The aim of this book is to provide an introduction to the structure theory of higher dimensional algebraic varieties by studying the geometry of curves, especially rational curves, on varieties. The main applications are in the study of Fano varieties and of related varieties with lots of rational curves on them. This "Ergebnisse" volume provides the first systematic introduction to this field of study. The book contains a large number of examples and exercises which serve to illustrate the range of the methods and also lead to many open questions of current research.

Exploring the connections between arithmetic and geometric properties of algebraic varieties has been the object of much fruitful study for a long time, especially in the case of curves. The aim of the Summer School and Conference on "Higher Dimensional Varieties and Rational Points" held in Budapest, Hungary during September 2001 was to bring together students and experts from the arithmetic and geometric sides of algebraic geometry in order to get a better understanding of the current problems, interactions and advances in higher dimension. The lecture series and conference lectures assembled in this volume give a comprehensive introduction to students and researchers in algebraic geometry and in related fields to the main ideas of this rapidly developing area.

This book establishes the moduli theory of stable varieties, giving the optimal approach to understanding families of varieties of general type. Starting from the Deligne-Mumford theory of the moduli of curves and using Mori's program as a main tool, the book develops the techniques necessary for a theory in all dimensions. The main results give all the expected general properties, including a projective coarse moduli space. A wealth of previously unpublished material is also featured, including Chapter 5 on numerical flatness criteria, Chapter 7 on K-flatness, and Chapter 9 on hulls and husks.

This book gives a comprehensive treatment of the singularities that appear in the minimal model program and in the moduli problem for varieties. The study of these singularities and the development of Mori's program have been deeply intertwined. Early work on minimal models relied on detailed study of terminal and canonical singularities but many later results on log terminal singularities were obtained as consequences of the minimal model program. Recent work on the abundance conjecture and on moduli of varieties of general type relies on subtle properties of log canonical singularities and conversely, the sharpest theorems about these singularities use newly developed special cases of the abundance problem. This book untangles these interwoven threads, presenting a self-contained and complete theory of these singularities, including many previously unpublished results.

The 1992/3 academic year at the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute was devoted to complex algebraic geometry. This 1996 volume collects survey articles that arose from this event, which took place at a time when algebraic geometry was undergoing a major change. To put it succinctly, algebraic geometry has opened up to ideas and connections from other fields that have traditionally been far away. The editors of the volume, Herbert Clemens and Janos Kollar, chaired the organizing committee. Activities were centered around themes, one per month, under the guidance of experts in each area. There were also four short workshops, which attracted many participants and helped considerably in communicating the new directions in algebraic geometry to a large audience. This book gives a good idea of the intellectual content of the special year and of the workshops.

Exploring the connections between arithmetic and geometric properties of algebraic varieties has been the object of much fruitful study for a long time, especially in the case of curves. The aim of the Summer School and Conference on "Higher Dimensional Varieties and Rational Points" held in Budapest, Hungary during September 2001 was to bring together students and experts from the arithmetic and geometric sides of algebraic geometry in order to get a better understanding of the current problems, interactions and advances in higher dimension. The lecture series and conference lectures assembled in this volume give a comprehensive introduction to students and researchers in algebraic geometry and in related fields to the main ideas of this rapidly developing area.

One of the major discoveries of the last two decades of the twentieth century in algebraic geometry is the realization that the theory of minimal models of surfaces can be generalized to higher dimensional varieties. This generalization, called the minimal model program or Mori's program, has developed into a powerful tool with applications to diverse questions in algebraic geometry and beyond. This book provides the a comprehensive introduction to the circle of ideas developed around the program, the prerequisites being only a basic knowledge of algebraic geometry. It will be of great interest to graduate students and researchers working in algebraic geometry and related fields.

The aim of this book is to provide an introduction to the structure theory of higher dimensional algebraic varieties by studying the geometry of curves, especially rational curves, on varieties. The main applications are in the study of Fano varieties and of related varieties with lots of rational curves on them. This "Ergebnisse" volume provides the first systematic introduction to this field of study. The book contains a large number of examples and exercises which serve to illustrate the range of the methods and also lead to many open questions of current research.

Arising from a summer school course taught by János Kollár, this book develops the modern theory of rational varieties at a level appropriate for graduate study. Kollár's original course has been developed, with his co-authors, into a state-of-the-art treatment of the classification of algebraic varieties. The authors have included numerous exercises with solutions, which help students reach the stage where they can begin to tackle related contemporary research problems.

One of the major discoveries of the past two decades in algebraic geometry is the realization that the theory of minimal models of surfaces can be generalized to higher dimensional varieties. This generalization, called the minimal model program, or Mori's program, has developed into a powerful tool with applications to diverse questions in algebraic geometry and beyond. This book provides the first comprehensive introduction to the circle of ideas developed around the program, the prerequisites being only a basic knowledge of algebraic geometry. It will be of great interest to graduate students and researchers working in algebraic geometry and related fields.

This volume collects a series of survey articles on complex algebraic geometry, which in the early 1990s was undergoing a major change. Algebraic geometry has opened up to ideas and connections from other fields that have traditionally been far away. This book gives a good idea of the intellectual content of the change of direction and branching out witnessed by algebraic geometry in the past few years.

Resolution of singularities is a powerful and frequently used tool in algebraic geometry. In this book, Janos Kollar 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. Kollar 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 aim of this book is to study various geometric properties and algebraic invariants of smooth projective varieties with infinite fundamental groups. This approach allows for much interplay between methods of algebraic geometry, complex analysis, the theory of harmonic maps, and topology. Making systematic use of Shafarevich maps, a concept previously introduced by the author, this work isolates those varieties where the fundamental group influences global properties of the canonical class. The book is primarily geared toward researchers and graduate students in algebraic geometry who are interested in the structure and classification theory of algebraic varieties. There are, however, presentations of many other applications involving other topics as well--such as Abelian varieties, theta functions, and automorphic forms on bounded domains. The methods are drawn from diverse sources, including Atiyah's L2 -index theorem, Gromov's theory of Poincare series, and recent generalizations of Kodaira's vanishing theorem. Originally published in 1995. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

The aim of this book is to study various geometric properties and algebraic invariants of smooth projective varieties with infinite fundamental groups. This approach allows for much interplay between methods of algebraic geometry, complex analysis, the theory of harmonic maps, and topology. Making systematic use of Shafarevich maps, a concept previously introduced by the author, this work isolates those varieties where the fundamental group influences global properties of the canonical class.

The book is primarily geared toward researchers and graduate students in algebraic geometry who are interested in the structure and classification theory of algebraic varieties. There are, however, presentations of many other applications involving other topics as well--such as Abelian varieties, theta functions, and automorphic forms on bounded domains. The methods are drawn from diverse sources, including Atiyah's "L2 "-index theorem, Gromov's theory of Poincare series, and recent generalizations of Kodaira's vanishing theorem.

Originally published in 1995.

The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905."

This volume contains many of the lectures delivered at the AMS Summer Research Institute on Algebraic Geometry held at the University of California, Santa Cruz, in July 1995. The aim of the conference was to provide a comprehensive view of the development of algebraic geometry in the past decade and to lay special emphasis on emerging new directions. The focus of the papers in these volumes is on expository surveys of important areas rather than on technical presentations of new results. This book is intended for graduate students and research mathematicains interested in algebraic geometry and related areas.

This volume contains many of the lectures delivered at the AMS Summer Research Institute on Algebraic Geometry held at the University of California, Santa Cruz, in July 1995. The aim of the conference was to provide a comprehensive view of the development of algebraic geometry in the past decade and to lay special emphasis on emerging new directions. The focus of the papers in these volumes is on expository surveys of important areas rather than on technical presentations of new results. This book is intended for graduate students and research mathematicains interested in algebraic geometry and related areas.