On complex spaces with prescribed singularities (Q2510092)

The authors prove that any reduced complex space Y can appear as the singular set of some complex space \(X\) (their result is more detailed than this sweeping statement). The new space \(X\) is constructed from a line bundle over a suitable desingularisation of \(Y\), identifying points with respect to a certain equivalence relation. Apart from the desingularisation theorem the authors apply the Remmert-Rossi reduction method in the general form given by Wiegmann, and the ``relative'' reduction results due to Knorr and Schneider. The presentation of the arguments is extraordinarily clear. The ``covering lemma'' 4 might be also useful in other contexts.