János Kollár - Böcker

The most basic algebraic varieties are the projective spaces, and rational varieties are their closest relatives. In many applications where algebraic varieties appear in mathematics and the sciences, we see rational ones emerging as the most interesting examples. The authors have given an elementary treatment of rationality questions using a mix of classical and modern methods. Arising from a summer school course taught by János Kollár, this book develops the modern theory of rational and nearly rational varieties at a level that will particularly suit graduate students. There are numerous examples and exercises, all of which are accompanied by fully worked out solutions, that will make this book ideal as the basis of a graduate course. It will act as a valuable reference for researchers whilst helping graduate students to reach the point where they can begin to tackle contemporary research problems.

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 A wealth of previously unpublished material is also featured, including Chapter 5 on numerical flatness criteria, Chapter 7 on K-flatness, and Chapter 9 on hulls and husks.