Algebraic Curves and Riemann Surfaces (Graduate Studies in Mathematics, Vol 5) (Graduate Studies in Mathematics, Vol 5)

The book was easy to understand, with many examples. The exercises were well chosen, and served to give further examples and developments of the theory. —William Goldman, University of Maryland In this book, Miranda takes the approach that algebraic curves are best encountered for the first time over the complex numbers, where the reader's classical intuition about surfaces, integration, and other concepts can be brought into play. Therefore, many examples of algebraic curves are presented in the first chapters. In this way, the book begins as a primer on Riemann surfaces, with complex charts and meromorphic functions taking center stage. But the main examples come from projective curves, and slowly but surely the text moves toward the algebraic category. Proofs of the Riemann-Roch and Serre Duality Theorems are presented in an algebraic manner, via an adaptation of the adelic proof, expressed completely in terms of solving a Mittag-Leffler problem. Sheaves and cohomology are introduced as a unifying device in the latter chapters, so that their utility and naturalness are immediately obvious. Requiring a background of one semester of complex variable theory and a year of abstract algebra, this is an excellent graduate textbook for a second-semester course in complex variables or a year-long course in algebraic geometry. In this book, Miranda takes the approach that algebraic curves are best encountered for the first time over the complex numbers, where the reader's classical intuition about surfaces, integration, and other concepts can be brought into play. Therefore, many examples of algebraic curves are presented in the first chapters. In this way, the book begins as a primer on Riemann surfaces, with complex charts and meromorphic functions taking center stage. But the main examples come from projective curves, and slowly but surely the text moves toward the algebraic category. Proofs of the Riemann-Roch and Serre Duality Theorems are presented in an algebraic manner, via an adaptation of the adelic proof, expressed completely in terms of solving a Mittag-Leffler problem. Sheaves and cohomology are introduced as a unifying device in the latter chapters, so that their utility and naturalness are immediately obvious. Requiring a background of a one semester of complex variable! theory and a year of abstract algebra, this is an excellent graduate textbook for a second-semester course in complex variables or a year-long course in algebraic geometry. Contents Preface Chapter I. Riemann Surfaces: Basic Definitions Chapter II. Functions and Maps Chapter III. More Examples of Riemann Surfaces Chapter IV. Integration on Riemann Surfaces Chapter V. Divisors and Meromorphic Functions Chapter VI. Algebraic Curves and the Riemann-Roch Theorem Chapter VII. Applications of Riemann-Roch Chapter VIII. Abel's Theorem Chapter IX. Sheaves and Cech Cohomology Chapter X. Algebraic Sheaves Chapter XI. Invertible Sheaves, Line Bundles, and H1 References Index of Notation Index of Terminology Takes the approach that algebraic curves are best encountered for the first time over the complex numbers, where the reader's classical intuition about surfaces, integration, and other concepts can be brought into play. This book covers Riemann surfaces, with complex charts and meromorphic functions taking center stage. The author of this monograph argues that algebraic curves are best encountered for the first time over the complex numbers, where the reader's classical intuition about surfaces, integration, and other concepts can be brought into play