Ebook: Algebraic curves and Riemann surfaces

This text is an introduction to the theory of algebraic curves defined over the complex numbers. It begins with the definitions and first properties of Riemann surfaces, with special attention paid to the Riemann sphere, complex tori, hyperelliptic curves, smooth plane curves, and projective curves. The heart of the book is the treatment of divisors and rational functions, culminating in the theorems of Riemann-Roch and Abel and the analysis of the canonical map. Sheaves, cohomology, the Zariski topology, line bundles, and the Picard group are developed after these main theorems are proved and applied, as a bridge from the classical material to the modern language of algebraic geometry.