This book contains the proceedings of the conference on Compact Moduli and Vector Bundles, held from October 21-24, 2010, at the University of Georgia. This book is a mix of survey papers and original research articles on two related subjects: Compact Moduli spaces of algebraic varieties, including of higher-dimensional stable varieties and pairs, and Vector Bundles on such compact moduli spaces, including the conformal block bundles. These bundles originated in the 1970s in physics; the celebrated Verlinde formula computes their ranks. Among the surveys are those that examine compact moduli spaces of surfaces of general type and others that concern the GIT constructions of log canonical models of moduli of stable curves. The original research articles include, among others, papers on a formula for the Chern classes of conformal classes of conformal block bundles on the moduli spaces of stable curves, on Looijenga's conjectures, on algebraic and tropical Brill-Noether theory, on Green's conjecture, on rigid curves on moduli of curves, and on Steiner surfaces.

This book focusses on a large class of objects in moduli theory and provides different perspectives from which compactifications of moduli spaces may be investigated. Three contributions give an insight on particular aspects of moduli problems. In the first of them, various ways to construct and compactify moduli spaces are presented. In the second, some questions on the boundary of moduli spaces of surfaces are addressed. Finally, the theory of stable quotients is explained, which yields meaningful compactifications of moduli spaces of maps. Both advanced graduate students and researchers in algebraic geometry will find this book a valuable read.

Vector bundles and their associated moduli spaces are of fundamental importance in algebraic geometry. In recent decades this subject has been greatly enhanced by its relationships with other areas of mathematics, including differential geometry, topology and even theoretical physics, specifically gauge theory, quantum field theory and string theory. Peter E. Newstead has been a leading figure in this field almost from its inception and has made many seminal contributions to our understanding of moduli spaces of stable bundles. This volume has been assembled in tribute to Professor Newstead and his contribution to algebraic geometry. Some of the subject's leading experts cover foundational material, while the survey and research papers focus on topics at the forefront of the field. This volume is suitable for both graduate students and more experienced researchers.

"Contains papers presented at the 35th Taniguchi International Symposium held recently in Sanda and Kyoto, Japan. Details the latest developments concerning moduli spaces of vector bundles or instantons and their application. Covers a broad array of topics in both differential and algebraic geometry."

The purpose of this book is to present the available (sometimes only partial) solutions to the two fundamental problems: the existence problem and the classification problem for holomorphic structures in a given topological vector bundle over a compact complex surface. Special features of the nonalgebraic surfaces case, like irreducible vector bundles and stability with respect to a Gauduchon metric, are considered. The reader requires a grounding in geometry at graduate student level. The book will be of interest to graduate students and researchers in complex, algebraic and differential geometry.

A graduate-level introduction to some of the important contemporary ideas and problems in the theory of moduli spaces.