Real algebraic surfaces (Q5916296)

This book is the first systematic treatment of the following problem: Given a real algebraic surface, determine the topology of the real part, that is the classification problem for real algebraic surfaces. The book is very clearly written. In the viewpoint of this book, real algebraic surfaces are complex algebraic surfaces with an antiholomorphic involution, and the work takes as a basis known results on the classification of complex algebraic surfaces; of course, the real classification problem is not a simple corollary of the complex one. A convenient class of varieties is introduced. Galois-maximal varieties are varieties for which the Galois action on the complex homology with integer coefficients determine the real homology with mod 2 coefficients. Galois-maximal varieties include curves and abelian varieties. Galois-maximal surfaces include a large class of classical surfaces such as rational surfaces, abelian surfaces and K3 surfaces; for all these examples the classification problem is completely solved in the book under review (chapters III and VI, IV, VIII). In some other cases (ruled surfaces, surfaces fibered on a curve like elliptic surfaces), which are not Galois-maximal, the complex homology gives only bounds on the real homology mod 2. The classification problem is solved in the book for ruled surfaces, and, locally, for elliptic surfaces (chapters V and VII). As usual the classification problem involves discrete and continuous invariants. Discrete invariants considered are the invariants for the antiholomorphic involution on the complex homology, taken with the cup- product form and the Hodge decomposition. For the continuous part, a moduli space is constructed, which classifies real algebraic surfaces with given invariants. It is not the real part of the complex moduli space (see the discussion in chapter IV). Other results, not directly related to the classification problem, concern the number of connected components and the subgroup of the first homology group mod 2 generated by algebriac cycles. In chapter II the Rokhlin-Kharlamov-Gudkov-Krakhnov congruences for real algebraic surfaces are presented. For general surfaces, there are few results in the book, one reason being that the complex case is not completely solved.