The Geometry of Syzygies

Algebraic Geometry often seems very abstract, but in fact it is full of concrete examples and problems. This side of the subject can be approached through the equations of a variety, and the syzygies of these equations are a necessary part of the study. This book is the first textbook-level account of basic examples and techniques in this area. It illustrates the use of syzygies in many concrete geometric considerations, from interpolation to the study of canonical curves. The text has served as a basis for graduate courses by the author at Berkeley, Brandeis, and in Paris. It is also suitable for self-study by a reader who knows a little commutative algebra and algebraic geometry already. As an aid to the reader, the appendices provide summaries of local cohomology and commutative algebra, tying together examples and major results from a wide range of topics.

• Grad
• Interpolation
• algebra
• algebraic geometry
• commutative algebra
• equation
• function
• geometry
• theorem

From the reviews:

"This book is devoted to offer … an approach to the study of this algebraic subject (syzygy = relation among generators of a module) … . a student would learn a lot of algebraic geometry from it. The double bet of the book is to be able to be a complete textbook … and at the same time to become a useful reference text for research work on the subject. I would say that both aspects of the bet have been gained … ." (Alessandro Gimigliano, Zentralblatt MATH, Vol. 1066, 2005)

"This book may be regarded as a complement to the author’s Commutative Algebra … . It begins by explaining syzygies and their connection with the Hilbert function, and turns to describing various aspects of algebraic geometry … . Two appendices provide the background in commutative algebra and local cohomology. Together with exercises, it gives a good survey of topics often not covered." (Mathematika, Vol. 52, 2005)

"This monograph is devoted to the geometric properties of a projective variety corresponding to the properties of its syzygies … . Altogether, this is a most welcome addition to the literature and will help many a reader bridge the gap between the abstractions of algebra and the more tangible field of geometry." (Ch. Baxa, Monatshefte für Mathematik, Vol. 150 (1), 2006)

Aus den Rezensionen: “... Das vorliegende Buch beschäftigt sich mit der qualitativen geometrischen Theorie der Syzygien. ... Es gibt zwei sehr kompakt geschriebene Anhänge: Der erste führt in die lokale Kohomologie ein, der zweite stellt für das Buch nötige Vorkenntnisse der kommutativen Algebra ... zusammen. Dieses Buch ist sehr elegant geschrieben und vermittelt viele interessante Ideen. In der Lehre könnte es gut für weiterführende Vorlesungen über algebraische Geometrie verwendet werden.“ (Franz Pauer, in: Internationale Mathematische Nachrichten, December/2009, Issue 12, S. 45)

“This very interesting book is the firsttextbook-level account of syzygies as they are used in algebraic geometry. … The reader will find two very good and useful appendices. … The book can be read, without any problem, by a student who has received already a little introduction in commutative algebra and algebraic geometry. I highly recommend this nice and deep textbook for all students and researchers studying algebraic geometry or commutative algebra.” (Dominique Lambert, Bulletin of the Belgian Mathematical Society, Vol. 15 (1), 2008)

• Mathematical Sciences Research Institute, Berkeley, USA

  David Eisenbud

The author taught at Brandeis University for twenty-seven years, with sabbatical time spent in Paris, Bonn, and Berkeley, and became Director of the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute in Berkeley in the Summer of 1997. At the same time he joined the faculty of UC Berkeley as Professor of Mathematics. In 2003 he became President of the American Mathematical Society. He currently serves on several editorial boards (Annals of Mathematics, Bulletin du Société Mathématique de France, Springer-Verlag's book series Algorithms and Computation in Mathematics).

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