Rational normal curveIn mathematics, the rational normal curve is a smooth, rational curve C of degree n in projective n-space Pn. It is a simple example of a projective variety; formally, it is the Veronese variety when the domain is the projective line. For n = 2 it is the plane conic Z0Z2 = Z, and for n = 3 it is the twisted cubic. The term "normal" refers to projective normality, not normal schemes. The intersection of the rational normal curve with an affine space is called the moment curve.
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).
Rational mappingIn mathematics, in particular the subfield of algebraic geometry, a rational map or rational mapping is a kind of partial function between algebraic varieties. This article uses the convention that varieties are irreducible. Formally, a rational map between two varieties is an equivalence class of pairs in which is a morphism of varieties from a non-empty open set to , and two such pairs and are considered equivalent if and coincide on the intersection (this is, in particular, vacuously true if the intersection is empty, but since is assumed irreducible, this is impossible).
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 .
Elliptic surfaceIn mathematics, an elliptic surface is a surface that has an elliptic fibration, in other words a proper morphism with connected fibers to an algebraic curve such that almost all fibers are smooth curves of genus 1. (Over an algebraically closed field such as the complex numbers, these fibers are elliptic curves, perhaps without a chosen origin.) This is equivalent to the generic fiber being a smooth curve of genus one. This follows from proper base change.
Ruled surfaceIn geometry, a surface S is ruled (also called a scroll) if through every point of S there is a straight line that lies on S. Examples include the plane, the lateral surface of a cylinder or cone, a conical surface with elliptical directrix, the right conoid, the helicoid, and the tangent developable of a smooth curve in space. A ruled surface can be described as the set of points swept by a moving straight line. For example, a cone is formed by keeping one point of a line fixed whilst moving another point along a circle.
Serre dualityIn algebraic geometry, a branch of mathematics, Serre duality is a duality for the coherent sheaf cohomology of algebraic varieties, proved by Jean-Pierre Serre. The basic version applies to vector bundles on a smooth projective variety, but Alexander Grothendieck found wide generalizations, for example to singular varieties. On an n-dimensional variety, the theorem says that a cohomology group is the dual space of another one, . Serre duality is the analog for coherent sheaf cohomology of Poincaré duality in topology, with the canonical line bundle replacing the orientation sheaf.
Algebraic geometry of projective spacesThe concept of a Projective space plays a central role in algebraic geometry. This article aims to define the notion in terms of abstract algebraic geometry and to describe some basic uses of projective spaces. Let k be an algebraically closed field, and V be a finite-dimensional vector space over k. The symmetric algebra of the dual vector space V* is called the polynomial ring on V and denoted by k[V]. It is a naturally graded algebra by the degree of polynomials.
Cone of curvesIn mathematics, the cone of curves (sometimes the Kleiman-Mori cone) of an algebraic variety is a combinatorial invariant of importance to the birational geometry of . Let be a proper variety. By definition, a (real) 1-cycle on is a formal linear combination of irreducible, reduced and proper curves , with coefficients . Numerical equivalence of 1-cycles is defined by intersections: two 1-cycles and are numerically equivalent if for every Cartier divisor on . Denote the real vector space of 1-cycles modulo numerical equivalence by .
Kähler differentialIn mathematics, Kähler differentials provide an adaptation of differential forms to arbitrary commutative rings or schemes. The notion was introduced by Erich Kähler in the 1930s. It was adopted as standard in commutative algebra and algebraic geometry somewhat later, once the need was felt to adapt methods from calculus and geometry over the complex numbers to contexts where such methods are not available. Let R and S be commutative rings and φ : R → S be a ring homomorphism.
