28 Algebraic geometry

Algebraic geometry is a branch of mathematics, classically studying zeros of multivariate polynomials. Modern algebraic geometry is based on the use of abstract algebraic techniques, mainly from commutative algebra, for solving geometrical problems about these sets of zeros.

In algebraic geometry, an affine variety, or affine algebraic variety, over an algebraically closed field k is the zero-locus in the affine space kn of some finite family of polynomials of n variables with coefficients in k that generate a prime ideal. If the condition of generating a prime ideal is removed, such a set is called an (affine) algebraic set. A Zariski open subvariety of an affine variety is called a quasi-affine variety.

Algebraic Geometry is an influential algebraic geometry textbook written by Robin Hartshorne and published by Springer-Verlag in 1977.

Algebraic varieties are the central objects of study in algebraic geometry, a sub-field of mathematics. Classically, an algebraic variety is defined as the set of solutions of a system of polynomial equations over the real or complex numbers. Modern definitions generalize this concept in several different ways, while attempting to preserve the geometric intuition behind the original definition.

In complex analysis, a branch of mathematics, an amoeba is a set associated with a polynomial in one or more complex variables. Amoebas have applications in algebraic geometry, especially tropical geometry.

In mathematics, an associative algebra is an algebraic structure with compatible operations of addition, multiplication, and a scalar multiplication by elements in some field. The addition and multiplication operations together give A the structure of a ring; the addition and scalar multiplication operations together give A the structure of a vector space over K. In this article we will also use the term K-algebra to mean an associative algebra over the field K. A standard first example of a K-algebra is a ring of square matrices over a field K, with the usual matrix multiplication.

In the mathematical theory of functions of one or more complex variables, and also in complex algebraic geometry, a biholomorphism or biholomorphic function is a bijective holomorphic function whose inverse is also holomorphic.

In algebraic geometry, a Calabi–Yau manifold, also known as a Calabi–Yau space, is a particular type of manifold which has properties, such as Ricci flatness, yielding applications in theoretical physics. Particularly in superstring theory, the extra dimensions of spacetime are sometimes conjectured to take the form of a 6-dimensional Calabi–Yau manifold, which led to the idea of mirror symmetry. Their name was coined by Candelas et al. (1985), after Eugenio Calabi who first conjectured that such surfaces might exist, and Shing-Tung Yau (1978) who proved the Calabi conjecture.

In mathematics, Cramer's paradox or the Cramer–Euler paradox is the statement that the number of points of intersection of two higher-order curves in the plane can be greater than the number of arbitrary points that are usually needed to define one such curve. It is named after the Genevan mathematician Gabriel Cramer.

In mathematics, specifically algebraic geometry, Donaldson–Thomas theory is the theory of Donaldson–Thomas invariants. Given a compact moduli space of sheaves on a Calabi–Yau threefold, its Donaldson–Thomas invariant is the virtual number of its points, i.e., the integral of the cohomology class 1 against the virtual fundamental class. The Donaldson–Thomas invariant is a holomorphic analogue of the Casson invariant. The invariants were introduced by Simon Donaldson and Richard Thomas (1998). Donaldson–Thomas invariants have close connections to Gromov–Witten invariants of algebraic three-folds and the theory of stable pairs due to Rahul Pandharipande and Thomas.

An Erdős–Diophantine graph is an object in the mathematical subject of Diophantine equations consisting of a set of integer points at integer distances in the plane that cannot be extended by any additional points. Equivalently, it can be described as a complete graph with vertices located on the integer square grid such that all mutual distances between the vertices are integers, while all other grid points have a non-integer distance to at least one vertex.

A family of curves is a set of curves, each of which is given by a function or parametrization in which one or more of the parameters is variable. In general, the parameter(s) influence the shape of the curve in a way that is more complicated than a simple linear transformation. Sets of curves given by an implicit relation may also represent families of curves.

In mathematics, especially real analysis, a flat function is a smooth function ƒ : ℝ → ℝ all of whose derivatives vanish at a given point x0 ∈ ℝ. The flat functions are, in some sense, the antitheses of the analytic functions. An analytic function ƒ : ℝ → ℝ is given by a convergent power series close to some point x0 ∈ ℝ:

Galois geometry is the branch of finite geometry that is concerned with algebraic and analytic geometry over a finite field. More narrowly, a Galois geometry may be defined as a projective space over a finite field.

In mathematics, specifically in symplectic topology and algebraic geometry, Gromov–Witten (GW) invariants are rational numbers that, in certain situations, count pseudoholomorphic curves meeting prescribed conditions in a given symplectic manifold. The GW invariants may be packaged as a homology or cohomology class in an appropriate space, or as the deformed cup product of quantum cohomology. These invariants have been used to distinguish symplectic manifolds that were previously indistinguishable. They also play a crucial role in closed type IIA string theory. They are named after Mikhail Gromov and Edward Witten.

In mathematics, specifically in the area of hyperbolic geometry, Hilbert's arithmetic of ends is a method for endowing a geometric set, the set of ideal points or "ends" of a hyperbolic plane, with an algebraic structure as a field. It was introduced by German mathematician David Hilbert.

In algebraic geometry and theoretical physics, mirror symmetry is a relationship between geometric objects called Calabi–Yau manifolds. The term refers to a situation where two Calabi–Yau manifolds look very different geometrically but are nevertheless equivalent when employed as extra dimensions of string theory.

In geometry, a pencil is a family of geometric objects with a common property, for example the set of lines that pass through a given point in a plane, or the set of circles that pass through two given points in a plane.

In mathematics, the projective line over a ring is an extension of the concept of projective line over a field. Given a ring A with 1, the projective line P(A) over A consists of points identified by projective coordinates. Let U be the group of units of A; pairs and from A × A are related when there is a u in U such that ua = c and ub = d. This relation is an equivalence relation. A typical equivalence class is written U[a, b].

In mathematics, a projective plane is a geometric structure that extends the concept of a plane. In the ordinary Euclidean plane, two lines typically intersect in a single point, but there are some pairs of lines that do not intersect. A projective plane can be thought of as an ordinary plane equipped with additional "points at infinity" where parallel lines intersect. Thus any two distinct lines in a projective plane intersect in one and only one point.

In algebraic geometry, a projective variety over an algebraically closed field k is a subset of some projective n-space over k that is the zero-locus of some finite family of homogeneous polynomials of n + 1 variables with coefficients in k, that generate a prime ideal, the defining ideal of the variety. Equivalently, an algebraic variety is projective if it can be embedded as a Zariski closed subvariety of .

In mathematics, a quadric or quadric hypersurface is the subspace of N-dimensional space defined by a polynomial equation of degree 2 over a field. Quadrics are fundamental examples in algebraic geometry. The theory is simplified by working in projective space rather than affine space. An example is the quadric surface

In geometry, a quadrisecant or quadrisecant line of a curve is a line that passes through four points of the curve. Every knotted curve in three-dimensional Euclidean space has a quadrisecant. The number of quadrisecants of an algebraic curve in complex projective space can be computed by a formula derived by Arthur Cayley. Quadrisecants of skew lines are also associated with ruled surfaces and the Schläfli double six configuration.

In algebraic geometry, the problem of resolution of singularities asks whether every algebraic variety V has a resolution, a non-singular variety W with a proper birational map W→V. For varieties over fields of characteristic 0 this was proved in Hironaka (1964), while for varieties over fields of characteristic p it is an open problem in dimensions at least 4.

In mathematics, a Siegel modular variety or Siegel moduli space is an algebraic variety that parametrizes certain types of abelian varieties of a fixed dimension. More precisely, Siegel modular varieties are the moduli spaces of principally polarized abelian varieties of a fixed dimension. They are named after Carl Ludwig Siegel, the 20th-century German number theorist who introduced the varieties in 1943.

In algebraic geometry and string theory, the phenomenon of wall-crossing describes the discontinuous change of a certain quantity, such as an integer geometric invariant, an index or a space of BPS state, across a codimension-one wall in a space of stability conditions, a so-called wall of marginal stability.

In mathematics, the Whitney umbrella is a specific self-intersecting surface placed in three dimensions. It is the union of all straight lines that pass through points of a fixed parabola and are perpendicular to a fixed straight line, parallel to the axis of the parabola and lying on its perpendicular bisecting plane.