The Curves The Point of View of Max Noether Probably the oldest references to the problem of resolution of singularities are found in Max Noether's works on plane curves [cf. [148], [149]]. And probably the origin of the problem was to have a formula to compute the genus of a plane curve. The genus is the most useful birational invariant of a curve in classical projective geometry. It was long known that, for a plane curve of degree n having l m ordinary singular points with respective multiplicities ri, i E {1, . . . , m}, the genus p of the curve is given by the formula = (n - l)(n - 2) _ ~ "r. (r. _ 1) P 2 2 L. . ,. •• . Of course, the problem now arises: how to compute the genus of a plane curve having some non-ordinary singularities. This leads to the natural question: can we birationally transform any (singular) plane curve into another one having only ordinary singularities? The answer is positive. Let us give a flavor (without proofs) 2 on how Noether did it • To solve the problem, it is enough to consider a special kind of Cremona trans formations, namely quadratic transformations of the projective plane. Let ~ be a linear system of conics with three non-collinear base points r = {Ao, AI, A }, 2 and take a projective frame of the type {Ao, AI, A ; U}.

Resolution of singularities is a powerful and frequently used tool in algebraic geometry. In this book, János Kollár provides a comprehensive treatment of the characteristic 0 case. He describes more than a dozen proofs for curves, many based on the original papers of Newton, Riemann, and Noether. Kollár goes back to the original sources and presents them in a modern context. He addresses three methods for surfaces, and gives a self-contained and entirely elementary proof of a strong and functorial resolution in all dimensions. Based on a series of lectures at Princeton University and written in an informal yet lucid style, this book is aimed at readers who are interested in both the historical roots of the modern methods and in a simple and transparent proof of this important theorem.

The notion of singularity is basic to mathematics. In algebraic geometry, the resolution of singularities by simple algebraic mappings is truly a fundamental problem. It has a complete solution in characteristic zero and partial solutions in arbitrary characteristic. The resolution of singularities in characteristic zero is a key result used in many subjects besides algebraic geometry, such as differential equations, dynamical systems, number theory, the theory of $\mathcal{D}$-modules, topology, and mathematical physics. This book is a rigorous, but instructional, look at resolutions. A simplified proof, based on canonical resolutions, is given for characteristic zero. There are several proofs given for resolution of curves and surfaces in characteristic zero and arbitrary characteristic. Besides explaining the tools needed for understanding resolutions, Cutkosky explains the history and ideas, providing valuable insight and intuition for the novice (or expert). There are many examples and exercises throughout the text. The book is suitable for a second course on an exciting topic in algebraic geometry. A core course on resolutions is contained in Chapters 2 through 6. Additional topics are covered in the final chapters. The prerequisite is a course covering the basic notions of schemes and sheaves.

This volume contains the proceedings of the 2019 Lluís A. Santaló Summer School on $p$-Adic Analysis, Arithmetic and Singularities, which was held from June 24–28, 2019, at the Universidad Internacional Menéndez Pelayo, Santander, Spain. The main purpose of the book is to present and analyze different incarnations of the local zeta functions and their multiple connections in mathematics and theoretical physics. Local zeta functions are ubiquitous objects in mathematics and theoretical physics. At the mathematical level, local zeta functions contain geometry and arithmetic information about the set of zeros defined by a finite number of polynomials. In terms of applications in theoretical physics, these functions play a central role in the regularization of Feynman amplitudes and Koba-Nielsen-type string amplitudes, among other applications. This volume provides a gentle introduction to a very active area of research that lies at the intersection of number theory, $p$-adic analysis, algebraic geometry, singularity theory, and theoretical physics. Specifically, the book introduces $p$-adic analysis, the theory of Archimedean, $p$-adic, and motivic zeta functions, singularities of plane curves and their Poincaré series, among other similar topics. It also contains original contributions in the aforementioned areas written by renowned specialists. This book is an important reference for students and experts who want to delve quickly into the area of local zeta functions and their many connections in mathematics and theoretical physics.

This volume consists of ten articles which provide an in-depth and reader-friendly survey of some of the foundational aspects of singularity theory. Authored by world experts, the various contributions deal with both classical material and modern developments, covering a wide range of topics which are linked to each other in fundamental ways. Singularities are ubiquitous in mathematics and science in general. Singularity theory interacts energetically with the rest of mathematics, acting as a crucible where different types of mathematical problems interact, surprising connections are born and simple questions lead to ideas which resonate in other parts of the subject. This is the first volume in a series which aims to provide an accessible account of the state-of-the-art of the subject, its frontiers, and its interactions with other areas of research. The book is addressed to graduate students and newcomers to the theory, as well as to specialists who can use it as a guidebook.

Customarily, the framework of algebraic geometry has been worked over an algebraically closed field of characteristic zero, say, over the complex number field. However, over a field of positive characteristics, many unpredictable phenomena arise where analyses will lead to further developments.In the present book, we consider first the forms of the affine line or the additive group, classification of such forms and detailed analysis. The forms of the affine line considered over the function field of an algebraic curve define the algebraic surfaces with fibrations by curves with moving singularities. These fibrations are investigated via the Mordell-Weil groups, which are originally introduced for elliptic fibrations.This is the first book which explains the phenomena arising from purely inseparable coverings and Artin-Schreier coverings. In most cases, the base surfaces are rational, hence the covering surfaces are unirational. There exists a vast, unexplored world of unirational surfaces. In this book, we explain the Frobenius sandwiches as examples of unirational surfaces.Rational double points in positive characteristics are treated in detail with concrete computations. These kinds of computations are not found in current literature. Readers, by following the computations line after line, will not only understand the peculiar phenomena in positive characteristics, but also understand what are crucial in computations. This type of experience will lead the readers to find the unsolved problems by themselves.

Resolution of Singularities has long been considered as being a difficult to access area of mathematics. The more systematic and simpler proofs that have appeared in the last few years in zero characteristic now give us a much better understanding of singularities. They reveal the aesthetics of both the logical structure of the proof and the various methods used in it. The present volume is intended for readers who are not yet experts but always wondered about the intricacies of resolution. As such, it provides a gentle and quite comprehensive introduction to this amazing field. The book may tempt the reader to enter more deeply into a topic where many mysteries--especially the positive characteristic case--await to be disclosed. Titles in this series are co-published with the Clay Mathematics Institute (Cambridge, MA).