Closed immersionIn algebraic geometry, a closed immersion of schemes is a morphism of schemes that identifies Z as a closed subset of X such that locally, regular functions on Z can be extended to X. The latter condition can be formalized by saying that is surjective. An example is the inclusion map induced by the canonical map . The following are equivalent: is a closed immersion. For every open affine , there exists an ideal such that as schemes over U. There exists an open affine covering and for each j there exists an ideal such that as schemes over .
Irreducible componentIn algebraic geometry, an irreducible algebraic set or irreducible variety is an algebraic set that cannot be written as the union of two proper algebraic subsets. An irreducible component is an algebraic subset that is irreducible and maximal (for set inclusion) for this property. For example, the set of solutions of the equation xy = 0 is not irreducible, and its irreducible components are the two lines of equations x = 0 and y =0.
Rational mappingIn mathematics, in particular the subfield of algebraic geometry, a rational map or rational mapping is a kind of partial function between algebraic varieties. This article uses the convention that varieties are irreducible. Formally, a rational map between two varieties is an equivalence class of pairs in which is a morphism of varieties from a non-empty open set to , and two such pairs and are considered equivalent if and coincide on the intersection (this is, in particular, vacuously true if the intersection is empty, but since is assumed irreducible, this is impossible).
Glossary of algebraic geometryThis is a glossary of algebraic geometry. See also glossary of commutative algebra, glossary of classical algebraic geometry, and glossary of ring theory. For the number-theoretic applications, see glossary of arithmetic and Diophantine geometry. For simplicity, a reference to the base scheme is often omitted; i.e., a scheme will be a scheme over some fixed base scheme S and a morphism an S-morphism.
Birational geometryIn mathematics, birational geometry is a field of algebraic geometry in which the goal is to determine when two algebraic varieties are isomorphic outside lower-dimensional subsets. This amounts to studying mappings that are given by rational functions rather than polynomials; the map may fail to be defined where the rational functions have poles. A rational map from one variety (understood to be irreducible) to another variety , written as a dashed arrow X Y, is defined as a morphism from a nonempty open subset to .
Resolution of singularitiesIn 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. Originally the problem of resolution of singularities was to find a nonsingular model for the function field of a variety X, in other words a complete non-singular variety X′ with the same function field.
Residue fieldIn mathematics, the residue field is a basic construction in commutative algebra. If R is a commutative ring and m is a maximal ideal, then the residue field is the quotient ring k = R/m, which is a field. Frequently, R is a local ring and m is then its unique maximal ideal. This construction is applied in algebraic geometry, where to every point x of a scheme X one associates its residue field k(x). One can say a little loosely that the residue field of a point of an abstract algebraic variety is the 'natural domain' for the coordinates of the point.
Finite morphismIn algebraic geometry, a finite morphism between two affine varieties is a dense regular map which induces isomorphic inclusion between their coordinate rings, such that is integral over . This definition can be extended to the quasi-projective varieties, such that a regular map between quasiprojective varieties is finite if any point like has an affine neighbourhood V such that is affine and is a finite map (in view of the previous definition, because it is between affine varieties).
Quasi-projective varietyIn mathematics, a quasi-projective variety in algebraic geometry is a locally closed subset of a projective variety, i.e., the intersection inside some projective space of a Zariski-open and a Zariski-closed subset. A similar definition is used in scheme theory, where a quasi-projective scheme is a locally closed subscheme of some projective space. An affine space is a Zariski-open subset of a projective space, and since any closed affine subset can be expressed as an intersection of the projective completion and the affine space embedded in the projective space, this implies that any affine variety is quasiprojective.
Generic pointIn algebraic geometry, a generic point P of an algebraic variety X is, roughly speaking, a point at which all generic properties are true, a generic property being a property which is true for almost every point. In classical algebraic geometry, a generic point of an affine or projective algebraic variety of dimension d is a point such that the field generated by its coordinates has transcendence degree d over the field generated by the coefficients of the equations of the variety.
Noether normalization lemmaIn mathematics, the Noether normalization lemma is a result of commutative algebra, introduced by Emmy Noether in 1926. It states that for any field k, and any finitely generated commutative k-algebra A, there exist algebraically independent elements y1, y2, ..., yd in A such that A is a finitely generated module over the polynomial ring S = k [y1, y2, ..., yd]. The integer d is equal to the Krull dimension of the ring A; and if A is an integral domain, d is also the transcendence degree of the field of fractions of A over k.
Function field of an algebraic varietyIn algebraic geometry, the function field of an algebraic variety V consists of objects which are interpreted as rational functions on V. In classical algebraic geometry they are ratios of polynomials; in complex algebraic geometry these are meromorphic functions and their higher-dimensional analogues; in modern algebraic geometry they are elements of some quotient ring's field of fractions. In complex algebraic geometry the objects of study are complex analytic varieties, on which we have a local notion of complex analysis, through which we may define meromorphic functions.
Minimal model programIn algebraic geometry, the minimal model program is part of the birational classification of algebraic varieties. Its goal is to construct a birational model of any complex projective variety which is as simple as possible. The subject has its origins in the classical birational geometry of surfaces studied by the Italian school, and is currently an active research area within algebraic geometry. The basic idea of the theory is to simplify the birational classification of varieties by finding, in each birational equivalence class, a variety which is "as simple as possible".
Normal schemeIn algebraic geometry, an algebraic variety or scheme X is normal if it is normal at every point, meaning that the local ring at the point is an integrally closed domain. An affine variety X (understood to be irreducible) is normal if and only if the ring O(X) of regular functions on X is an integrally closed domain. A variety X over a field is normal if and only if every finite birational morphism from any variety Y to X is an isomorphism. Normal varieties were introduced by .
Rational varietyIn mathematics, a rational variety is an algebraic variety, over a given field K, which is birationally equivalent to a projective space of some dimension over K. This means that its function field is isomorphic to the field of all rational functions for some set of indeterminates, where d is the dimension of the variety. Let V be an affine algebraic variety of dimension d defined by a prime ideal I = ⟨f1, ..., fk⟩ in . If V is rational, then there are n + 1 polynomials g0, ..., gn in such that In order words, we have a of the variety.
Affine varietyIn algebraic geometry, an affine algebraic set is the set of the common zeros over an algebraically closed field k of some family of polynomials in the polynomial ring An affine variety or affine algebraic variety, is an affine algebraic set such that the ideal generated by the defining polynomials is prime. Some texts call variety any algebraic set, and irreducible variety an algebraic set whose defining ideal is prime (affine variety in the above sense).
Étale morphismIn algebraic geometry, an étale morphism (etal) is a morphism of schemes that is formally étale and locally of finite presentation. This is an algebraic analogue of the notion of a local isomorphism in the complex analytic topology. They satisfy the hypotheses of the implicit function theorem, but because open sets in the Zariski topology are so large, they are not necessarily local isomorphisms. Despite this, étale maps retain many of the properties of local analytic isomorphisms, and are useful in defining the algebraic fundamental group and the étale topology.
Smooth morphismIn algebraic geometry, a morphism between schemes is said to be smooth if (i) it is locally of finite presentation (ii) it is flat, and (iii) for every geometric point the fiber is regular. (iii) means that each geometric fiber of f is a nonsingular variety (if it is separated). Thus, intuitively speaking, a smooth morphism gives a flat family of nonsingular varieties. If S is the spectrum of an algebraically closed field and f is of finite type, then one recovers the definition of a nonsingular variety.
Projective varietyIn 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 .
Algebraic function fieldIn mathematics, an algebraic function field (often abbreviated as function field) of n variables over a field k is a finitely generated field extension K/k which has transcendence degree n over k. Equivalently, an algebraic function field of n variables over k may be defined as a finite field extension of the field K = k(x1,...,xn) of rational functions in n variables over k. As an example, in the polynomial ring k [X,Y] consider the ideal generated by the irreducible polynomial Y 2 − X 3 and form the field of fractions of the quotient ring k [X,Y]/(Y 2 − X 3).
