Homogeneous coordinate ringIn algebraic geometry, the homogeneous coordinate ring R of an algebraic variety V given as a subvariety of projective space of a given dimension N is by definition the quotient ring R = K[X0, X1, X2, ..., XN] / I where I is the homogeneous ideal defining V, K is the algebraically closed field over which V is defined, and K[X0, X1, X2, ..., XN] is the polynomial ring in N + 1 variables Xi. The polynomial ring is therefore the homogeneous coordinate ring of the projective space itself, and the variables are the homogeneous coordinates, for a given choice of basis (in the vector space underlying the projective space).
Hyperelliptic curveIn algebraic geometry, a hyperelliptic curve is an algebraic curve of genus g > 1, given by an equation of the form where f(x) is a polynomial of degree n = 2g + 1 > 4 or n = 2g + 2 > 4 with n distinct roots, and h(x) is a polynomial of degree < g + 2 (if the characteristic of the ground field is not 2, one can take h(x) = 0). A hyperelliptic function is an element of the function field of such a curve, or of the Jacobian variety on the curve; these two concepts are identical for elliptic functions, but different for hyperelliptic functions.
Twisted cubicIn mathematics, a twisted cubic is a smooth, rational curve C of degree three in projective 3-space P3. It is a fundamental example of a skew curve. It is essentially unique, up to projective transformation (the twisted cubic, therefore). In algebraic geometry, the twisted cubic is a simple example of a projective variety that is not linear or a hypersurface, in fact not a complete intersection. It is the three-dimensional case of the rational normal curve, and is the of a Veronese map of degree three on the projective line.
Degree of an algebraic varietyIn mathematics, the degree of an affine or projective variety of dimension n is the number of intersection points of the variety with n hyperplanes in general position. For an algebraic set, the intersection points must be counted with their intersection multiplicity, because of the possibility of multiple components. For (irreducible) varieties, if one takes into account the multiplicities and, in the affine case, the points at infinity, the hypothesis of general position may be replaced by the much weaker condition that the intersection of the variety has the dimension zero (that is, consists of a finite number of points).
Glossary of algebraic geometryThis is a glossary of algebraic geometry. See also glossary of commutative algebra, glossary of classical algebraic geometry, and glossary of ring theory. For the number-theoretic applications, see glossary of arithmetic and Diophantine geometry. For simplicity, a reference to the base scheme is often omitted; i.e., a scheme will be a scheme over some fixed base scheme S and a morphism an S-morphism.
Canonical bundleIn mathematics, the canonical bundle of a non-singular algebraic variety of dimension over a field is the line bundle , which is the nth exterior power of the cotangent bundle on . Over the complex numbers, it is the determinant bundle of the holomorphic cotangent bundle . Equivalently, it is the line bundle of holomorphic n-forms on . This is the dualising object for Serre duality on . It may equally well be considered as an invertible sheaf.
Ample line bundleIn mathematics, a distinctive feature of algebraic geometry is that some line bundles on a projective variety can be considered "positive", while others are "negative" (or a mixture of the two). The most important notion of positivity is that of an ample line bundle, although there are several related classes of line bundles. Roughly speaking, positivity properties of a line bundle are related to having many global sections. Understanding the ample line bundles on a given variety X amounts to understanding the different ways of mapping X into projective space.
Projective varietyIn algebraic geometry, a projective variety over an algebraically closed field k is a subset of some projective n-space over k that is the zero-locus of some finite family of homogeneous polynomials of n + 1 variables with coefficients in k, that generate a prime ideal, the defining ideal of the variety. Equivalently, an algebraic variety is projective if it can be embedded as a Zariski closed subvariety of .
Algebraic curveIn mathematics, an affine algebraic plane curve is the zero set of a polynomial in two variables. A projective algebraic plane curve is the zero set in a projective plane of a homogeneous polynomial in three variables. An affine algebraic plane curve can be completed in a projective algebraic plane curve by homogenizing its defining polynomial. Conversely, a projective algebraic plane curve of homogeneous equation h(x, y, t) = 0 can be restricted to the affine algebraic plane curve of equation h(x, y, 1) = 0.