Fundamental Algebraic Geometry

Alexander Grothendieck introduced many concepts into algebraic geometry; they turned out to be astoundingly powerful and productive and truly revolutionized the subject. Grothendieck sketched his new theories in a series of talks at the Seminaire Bourbaki between 1957 and 1962 and collected his write-ups in a volume entitled 'Fondements de la Geometrie Algebrique,' known as FGA. Much of FGA is now common knowledge; however, some of FGA is less well known, and its full scope is familiar to few. The present book resulted from the 2003 'Advanced School in Basic Algebraic Geometry' at the ICTP in Trieste, Italy. The book aims to fill in Grothendieck's brief sketches. There are four themes: descent theory, Hilbert and Quot schemes, the formal existence theorem, and the Picard scheme. Most results are proved in full detail; furthermore, newer ideas are introduced to promote understanding, and many connections are drawn to newer developments. The main prerequisite is a thorough acquaintance with basic scheme theory. Thus this book is a valuable resource for anyone doing algebraic geometry.