Euler Systems
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Published: May 1, 2000
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 240
ISBN-13: 9780691050751
Subjects: Algebraic Geometry; Algebraic Number Theory; p-adic numbers; Mathematics; Science/Mathematics; Number Theory; Mathematics / Advanced; Geometry - Algebraic
First sentence: In this chapter we introduce our basic objects of study: p-adic Galois representations, their cohomology groups, and especially Selmer groups.
Description: One of the most exciting new subjects in Algebraic Number Theory and Arithmetic Algebraic Geometry is the theory of Euler systems. Euler systems are special collections of cohomology classes attached to p-adic Galois representations. Introduced by Victor Kolyvagin in the late 1980s in order to bound Selmer groups attached to p-adic representations, Euler systems have since been used to solve several key problems. These include certain cases of the Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer Conjecture and the Main Conjecture of Iwasawa Theory. Because Selmer groups play a central role in Arithmetic Algebraic Geometry, Euler systems should be a powerful tool in the future development of the field. Here, in the first book to appear on the subject, Karl Rubin presents a self-contained development of the theory of Euler systems. Rubin first reviews and develops the necessary facts from Galois cohomology. He then introduces Euler systems, states the main theorems, and develops examples and applications. The remainder of the book is devoted to the proofs of the main theorems as well as some further speculations. The book assumes a solid background in algebraic Number Theory, and is suitable as an advanced graduate text. As a research monograph it will also prove useful to number theorists and researchers in Arithmetic Algebraic Geometry.