Introduction to moduli problems and orbit spaces (Q1936836)

The author's classic notes ``Introduction to Moduli Problems and Orbit spaces'' were based on a course of lectures he gave at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai between January and March 1975. The published version of these lecture notes appeared in 1978 as Volume 51 of the series ``Tata Institute of Fundamental Research Lectures on Mathematics and Physics'' [Berlin-Heidelberg-New York Springer Verlag (1978; Zbl 0411.14003)], and were reviewed back then by P. Cherenack. The main goal of the author's course was to provide an introduction to the framework of geometric invariant theory (GIT) and its applications to the construction of various moduli spaces in algebraic geometry. This pioneering approach toward the classification theory of algebro-geometric objects had been developed by D. Mumford in the 1960s, that is, just about fifteen years prior to the author's lectures on the subject, and the first research monograph on GIT was \textit{D. Mumford's} book from 1965 [Geometric invariant theory. Ergebnisse der Mathematik und ihrer Grenzgebiete. Neue Folge. 34. Berlin-Heidelberg-New York: Springer-Verlag. VI, 145 p. (1965; Zbl 0147.39304)]. As Mumford's book is written in a highly concise, advanced and abstract style, it was (and still is) barely accessible to non-specialists in modern algebraic geometry. Due to this very fact, and in view of the crucial significance of moduli theory in contemporary mathematics, the author's notes were an attempt to explain Mumford's ideas in a simplified context, thereby working with algebraic varieties instead od schemes, on the one hand, and concentrating on carefully selected topics on the other. Actuaily, apart from the brilliant survey article ``Introduction to the Theory of Moduli'' by \textit{D. Mumford} and \textit{K. Suominen} [Algebraic Geom., Oslo 1970, Proc. 5th Nordic Summer-School Math., 171--222 (1972; Zbl 0242.14004)], the author's booklet from 1978 has been the only down-to-earth introduction to geometric invariant theory and moduli problems in algebraic geometry for several decades, and as such it has become one of the timeless classics on the subject. Indeed, generations of researchers in this area acquired their basic knowledge through these lecture notes, which unfortunately have been out of print for many years, and further generations can still profit a great deal from the study of this masterpiece of expository writing in the field. The book under review is the long-desired reprint of the author's classic ``Introduction to Moduli Problems and Orbit Spaces''. Having left the well-tried original text totally unaltered, the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research has re-issued this classic in a new, modern print which replaces the nostalgic typescript from thirty-five years ago. As for the precise contents, we may refer to the review of the first edition (Zbl 0411.14003, loc. cit.), since no changes have been made. However, it seems appropriate, after so many years, to recall the topics treated in the five chapters of the book: 1. The concept of moduli (families of algebro-geometric objects, fine and coarse moduli spaces, universal families). 2. Moduli of endomorphisms of vector spaces (families of endomorphisms, semisimple and cyclic endomorphisms, moduli and quotients). 3. Quotients (actions of algebraic groups on varieties, reductive groups and Nagata's theorem, affine quotients, projective quotients, linearizations of group actions, (semi-)stable points). 4. Examples of (semi-)stable points (Mumford's criterion for stability, binary forms, plane cubics, \(n\)-ordered points on a line, sequences of linear subspaces). 5. Vector bundles over a curve (coherent sheaves over a curve, locally universal families for semi-stable bundle, existence of a fine moduli space, bundles over a singular curve). As one can see from this table of contents, the material covered in the author's classic is still as topical as it was thirty-five years ago. Although a number of texts on the subject have appeared in the last few years, the book under review will maintain its unique role in the relevant literature for further decades to come. Therefore it is more than gratifying that the overdue reprint of it finally has become available for further generations of students and researchers.