In
mathematics
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
, in particular in
algebraic geometry
Algebraic geometry is a branch of mathematics, classically studying zeros of multivariate polynomials. Modern algebraic geometry is based on the use of abstract algebraic techniques, mainly from commutative algebra, for solving geometrical ...
, a complete algebraic variety is an
algebraic variety
Algebraic varieties are the central objects of study in algebraic geometry, a sub-field of mathematics. Classically, an algebraic variety is defined as the set of solutions of a system of polynomial equations over the real or complex numbers. Mo ...
, such that for any variety the
projection
Projection, projections or projective may refer to:
Physics
* Projection (physics), the action/process of light, heat, or sound reflecting from a surface to another in a different direction
* The display of images by a projector
Optics, graphic ...
morphism
In mathematics, particularly in category theory, a morphism is a structure-preserving map from one mathematical structure to another one of the same type. The notion of morphism recurs in much of contemporary mathematics. In set theory, morphisms a ...
:
is a
closed map
In mathematics, more specifically in topology, an open map is a function between two topological spaces that maps open sets to open sets.
That is, a function f : X \to Y is open if for any open set U in X, the image f(U) is open in Y.
Likewise, a ...
(i.e. maps
closed set
In geometry, topology, and related branches of mathematics, a closed set is a set whose complement is an open set. In a topological space, a closed set can be defined as a set which contains all its limit points. In a complete metric space, a cl ...
s onto closed sets). This can be seen as an analogue of
compactness
In mathematics, specifically general topology, compactness is a property that seeks to generalize the notion of a closed and bounded subset of Euclidean space by making precise the idea of a space having no "punctures" or "missing endpoints", i ...
in algebraic geometry: a
topological space
In mathematics, a topological space is, roughly speaking, a geometrical space in which closeness is defined but cannot necessarily be measured by a numeric distance. More specifically, a topological space is a set whose elements are called points ...
is compact if and only if the above projection map is closed with respect to topological products.
The image of a complete variety is closed and is a complete variety. A closed
subvariety
A subvariety (Latin: ''subvarietas'') in botanical nomenclature is a taxonomic rank. They are rarely used to classify organisms.
Plant taxonomy
Subvariety is ranked:
*below that of variety (''varietas'')
*above that of form (''forma'').
Subva ...
of a complete variety is complete.
A complex variety is complete if and only if it is compact as a
complex-analytic variety.
The most common example of a complete variety is a
projective variety
In algebraic geometry, a projective variety over an algebraically closed field ''k'' is a subset of some projective ''n''-space \mathbb^n over ''k'' that is the zero-locus of some finite family of homogeneous polynomials of ''n'' + 1 variables w ...
, but there do exist
complete non-projective varieties in
dimensions
In physics and mathematics, the dimension of a mathematical space (or object) is informally defined as the minimum number of coordinates needed to specify any point within it. Thus, a line has a dimension of one (1D) because only one coordina ...
2 and higher. While any complete nonsingular surface is projective, there exist nonsingular complete varieties in dimension 3 and higher which are not projective.
The first examples of non-projective complete varieties were given by
Masayoshi Nagata
Masayoshi Nagata (Japanese: 永田 雅宜 ''Nagata Masayoshi''; February 9, 1927 – August 27, 2008) was a Japanese mathematician, known for his work in the field of commutative algebra.
Work
Nagata's compactification theorem shows that var ...
and
Heisuke Hironaka
is a Japanese mathematician who was awarded the Fields Medal in 1970 for his contributions to algebraic geometry.
Career
Hironaka entered Kyoto University in 1949. After completing his undergraduate studies at Kyoto University, he received his ...
.
An
affine space
In mathematics, an affine space is a geometric structure that generalizes some of the properties of Euclidean spaces in such a way that these are independent of the concepts of distance and measure of angles, keeping only the properties relate ...
of positive dimension is not complete.
The morphism taking a complete variety to a point is a
proper morphism In algebraic geometry, a proper morphism between schemes is an analog of a proper map between complex analytic spaces.
Some authors call a proper variety over a field ''k'' a complete variety. For example, every projective variety over a field '' ...
, in the sense of
scheme theory
In mathematics, a scheme is a mathematical structure that enlarges the notion of algebraic variety in several ways, such as taking account of multiplicities (the equations ''x'' = 0 and ''x''2 = 0 define the same algebraic variety but different sc ...
. An intuitive justification of "complete", in the sense of "no missing points", can be given on the basis of the
valuative criterion of properness In algebraic geometry, a proper morphism between schemes is an analog of a proper map between complex analytic spaces.
Some authors call a proper variety over a field ''k'' a complete variety. For example, every projective variety over a field ...
, which goes back to
Claude Chevalley
Claude Chevalley (; 11 February 1909 – 28 June 1984) was a French mathematician who made important contributions to number theory, algebraic geometry, class field theory, finite group theory and the theory of algebraic groups. He was a foundin ...
.
See also
*
Chow's lemma
Chow's lemma, named after Wei-Liang Chow, is one of the foundational results in algebraic geometry. It roughly says that a proper morphism is fairly close to being a projective morphism. More precisely, a version of it states the following:
:If X ...
*
Theorem of the cube In mathematics, the theorem of the cube is a condition for a line bundle over a product of three complete varieties to be trivial. It was a principle discovered, in the context of linear equivalence, by the Italian school of algebraic geometry. T ...
*
Fano variety
In algebraic geometry, a Fano variety, introduced by Gino Fano in , is a complete variety ''X'' whose anticanonical bundle ''K''X* is ample. In this definition, one could assume that ''X'' is smooth over a field, but the minimal model program has ...
Notes
References
Sources
*Section II.4 of
*Chapter 7 of
*Section I.9 of
{{DEFAULTSORT:Complete Algebraic Variety
Algebraic varieties