Algebraic geometry and commutative algebra (Q5916112)

The main purpose of the book under review is to introduce the basic concepts and methods of modern algebraic geometry to novices in the field, requiring just a solid knowledge of linear algebra as a prerequisite. More precisely, the author's intention is to explain some foundational principles of A. Grothendieck's theory of algebraic schemes and their morphisms, together with the necessary (and closely related) background material from commutative algebra. As the author points out in the preface, the present text grew out of his repeated courses and seminars on the subject, which usually consisted of one semester of commutative algebra and then continued with two semesters of scheme-theoretic algebraic geometry. In this approach, commutative algebra is treated as a separate first part, while the second part deals with four selected, general topics in algebraic geometry based on just that commutative-algebraic framework. Accordingly, the book consists of two major parts, each of which is subdivided into several chapters and their respective sections. Part A is titled ``Commutative Algebra'' and starts with an instructive and motivating introduction through examples from arithmetic. Chapter 1 is devoted to the basic notions and results on commutative rings, their ideals, and their modules. Local rings, the localization principle, finiteness conditions for modules, and some fundamental exact sequences for modules are explained as well. Chapter 2 discusses rings with chain conditions, in particular the primary decomposition of ideals in Noetherian rings, Artinian rings and modules, the Artin-Rees Lemma, and the concept of Krull dimension of a ring. Chapter 3 presents the classical theory of integral ring extensions, including the Noether Normalization Lemma, Hilbert's Nullstellensatz, and the crucial Cohen-Seidenberg theorems. Chapter 4 turns to the process of coefficient extension for modules and its reverse, the so-called principle of descent. Apart from some foundational material on tensor products of modules, flat modules, and base change, the focus is here on the faithfully flat descent of modules and their homomorphisms, including a complete proof of Grothendieck's Fundamental Theorem on faithfully flat ring homomorphisms. In addition, the language of categories and functors is briefly explained in an extra section of this chapter. Homological methods in commutative algebra are the theme of Chapter 5, the last chapter of Part A. The main objects of study are the functors Ext and Tor, for the construction of which the general machinery of complexes, projective and injective resolutions, homology, and cohomology is developed. Part B comes with the heading ``Algebraic Geometry'' and comprises four large chapters, each of which deals with its own separate basic topic. After an example-driven, motivating introduction to algebraic geometry via polynomial equations, algebraic sets, their morphisms and coordinate rings, finitely generated algebras, and their functorial properties, Chapter 6 is concerned with spectra of rings, general sheaf theory, inductive and projective limits, affine schemes and their quasi-coherent module sheaves, direct and inverse images of module sheaves on affine schemes, and the respective construction techniques and basic results. Chapter 7 is devoted to global schemes and their properties, including topics such as the construction of schemes by gluing, fiber products of schemes, subschemes and immersions, separated schemes, Noetherian schemes and their dimension, Čech cohomology of schemes, and Grothendieck cohomology of schemes. Chapter 8 turns to the study of special morphisms of schemes. Using Kähler differential forms and sheaves of differential forms, morphisms of finite type and of finite presentation, unramified morphisms, étale morphisms, and smooth morphisms of schemes are described in greater detail. In particular, smooth morphisms are characterized by means of the Jacobian criterion in quite a novel fashion. Chapter 9 finally introduces the topic of projective schemes, invertible sheaves, divisors, proper morphisms, and projective embeddings. Apart from the usual basic material on homogeneous prime spectra, Proj-schemes associated to graded rings and to quasi-coherent sheaves of algebras, respectively, Cartier and Weil divisors, invertible sheaves and Serre twists, global sections of invertible sheaves, finite morphisms, separated morphisms, and proper morphisms of schemes, there are some methodological extras in this chapter. Namely, ample invertible sheaves are defined via the use of quasi-affine schemes, on the one hand, and a proof of the projectivity of abelian varieties is given as an instructive application of ampleness on the other. Along the way, several fundamental theorems are stated and explained, as for example: Chow's Lemma, the Proper Mapping Theorem, and the Stein Factorization Theorem. The proofs of these further-leading results can easily be studied with the background knowledge provided by this last chapter of the book. As a special feature of the entire exposition, each chapter comes with its own introduction, where the author motivates the respective contents by illustrating examples and spotlights the main aspects. Furthermore, each single section of the book ends with a carefully compiled selection of related exercises, most of which provide additional concepts, constructions, and results, thereby helping the reader develop both his understanding and his extended knowledge in a self-reliant way. Also, a useful glossary of notations, a comprehensive index, and a list of hints for further reading facilitate working with this textbook considerably. Altogether, the current book is an excellent primer on the elements of modern algebraic geometry and commutative algebra. The lucid exposition bespeaks once more the author's didactic mastery, his rich teaching experience, and his user-friendly style of mathematical writing, as those are already well-known from his bestselling German textbooks [\textit{S. Bosch}, Algebra. (Algebra.) 7th revised ed. Springer-Lehrbuch. Berlin: Springer. viii, 376 p. (2009; Zbl 1163.00003) and Lineare Algebra. (Linear algebra). (Lineare Algebra.) 2nd revised ed. Springer-Lehrbuch. Berlin: Springer. x, 295 S. (2003; Zbl 1016.15001)].