An accessible introduction to the plane algebraic curves that also serves as a natural entry point to algebraic geometry. This book can be used for an undergraduate course, or as a companion to algebraic geometry at graduate level.

Plane Algebraic Curves is a classroom-tested textbook for advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students in mathematics. The book introduces the contemporary notions of algebraic varieties, morphisms of varieties, and adeles to the classical subject of plane curves over algebraically closed fields. By restricting the rigorous development of these notions to a traditional context the book makes its subject accessible without extensive algebraic prerequisites. Once the reader's intuition for plane curves has evolved, there is a discussion of how these objects can be generalized to higher dimensional settings. These features, as well as a proof of the Riemann-Roch Theorem based on a combination of geometric and algebraic considerations, make the book a good foundation for more specialized study in algebraic geometry, commutative algebra, and algebraic function fields. Plane Algebraic Curves is suitable for readers with a variety of backgrounds and interests. The book begins with a chapter outlining prerequisites, and contains informal discussions giving an overview of its material and relating it to non-algebraic topics which would be familiar to the general reader. There is an explanation of why the algebraic genus of a hyperelliptic curve agrees with its geometric genus as a compact Riemann surface, as well as a thorough description of how the classically important elliptic curves can be described in various normal forms. The book concludes with a bibliography which students can incorporate into their further studies. Book jacket.

* Employs proven conception of teaching topics in commutative algebra through a focus on their applications to algebraic geometry, a significant departure from other works on plane algebraic curves in which the topological-analytic aspects are stressed *Requires only a basic knowledge of algebra, with all necessary algebraic facts collected into several appendices * Studies algebraic curves over an algebraically closed field K and those of prime characteristic, which can be applied to coding theory and cryptography * Covers filtered algebras, the associated graded rings and Rees rings to deduce basic facts about intersection theory of plane curves, applications of which are standard tools of computer algebra * Examples, exercises, figures and suggestions for further study round out this fairly self-contained textbook

* Employs proven conception of teaching topics in commutative algebra through a focus on their applications to algebraic geometry, a significant departure from other works on plane algebraic curves in which the topological-analytic aspects are stressed *Requires only a basic knowledge of algebra, with all necessary algebraic facts collected into several appendices * Studies algebraic curves over an algebraically closed field K and those of prime characteristic, which can be applied to coding theory and cryptography * Covers filtered algebras, the associated graded rings and Rees rings to deduce basic facts about intersection theory of plane curves, applications of which are standard tools of computer algebra * Examples, exercises, figures and suggestions for further study round out this fairly self-contained textbook

The central problem considered in this introduction for graduate students is the determination of rational parametrizability of an algebraic curve and, in the positive case, the computation of a good rational parametrization. This amounts to determining the genus of a curve: its complete singularity structure, computing regular points of the curve in small coordinate fields, and constructing linear systems of curves with prescribed intersection multiplicities. The book discusses various optimality criteria for rational parametrizations of algebraic curves.

This collection of surveys present an overview of recent developments in Complex Geometry. Topics range from curve and surface theory through special varieties in higher dimensions, moduli theory, Kähler geometry, and group actions to Hodge theory and characteristic p-geometry. Written by established experts this book will be a must for mathematicians working in Complex Geometry

Challenge: Can you find all the integers a, b, c satisfying 2a2+3b2=5c2? Looks simple, and there are in fact a number of easy solutions. But most of them turn out to be anything but obvious! There are infinitely many possibilities, and as any computer will tell you, each of a, b, c will usually be large. So the challenge remains … Find all integers a a, b, c satisfying 2a2+3b2=5c2 A major advance in number theory means this book can give an easy answer to this and countless similar questions. The idea behind the approach is transforming a degree-two equation in integer variables a, b, c into a plane curve defined by a polynomial. Working with the curve makes obtaining solutions far easier, and the geometric solutions then get translated back into integers. This method morphs hard problems into routine ones and typically requires no more than high school math. (The complete solution to 2a2+3b2=5c2 is included in the book.) In addition to equations of degree two, the book addresses degree-three equations—a branch of number theory that is today something of a cottage industry, and these problems translate into “elliptic curves”. This important part of the book includes many pictures along with the exposition, making the material meaningful and easy to grasp. This book will fit nicely into an introductory course on number theory. In addition, the many solved examples, illustrations, and exercises make self-studying the book an option for students, thus becoming a natural candidate for a capstone course.

This book provides an accessible and self-contained introduction to the theory of algebraic curves over a finite field, a subject that has been of fundamental importance to mathematics for many years and that has essential applications in areas such as finite geometry, number theory, error-correcting codes, and cryptology. Unlike other books, this one emphasizes the algebraic geometry rather than the function field approach to algebraic curves. The authors begin by developing the general theory of curves over any field, highlighting peculiarities occurring for positive characteristic and requiring of the reader only basic knowledge of algebra and geometry. The special properties that a curve over a finite field can have are then discussed. The geometrical theory of linear series is used to find estimates for the number of rational points on a curve, following the theory of Stöhr and Voloch. The approach of Hasse and Weil via zeta functions is explained, and then attention turns to more advanced results: a state-of-the-art introduction to maximal curves over finite fields is provided; a comprehensive account is given of the automorphism group of a curve; and some applications to coding theory and finite geometry are described. The book includes many examples and exercises. It is an indispensable resource for researchers and the ideal textbook for graduate students.