Several Complex Variables And Complex Manifolds

Annotation This self-contained and relatively elementary introduction to functions of several complex variables and complex (especially compact) manifolds is intended to be a synthesis of those topics and a broad introduction to the field. Part I is suitable for advanced undergraduates and beginning postgraduates whilst Part II is written more for the graduate student. The work as a whole will be useful to professional mathematicians or mathematical physicists who wish to acquire a working knowledge of this area of mathematics. Many exercises have been included and indeed they form an integral part of the text. The prerequisites for understanding Part I would be met by any mathematics student with a first degree and together the two parts provide an introduction to the more advanced works in the subject.

This self-contained and relatively elementary introduction to functions of several complex variables and complex (especially compact) manifolds was first published in 1982. It was intended be a synthesis of those topics and a broad introduction to the field. The work as a whole will be useful to professional mathematicians or mathematical physicists who wish to acquire a further knowledge of this area of mathematics. Many exercises have been included and indeed they form an integral part of the text. The prerequisites for understanding Part I would be met by any mathematics student with a first degree and together the two parts were designed to provide an introduction to the more advanced works in the subject.

The first survey of its kind, written by internationally known, outstanding experts who developed substantial parts of the field. The book contains an introduction written by Remmert, describing the history of the subject, and is very useful to graduate students and researchers in complex analysis, algebraic geometry and differential geometry.

The present book grew out of introductory lectures on the theory offunctions of several variables. Its intent is to make the reader familiar, by the discussion of examples and special cases, with the most important branches and methods of this theory, among them, e.g., the problems of holomorphic continuation, the algebraic treatment of power series, sheaf and cohomology theory, and the real methods which stem from elliptic partial differential equations. In the first chapter we begin with the definition of holomorphic functions of several variables, their representation by the Cauchy integral, and their power series expansion on Reinhardt domains. It turns out that, in l:ontrast ~ 2 there exist domains G, G c en to the theory of a single variable, for n with G c G and G "# G such that each function holomorphic in G has a continuation on G. Domains G for which such a G does not exist are called domains of holomorphy. In Chapter 2 we give several characterizations of these domains of holomorphy (theorem of Cartan-Thullen, Levi's problem). We finally construct the holomorphic hull H(G} for each domain G, that is the largest (not necessarily schlicht) domain over en into which each function holomorphic on G can be continued.

This introduction to the theory of complex manifolds covers the most important branches and methods in complex analysis of several variables while completely avoiding abstract concepts involving sheaves, coherence, and higher-dimensional cohomology. Only elementary methods such as power series, holomorphic vector bundles, and one-dimensional cocycles are used. Each chapter contains a variety of examples and exercises.

This volume of the EMS contains four survey articles on analytic spaces. They are excellent introductions to each respective area. Starting from basic principles in several complex variables each article stretches out to current trends in research. Graduate students and researchers will find a useful addition in the extensive bibliography at the end of each article.