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 correspondence between

algebraic varieties 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 ...

''V'' and ''W'' is a subset ''R'' of ''V''×''W'', that is closed in the

Zariski topology In algebraic geometry and commutative algebra, the Zariski topology is a topology which is primarily defined by its closed sets. It is very different from topologies which are commonly used in the real or complex analysis; in particular, it is n ...

. In set theory, a subset of a Cartesian product of two sets is called a

binary relation In mathematics, a binary relation associates elements of one set, called the ''domain'', with elements of another set, called the ''codomain''. A binary relation over Set (mathematics), sets and is a new set of ordered pairs consisting of ele ...

or correspondence; thus, a correspondence here is a relation that is defined by algebraic equations. There are some important examples, even when ''V'' and ''W'' are

algebraic curve In 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 c ...

s: for example the

Hecke operator In mathematics, in particular in the theory of modular forms, a Hecke operator, studied by , is a certain kind of "averaging" operator that plays a significant role in the structure of vector spaces of modular forms and more general automorphic repr ...

s of

modular form In mathematics, a modular form is a (complex) analytic function on the upper half-plane satisfying a certain kind of functional equation with respect to the Group action (mathematics), group action of the modular group, and also satisfying a grow ...

theory may be considered as correspondences of

modular curve In number theory and algebraic geometry, a modular curve ''Y''(Γ) is a Riemann surface, or the corresponding algebraic curve, constructed as a quotient of the complex upper half-plane H by the action of a congruence subgroup Γ of the modular ...

s. However, the definition of a correspondence in algebraic geometry is not completely standard. For instance, Fulton, in his book on

intersection theory In mathematics, intersection theory is one of the main branches of algebraic geometry, where it gives information about the intersection of two subvarieties of a given variety. The theory for varieties is older, with roots in Bézout's theorem o ...

, uses the definition above. In literature, however, a correspondence from a variety ''X'' to a variety ''Y'' is often taken to be a subset ''Z'' of ''X''×''Y'' such that ''Z'' is finite and surjective over each component of ''X''. Note the asymmetry in this latter definition; which talks about a correspondence from ''X'' to ''Y'' rather than a correspondence between ''X'' and ''Y''. The typical example of the latter kind of correspondence is the graph of a function ''f'':''X''→''Y''. Correspondences also play an important role in the construction of motives (cf.

presheaf with transfers In algebraic geometry, a presheaf with transfers is, roughly, a presheaf that, like cohomology theory, comes with pushforwards, “transfer” maps. Precisely, it is, by definition, a contravariant additive functor from the category of finite corre ...

References

{{algebraic-geometry-stub Algebraic geometry

See also

References