Algebraic Curves

Submitted by

Arkadev Ghosh
(Roll No. 18MA40022)

Under the Supervision of

Dr. Mousumi Mandal

Department of Mathematics
Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
Kharagpur - 721302
West Bengal, India

Signature of the Student Signature of the Supervisor

Date: Date:
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I am heartily thankful to my supervisor, Dr. Mousumi Mandal, whose encouragement,

guidance and support from the initial to the final level enabled me to develop an under-
standing of the subject. Finally I thank to Mathematics Department, IIT kharagpur, which
provides all facilities to finish my project work for this semester smoothly.
Arkadev Ghosh
Contents
1 Abstract 1

2 Introduction 1

3 Affine Algebraic Varieties 1

3.1 Zariski topology on An . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
3.2 Affine Varieties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
3.3 Irreducible components of algebraic sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
3.4 Affine Coordinate Ring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
3.5 Dimension Of A Topological Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.6 Quasi Compactness Of Zariski Topology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

4 Morphisms 5
4.1 Equivalence Of Algebra and Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

5 Projective Algebraic Variety 7

5.1 Projective Variety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
5.2 Local Rings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
5.3 Function Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
 November 6, 2019

1 Abstract
Algebraic geometry is a branch of mathematics that is concerned with the geometric
structure of solution set to a system of polynomial equations in one or more variables. The
zero locus of a set of polynomials is called an algebraic set and an irreducible and affine
algebraic set is called an affine variety. Classically, this theory is developed over algebraically
closed fields. In this thesis, we study affine varieties and provide a natural duality between
their geometry and algebra.

2 Introduction
We begin with the proceed to introduce our objects of study,affine algebraic sets.After
exammining a number of examples ,we study their algebraic counterpart,the vanishing ideals
.The report continues by describing relationships between the two ,necessarily providing an
introduction to the Zariski topology. Throughout k will always denote an algebraically closed
field.

3 Affine Algebraic Varieties

Let k be a fixed algebraically closed field. We define affine n-space over k, denoted Ak n or
simply An , to be the set of all n-tuples of elements of k. An element P∈ An will be called a
point, and if P=(a1 , a2 , ..., an ) with ai ∈ k, then the ai will be called the coordinates of P.
Let A = k[x1 , ..., xn ] be the polynomial ring in n variables over k. We will interpret the
elements of A as functions from the affine n-space to k, by defining f(P) = f(a1 , ..., an ), where
f∈ An and P ∈ An . Thus if f∈A is a polynomial, we can talk about the set of zeros of f,
namely Z(f) = {P∈ An | f(P)=0 for all f∈T}.More generally, If T is any subset of A, we define
the zero set of T to be the common zeros of all the elements of T, namely Z(T) ={P ∈ An |
f(P)=0 for all f ∈ T }
Definition: For any subset Y⊆ An let us define the ideal of Y in An by I(Y) ={f ∈ An |
f(P)=0 for all P∈ Y }.It can proved that,if I is the ideal of A generated by T ,Then Z(T)=Z(I)
Observations: By Hilbert basis theorem,we knowthat A is Noetherian,so any ideal of A
has finite set of genertors f1 , f2 , ...fr .Thus Z(T) can be expressed as the common zeros of a
finite set of polynomials f1 , f2 , ..., fr .

1
Proposition: The union of two algebraic sets is an algebraic set. The intersection of any
family of algebraic sets is an algebraic set. The empty set and the whole space are algebraic
sets.

3.1 Zariski topology on An

Definition 3.1.1 We define the Zariski topology on An by taking the open subsets to be
the complements of the algebraic sets.
This is a topology, because according to the proposition (3.3), the intersection of two open
sets is open, and the union of any family of open sets is open.Furthermore, the empty set and
the whole space are both open.
Example 3.1.2 Let us consider the Zariski topology on the affine line A1 Every ideal in A=
k[x] is principal, so every algebraic set is the set of zeros of a single polynomial. Since k is
algebraically closed, every nonzero polynomial f(x) can be written f(x) = c(x − a1 )...(x − an )
with c, a1 , a2 , ..., an ∈ k. Then Z(f) ={a1 , ..., an }· Thus the algebraic sets in A1 are just the
finite subsets,including the empty set(corresponding to constant polynomials) the whole space
(corresponding to f = 0).
Thus the open sets are the empty set and the complements of finite subsets. This is the
cofinite topology on An , any two open sets intersects an in particular this topology is not
Hausdorff. Notice that proper infinite subsets of An are not algebriac sets.

3.2 Affine Varieties

Definition 3.2.1 A topological space X is irreducible iff it cannot be expressed as the union
Y = Y1 ∪ Y2 of two proper subsets.The empty set is not considered to be irreducible.
A nonempty subset Y of X is irreducible if it is irreducible in subspace topology on Y inherited
from X. irreducible.
Example 3.2.2 A1 is irreducible, because its only proper closed subsets are finite,but it is
infinite (because k is algebraically closed, hence it cannot be written as union of two proper
closed subsets.Later we prove that An is irreducible for all n∈ N.
Observations 3.2.3 clearly every irreducible subset of a topological space is connected,but
converse is not true.So in some sense notion of irreducibiity is more stronger that connected-
ness.
Proposition3.2.4 Every nonempty open subsets of an irreducible space is irreducible and
dense
Definition 3.2.5 An affine algebraic variety (or simply affine variety) is an irreducible closed
subset of An (with the induced topology).
An open subset of an affine variety is a quasi-affine variety.
Proposition 3.2.6 (a) For any ideal I of A ,I(Z(I)) = Rad(I),where Rad(I) denotes radical
of I
(b) For any subset Y⊆ An ,Z(I(Y )) = Y , the closure of Y.
Hilbert’s Nullstellensatz 3.2.7 Let k be an algebraically closed field, let I be an ideal in
A = k[x1 , x2 , ...xn ], and let f∈ A be a polynomial which vanishes at all points of Z(I). Then
f r ∈ I for some r>0 .i.e I(Z(I)) = Rad(I)

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Corollary 3.2.8 If k is an algebraically closed field, and if we restrict to radical ideals, then
the maps
algebraic set 7−→ radical ideal (via I)
radical ideal 7−→ algebraic set (via Z)
are inclusion-reversing bijections which are inverses of each other.
So, any question about varieties can be rephrased as an algebraic question and conversely,
provided that we are working over an algebraically closed field.
corollary 3.2.9 An algebraic set is irreducible if and only if its ideal is a prime ideal.
Example 3.2.10 An = Z(0),since we know that 0 is a prime ideal, then Z(0) is irreducible.
Next we will study the topology of our varieties. To do so we introduce an important class of
topological spaces which includes all varieties.

3.3 Irreducible components of algebraic sets

Definition 3.3.1 A topological space X is called Noetherian if it satisfies the descending
chain condition for closed subsets.
Example 3.3.2 An is a noetherian topological space. Indeed, if Y1 ⊇ Y2 ⊇ Y3 ⊇ ... is a
descending chain of closed subsets, then I(Y1 ) ⊆ I(Y2 ) ⊆ ... is an ascending chain of ideals in
A = k[x1 , x2 , ..., xn ]. Since A is a noetherian ring, this chain of ideals is eventually stationary.
But for each i, Yi =Z(I(Yi ), so the chain Yi ; is also stationary.
Proposition 3.3.3 In a noetherian topological space X, every nonempty closed subset Y
can be expressed as a finite union Y =Y1 ∪ Y2 ∪ Y3 ∪ ... ∪ Yr of irreducible closed subsets Yi .
If we require that Yi 6⊇ Yj for i6=j, then the Yi are uniquely determined. They are called the
irreducible components of Y.
Corollary 3.3.4 Example 3.3.2 and proposition 3.3.3 together imply that Every alge-
braic set in An can be expressed uniquely as a union of varieties, no one containing another.

3.4 Affine Coordinate Ring

Definition 3.4.1 If Y ⊆ An is an affine algebraic set, we define the affine coordinate ring
A(Y ) of Y , to be A(Y)/I(Y ).
Remark 1:
Any polynomial f (x1 , x2 , ...xn ) can be regarded as a k-valued function on k n by evaluating it
at the point p=(a1 , a2 , ..., an ).
we can restrict such polynomial function f to the subset Y ⊆ K n and get a function on Y.
But different polynomials f,g∈ k[x1 , x2 , ...xn ] could end up restricting to the same polynomial
on Y.This will happen iff f − g ∈ I(Z),i.e f = g in k[x1 , x2 , ..., xn ]/I(Y ).
Thus k[x1 , x2 , ..., xn ]/I(Y ) is just the ring of functions on Y,which are restrictions of polyno-
mial function on k n .
Remark2:
If Y is an affine variety, then A(Y ) is a finitely generated integral domain. Again, A(Y )
is a finitely generated k-algebra. Conversely, any finitely generated k-algebra B which is a
integral domain is isomorphic to affine coordinate ring of some affine variety.

3
Indeed, write B as the quotient of a polynomial(since any finitely generated k-algebra B is a
quotient of a polynomial ring in finitely many variables) ring A = k[x1 , x2 , .., xn ] by an ideal
I and let Y = Z(I).Then B ∼ =k−alg A(Y)
Thus we have a one-one correspondence between affine varieties and finitely generated integral
domain over k.
Example 3.4.2 If Y = An , then A(Y )=A=K[x1 , ..., xn ].

3.5 Dimension Of A Topological Space

Definition 3.5.1 If X is a topological space, we define the dimension of X (denoted dim X)
to be the supremum of all integers n such that there exists a chain Z0 ⊆ Z1 ⊆ ... ⊆ Zn of
distinct irreducible closed subsets of X.
We define the dimension of an affine variety to be its dimension as a topological space.
Example 3.5.2 The dimension of A1 is 1. Indeed, the only irreducible closed subsets of A1
are the whole space and single points.
Definition 3.5.3 In a ring A, the height of a prime ideal P is the supremum of all integers
n such that there exist a chain P0 ⊆ P1 ⊆ ... ⊆ Pn = P of distinct prime ideals.
We define the dimension (or Krull dimension) of A to be the supremum of heights of all prime
ideals.
Example 3.5.4 The Krull dimension of a field is zero and the Krull dimension of Z is 1.
Proposition 3.5.5 If Y is an affine algebraic set, then the dimension of Y(as a topological
space) is equal to the Krull dimension of its affine coordinate ring A(Y )
Proof: If Y is an affine algebraic set in An , then the closed irreducible subsets of Y correspond
to prime ideals of A = k[x1 , x2 , ...xn ] containing I(Y ) These in turn correspond to prime ideals
of A(Y). Hence dim Y is the length of the longest chain of prime ideals in A(Y), which is its
dimension.
Theorem 3.5.6 If A is a noetherian ring, then we have dim(A[x1 , x2 , ..., xn ]) =dim(A)+ n.
Corollary 3.5.7 The dimension of An is n
Proof: According to proposition (3.5.5) and example (3.4.2) dim(An )=dim(k[x1 , x2 , .., xn ]).Now
by theorem (3.5.6) dim(k[x1 , x2 , .., xn ])=dim(k)+n and since the Krull dim of a field is zero,it
follows that dim(An )=n

Theorem 3.5.8 Let k be a field, and let B be an integral domain which is a finitely generated
k-algebra.Then, for a prime ideal p in B, we have height(p) + dim(B/p) = dim(B).
Theorem 3.5.9 A noetherian integral domain A is a unique factorization domain if and
only if every prime ideal of height 1 is principal.
Theorem 3.5.10 Let A be a noetherian ring, and let f ∈A be an element which is neither
a zero divisor nor a unit. Then every minimal prime ideal p containing f has height 1.
3.5.11 (Definition 1) An irreducible closed subset X of An is called hypersurface if
dim(X)=n-1 (as a topological space).This is the definition from geometric point of view.

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3.5.12 (Definition 2) An irreducible closed subset of An is hypersurface ,if I(X) = (f ) ,for
some irreducible polynomial f in k[x1 , x2 , ..., xn ].This is the definition in algebraic sense.
Proposition 3.5.13 Definition 1 and Definition 2 are equivalent
Proof: If X is a geometric hypersurface ,thenI(X) is prime ideal.Therefore by (3.7.8)and(3.7.5)
height(I(X))+ dim(X)=n,this implies height(I(X))=1.Now by (3.7.9) I(X)=< f > for some
f∈ k[x1 , x2 , ..., xn ] .Since I(X) is prime f must be a irreducible polynomial.
Conversely,since f is irreducible it is non zero and non unit and < f > is prime ideal .Therefore
by (3.7.10) height(I(X))=1 and then by theorem (3.7.8) dim(X)=n-1.
Remark: From above proposition we can conclude that the affine varieties for which the
ring of functions are UFD are precisely the affine varieties for which every co-dimension 1
irreducible subset is defined by the locus of a single equation.

3.6 Quasi Compactness Of Zariski Topology

Definition 3.6.1 A topological space is called quasi compact,if given any open cover,we can
always find a finite subcover.
Lemma 3.6.2 Any noetherian topological space is quasi compact.
Lemma 3.6.3 If X is a noetherian topological space,Y⊆ X then Y is noetherian for the the
induced topology (i.e property of being noetherian is hereditary)
Corollary 3.6.4 Any subset of An is quasi compact in Zariski topology.
Proof: Example (3.3.2)shows that An is noetherian,so by lemma (3.6.3) every subset is also
noetherian, and hence from lemma (3.6.2) we have any subset of An is quasi-compact.

4 Morphisms
So far we have studied only topological properties of affine varities and k-valued polynomial
functions on them.Now we define a ”good” class of functions on varities and using these we
introduce the notion of isomorphism between two varities.
Definition 4.1 Let Y be any affine or quasi-affine variety in An .
A function f: Y 7−→ k is regular at a point P∈ Y if there is an open neighborhood U with
P∈ U ⊆ Y ,and polynomials g,h∈ A = k[x1 , ..., xn ], such that h is nowhere zero on U, and f =
g/h on U. (Here we interpret the polynomials as functions on An , hence on Y.)
We say that f is regular on Y if it is regular at every point of Y.
Notation: We denote O(Y) to be the set of all regular functions on Y ,where Y is any affine
or quasi affine variety.
Remark: Clearly O(Y) is an k-algebra.
Lemma 4.2 A regular function is continuous, when k is identified with A1 in its Zariski
topology

5
 Lemma 4.3 if f and g are regular functions on a variety X, and if f = g on some nonempty
open subset U⊆ X, then f = g everywhere.
Proof: the set of points where f - g = 0 is closed and dense, hence equal to X.
Theorem 4.4

1. O(An ) ∼
=k−alg A(An )

2. O(X)∼
=k−alg A(X), if X is an affine variety
3. O(D(h))∼
=k−alg A(D(h)),where D(h)= An \ Z(h)
4. O(D(h)∩ X)∼
=k−alg A(D(h)∩ X)
Proof: We prove first statement
Define a map A(An ) 7−→ O(An ) by g∈k[x1 , x2 , ..., xn ] 7−→ (g :An 7→ k)
This is a k-algebra homomorphism
Since we know if k is an infinite field, F∈ k[x1 , x2 , ..., xn ] and F(a1 , .., an ) = 0 for all a1 , .., an ∈k.Then
F = 0.
Here k being algebraically closed,is infinite.So the kernel of the above homomorphism is trivial
and hence it is injective
Let φ : An 7−→ k be a regular map.Now by cor(3.8.4) ∃ finitely many points x1 , ..., xm
s.tAn = D(hx1 )∪D(hx2 )∪...∪D(hxm ) and by lemma (3.9.3) we can assume that φ = gxi /hxi on
D(hxi ).
Xm
Now < hx1 , .., hxm >= k[x1 , x2 , ..., xn ], so ∃f1 , .., fm ∈ k[x1 , x2 , ..., xn ] s.t fi hxi =1 ⇒
i=1
m
X m
X
fi (hxi φ)=φ i.e φ = fi (gxi ) ∈ A(An ).Therefore the map is surjective and hence and
i=1 i=1
k-algebra isomorphism.
Definition 4.5 Let X and Y be two varieties(affine or quasi-affine).A morphismφ : X 7−→ Y
is a continuous map such that gor every open set V⊆ Y ,and for every regular function
f:V7−→ k, the function f◦φ : φ−1 (V ) 7−→ k is regular.In other words pullback of maps via
φ takes regular function on V to regular function on φ−1 (V ).
An isomorphism φ : X 7−→ Y of two varieties is a morphism which admits an inverse mor-
phism ψ : Y 7−→ X with ψ ◦ φ = idX and φ ◦ ψ =idY
Notation: M orvar (X, Y ) we denote set of all morphisms from X into Y.
Theorem 4.6 M orvar (X, A1 )=O(X), for any affine or quasi-affine variety
i.e regular function on X are just morphism into A1 .
Note: From universal property of polynomial ring we know that if R is a commutative ring
with identity and A is any R-algebra, then HomR−alg (R[T1 , .., Tn ], A) ∼
=R−alg An
Now taking R[T]=k[T] and A=O(X) ,we have O(X)∼ =k−alg Homk−alg (k[T ], O(X))
Therefore by theorem (3.9.6) M orvar (X, A )=O(X)∼
1
=k−alg Homk−alg (A(A1 ), O(X)) (since A(A1 )=k[T])
More generally M orvar (X, An )=O(X)∼ =k−alg Homk−alg (A(An ), O(X))

6
 Theorem 4.7 Let X be an variety(affine or quasi-affine) and Y be an affine variety ,then
M orvar (X, Y )∼
=k−alg Homk−alg (A(Y ), O(X))(via α) and we denote α(φ) = φ∗
In particular, if X is also affine then M orvar (X, Y )∼
=k−alg Homk−alg (A(Y ), A(X))
Lemma 4.8 If φ : Y 7−→ X1 and ψ : X1 7−→ X2 are two morphism of varieties with X1 and
X2 are affine, then the (ψ ◦ φ)∗ = φ∗ ◦ ψ∗, with the above notations.
Proposition 4.9 Let X⊆ Am and Y ⊆ An be two affine varities,and φ : X 7−→ Y is a
morphism.Then φ is an isomorphism if and only if φ∗ is an isomorphism and in which case
(φ∗ )−1 =(φ−1 )∗
Corollary 4.10 Two affine varieties X1 and X2 are isomorphic as varieties if and only if
their affine coordinate ring A(X1 ) and A(X2 ) are isomorphic as k-algebra
Proof: Proof follows immediately from the proposition (4.9) and theorem(4.7)

4.1 Equivalence Of Algebra and Geometry

collection of all affine varieties and finitely generated ID over k form category with ”mor-
phisms” as morphism of varieties and k-alg homomorphism respectively.
Theorem 4.1.1 A functor F : C7−→ D yields an contravariant equivalence of categories if
and only if it is simultaneously:

• full, i.e. for any two objects c1 and c2 of C, the map M orC (c1 , c2 ) 7−→ M orD (F c2 , F c1 )
induced by F is surjective;

• faithful, i.e. for any two objects c1 and c2 of C, the map M orC (c1 , c2 ) 7−→ M orD (F c2 , F c1 )
induced by F is injective

• essentially surjective (dense), i.e. each object d in D is isomorphic to an object of the

form F c, for c in C.
Now from Theorem (4.7) and (4.1.1), it follows that

Algebra Geometry Dictionary 4.1.2 The functor X7−→ A(X) induces an contravariant
equivalence of categories between the category of affine varieties over k and the category of
finitely generated integral domains over k.

5 Projective Algebraic Variety

5.1 Projective Variety
Let k be our fixed algebraically closed field. We define projective n-space over k, denoted by
Pk n , (or simply P n ), as a set is the quotient of the set An+1 −{(0, ..., 0)} under the equivalence
relation which identifies points lying on the same line through the origin.
An element of P n is called a point. If P is a point, then any (n + 1)- tuple (a0 , ..., an )
in the equivalence class P is called a set of homogeneous coordinates for P, and we write
[a0 : a1 : ... : an ]
We make the polynomial ring S = k[x0 , ..., xn ] into a graded ring by taking Sd to be the set

7
of all linear combinations of monomials of total weight d in x0 , ..., xn
If f ∈ S is a polynomial, we cannot use it to define a function on P n , because of the
nonuniqueness of the homogeneous coordinates.However,if f is a homogeneous polynomial
then the property off being zero or not depends only on the equivalence class of (a0 , ..., an )
Thus we can talk about the zeros of a homogeneous polynomial, namely Z(f ) = {P ∈
P n |f (P ) = 0}.
If T is any set of homogeneous elements of S, we define the zero set of T to be Z(T ) = {P ∈ P n |
f(P) = 0 for all f ∈ T }.
If I is a homogeneous ideal of S, we define Z(I) = Z(T), where T is the set of all homogeneous
elements in I.
Definition 5.1.1 A subset Y of P n is an projective algebraic set if there exists a set T of
homogeneous elements of S such that Y = Z(T).
Proposition 5.1.2 The union of two algebraic sets is an algebraic set. The intersection
of any family of algebraic sets is an algebraic set. The empty set and the whole space are
algebraic sets.
Definition 5.1.3 We define the Zariski topology on P n by taking the open sets to be the
complements of algebraic sets.
Definition 5.1.4 A projective algebraic variety (or simply projective variety) is an irreducible
algebraic set in P n , with the induced topology.
An open subset of a projective variety is a quasi-projective variety.
The dimension of a projective or quasi-projective variety is its dimension as a topological
space.
From now on by variety we mean any affine, quasi-affine, projective, or quasi-projective
variety.
Definition 5.1.5 If Y is any subset of P n , we define the homogeneous ideal of Y in S, denoted
IH (Y ), to be the ideal generated by {f ∈ S| f is homogeneous and f(P) = 0 for all P ∈ Y }
Theorem 5.1.6(Projective Nullstellansatz) Let I ⊆ k[x0 , ..., xn ] be a homogeneous ideal.
Then,

1. Z(I) = φ if and only if there exists N ∈ N such that I contains every homogeneous
polynomial of at least N.

2. if Z(I) 6= φ, then IH (Z(I)) = Rad(I)

As a consequence of the projective Nullstellensatz, we have the following one-to-one corre-

spondences
{non-empty algebraic sets in P n } ←→ { proper homogeneous radical ideas I 6=< x0 , ..., xn >}
{varieties in P n } ←→ { homogeneous prime ideas I 6=< x0 , ..., xn >}

8
 If Y is an algebraic set, we define the homogeneous coordinate ring of Y to be S(Y ) =
S/IH (Y ).
we denote the zero set of xi by Hi , for i= 0,...,n. Let Ui be the open set P n \ Hi . Then P n is
covered by the open sets Ui .
Define a mapping φi : Ui 7−→ An as follows: if P = (a0 , ..., an ) ∈ Ui , then φi (P ) =
(a0 /ai , ..., an /ai ) with ai /ai omitted.Note that φi is well-defined since the ratios aj /ai are
independent of the choice of homogeneous coordinates.
Definition 5.1.7(Regular function) A function f : Y 7−→ k is regular at a point P ∈ Y
if there is an open neighborhood U with P ∈ U ⊆ Y , and homogeneous polynomials
g, h ∈ S = k[x0 , ..., xn ], of the same degree, such that h is nowhere zero on U, and f =
g/h on U.
We say that f is regular on Y if it is regular at every point.
The definition of morphism is same as before.
Proposition 5.1.8 The map φi is a homeomorphism of Ui with its induced topology to An
with its Zariski topology and also isomorphism of varieties,for all i=0,1,...,n
Using the above proposition we can deduce that
Theorem 5.1.9 Any variety is a finite union of open subsets each isomorphic to an affine
varities.
In other words affine varieties are the building blocks for any variety.

5.2 Local Rings

Definition 5.2.1 Let X be any variety.Define OX,p = {U ⊆ X is open, p ∈ U, f ∈ O(U )}.
Define an relation e as (U,f) e (V,g), if there exists a nonempty open subset W of U ∩ V s.t p ∈
W and f=g on W.
Now e is an equivalence relation.Let OX,p = OX,p /e and the equivalence classes are called germs
of regular functions at p.
Fact: OX,p is a local k-algebra with operations [(U,f)]+[(V,g)]=[(U ∩ V, f |(U ∩V ) + g|(U ∩V ) ]
[(U,f)]*[(V,g)]=[(U ∩ V, f |(U ∩V ) .g|(U ∩V ) ] and the subset MX,p = {[(U, f )] : f (p) = 0} is an
ideal of OX,p with the property that every element outside MX,p is unit.
Therefore OX,p is a local ring with MX,p as the unique maximal ideal.
Essentially,local ring at a point identifies functions which are equal in a small nbd of p.
Proposition 5.2.2 If U is an open subset of X containing p,then OX,p = OU,p .(i.e local
ring at a point of a variety depends on the neighbourhood of the point,not on the ambient
variety).
Proposition 5.2.3 The local ring of X at a point p remains invariant under an isomor-
phism,i.e if φ : X 7−→ Y is an isomorphism of varieties,then we get an isomorphism of
k-algebra of OX,p and OY,φ(p)
Corollary 5.2.4 If X is any variety, p ∈ X.Choosing U to be an open subset of X containing
the point p,which is isomorphic to an affine variety ( such U exists by theorem (5.1.9) ),we
can see that all possible local ring can be computed (upto k-algebra isomorphism) as local
rings of points of affine varieties.

9
Theorem 5.2.5 If X is an affine variety and p ∈ X is a point, then OX,p ∼
=k−alg A(X)m(p)
,where m(p) is the maximal ideal of A(X) corresponding to point p.

5.3 Function Field

Definition 5.3.1 Let X be any variety.Define K(X) = {U ⊆ X is open, f ∈ O(U )}.
Define an relation e as (U,f) e (V,g),if there exists a nonempty open subset W of U ∩ V s.t f=g
on W.
Now e is an equivalence relation.Let K(X) = K(X)/e
K(X) is called the function field of X.
Fact: K(X) is a field and is a transcendental field extension of k.
Geometrically,K(X) captures all the properties which are true in large open set of X.
We have the natural maps O(X) 7−→ OX,p 7−→ K(X) and these maps are injective k-algebra
homomorphism.
Theorem 5.3.2 If X is affine variety,then K(X) ∼
=k−alg (Quotient field of A(X))∼ =k−alg
Q(O(X))
Corollary 5.3.3 If X is affine variety,then
dimtop (X) = dimKrull (A(X)) = trdegk Q(A(X)) = trdegk K(X)
Theorem 5.4.4 If Y is a projective variety,then O(Y ) ∼ =k−alg k .In other words there exists
no non constant global regular functions on a projective variety.
Corollary 5.4.5 The only morphisms from a projective variety to an affine variety are
constants.
Corollary 5.4.6 If a variety is both affine and projective, then it is a point.

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