Student Algebraic Geometry Seminar

The minimal model program is one of the major developments of algebraic geometry in recent decades, although its roots go back to the classical study of the birational geometry of surfaces. In this talk, we'll discuss how the study of surfaces leads naturally to the core objects of study in the MMP, including the cone of curves of a projective variety and its relation to morphisms from a variety. We'll then discuss the generalization to higher dimensions, the resulting difficulties, and the necessary introduction of certain "mild" singularities. Throughout, we'll focus on examples rather than technical details. The talk should be accessible to anyone who's taken 631 or another introductory algebraic geometry course. Speaker(s): Devlin Mallory (UM)