\mu$-constant deformation if and only if $W$ admits a simultaneous embedded resolution. This result gives a lot of information about $W$, for example, the topological triviality of the family $W$ and the fact that the natural morphism $(\operatorname {W( {\mathbb {C}}_{o})}_{m})_{{\rm red}}\rightarrow {\mathbb {C}}_{o}$ is flat, where $\operatorname {W( {\mathbb {C}}_{o})}_{m}$ is the relative space of $m$-jets. On the way to the proof of our main result, we give a complete answer to a question of Arnold on the monotonicity of Newton numbers in the case of convenient Newton polyhedra.
The first author is partially supported by Projects ANID FONDECYT 1170743 and 1221535. The second author is partially supported by Projet ANR LISA, ANR-17-CE40-0023.