"The book is devoted to geometry of algebraic varieties in projective spaces. Among the objects considered in some detail are tangent and secant varieties, Gauss maps, dual varieties, hyperplane sections, projections, and varieties of small codimension. Emphasis is made on the study of interplay between irregular behavior of (higher) secant varieties and irregular tangencies to the original variety. Classification of varieties with unusual tangential properties yields interesting examples many of which arise as orbits of representations of algebraic groups."--ABSTRACT.

This book commemorates the 150th birthday of Corrado Segre, one of the founders of the Italian School of Algebraic Geometry and a crucial figure in the history of Algebraic Geometry. It is the outcome of a conference held in Turin, Italy. One of the book's most unique features is the inclusion of a previously unpublished manuscript by Corrado Segre, together with a scientific commentary. Representing a prelude to Segre's seminal 1894 contribution on the theory of algebraic curves, this manuscript and other important archival sources included in the essays shed new light on the eminent role he played at the international level. Including both survey articles and original research papers, the book is divided into three parts: section one focuses on the implications of Segre's work in a historic light, while section two presents new results in his field, namely Algebraic Geometry. The third part features Segre's unpublished notebook: Sulla Geometria Sugli Enti Algebrici Semplicemente Infiniti (1890-1891). This volume will appeal to scholars in the History of Mathematics, as well as to researchers in the current subfields of Algebraic Geometry.

The book covers topics in the theory of algebraic transformation groups and algebraic varieties which are very much at the frontier of mathematical research.

This two volume work on Positivity in Algebraic Geometry contains a contemporary account of a body of work in complex algebraic geometry loosely centered around the theme of positivity. Topics in Volume I include ample line bundles and linear series on a projective variety, the classical theorems of Lefschetz and Bertini and their modern outgrowths, vanishing theorems, and local positivity. Volume II begins with a survey of positivity for vector bundles, and moves on to a systematic development of the theory of multiplier ideals and their applications. A good deal of this material has not previously appeared in book form, and substantial parts are worked out here in detail for the first time. At least a third of the book is devoted to concrete examples, applications, and pointers to further developments. Volume I is more elementary than Volume II, and, for the most part, it can be read without access to Volume II.

Two volume work containing a contemporary account on "Positivity in Algebraic Geometry". Both volumes also available as hardcover editions as Vols. 48 and 49 in the series "Ergebnisse der Mathematik und ihrer Grenzgebiete". A good deal of the material has not previously appeared in book form. Volume II is more at the research level and somewhat more specialized than Volume I. Volume II contains a survey of positivity for vector bundles, and moves on to a systematic development of the theory of multiplier ideals and their applications. Contains many concrete examples, applications, and pointers to further developments

The central theme of this book is the study of rational points on algebraic varieties of Fano and intermediate type--both in terms of when such points exist and, if they do, their quantitative density. The book consists of three parts. In the first part, the author discusses the concept of a height and formulates Manin's conjecture on the asymptotics of rational points on Fano varieties. The second part introduces the various versions of the Brauer group. The author explains why a Brauer class may serve as an obstruction to weak approximation or even to the Hasse principle. This part includes two sections devoted to explicit computations of the Brauer-Manin obstruction for particular types of cubic surfaces. The final part describes numerical experiments related to the Manin conjecture that were carried out by the author together with Andreas-Stephan Elsenhans. The book presents the state of the art in computational arithmetic geometry for higher-dimensional algebraic varieties and will be a valuable reference for researchers and graduate students interested in that area.

Students often find, in setting out to study algebraic geometry, that most of the serious textbooks on the subject require knowledge of ring theory, field theory, local rings, and transcendental field extensions, and even sheaf theory. Often the expected background goes well beyond college mathematics. This book, aimed at senior undergraduates and graduate students, grew out of Miyanishi's attempt to lead students to an understanding of algebraic surfaces while presenting thenecessary background along the way. Originally published in Japanese in 1990, it presents a self-contained introduction to the fundamentals of algebraic geometry. This book begins with background on commutative algebras, sheaf theory, and related cohomology theory. The next part introduces schemes andalgebraic varieties, the basic language of algebraic geometry. The last section brings readers to a point at which they can start to learn about the classification of algebraic surfaces.