The Geometry of Rank Drop in a Class of Face-Splitting Matrix Products

Given $k\le 6$ points $(x_i,y_i)\in {\mathbb{P}}^2\times {\mathbb{P}}^2$, we characterize rank deficiency of the $k\times 9$ matrix $Z_k$ with rows $x_i^{\mathrm{\top }}\otimes y_i^{\mathrm{\top }}$ in terms of the geometry of the point configurations $\{x_i\}$ and $\{y_i\}$. While this question comes from computer vision the answer relies on tools from classical algebraic geometry: For $k\le 5$, the geometry of the rank-drop locus is characterized by cross-ratios and basic (projective) geometry of point configurations. For the case $k=6$ the rank-drop locus is captured by the classical theory of cubic surfaces.