Dominic Joyce

Schemes in algebraic geometry can have singular points, whereas differential geometers typically focus on manifolds which are nonsingular. However, there is a class of schemes, 'C8-schemes', which allow differential geometers to study a huge range of singular spaces, including 'infinitesimals' and infinite-dimensional spaces. These are applied in synthetic differential geometry, and derived differential geometry, the study of 'derived manifolds'. Differential geometers also study manifolds with corners. The cube is a 3-dimensional manifold with corners, with boundary the six square faces. This book introduces 'C8-schemes with corners', singular spaces in differential geometry with good notions of boundary and corners. They can be used to define 'derived manifolds with corners' and 'derived orbifolds with corners'. These have applications to major areas of symplectic geometry involving moduli spaces of J-holomorphic curves. This work will be a welcome source of information and inspiration for graduate students and researchers working in differential or algebraic geometry.

If $X$ is a manifold then the $\mathbb R$-algebra $C^\infty (X)$ of smooth functions $c:X\rightarrow \mathbb R$ is a $C^\infty $-ring. That is, for each smooth function $f:\mathbb R^n\rightarrow \mathbb R$ there is an $n$-fold operation $\Phi _f:C^\infty (X)^n\rightarrow C^\infty (X)$ acting by $\Phi _f:(c_1,\ldots ,c_n)\mapsto f(c_1,\ldots ,c_n)$, and these operations $\Phi _f$ satisfy many natural identities. Thus, $C^\infty (X)$ actually has a far richer structure than the obvious $\mathbb R$-algebra structure. The author explains the foundations of a version of algebraic geometry in which rings or algebras are replaced by $C^\infty $-rings. As schemes are the basic objects in algebraic geometry, the new basic objects are $C^\infty $-schemes, a category of geometric objects which generalize manifolds and whose morphisms generalize smooth maps. The author also studies quasicoherent sheaves on $C^\infty $-schemes, and $C^\infty $-stacks, in particular Deligne-Mumford $C^\infty$-stacks, a 2-category of geometric objects generalizing orbifolds. Many of these ideas are not new: $C^\infty$-rings and $C^\infty $-schemes have long been part of synthetic differential geometry. But the author develops them in new directions. In earlier publications, the author used these tools to define d-manifolds and d-orbifolds, ``derived'' versions of manifolds and orbifolds related to Spivak's ``derived manifolds''.

This is an introduction to a very active field of research, on the boundary between mathematics and physics. It is aimed at graduate students and researchers in geometry and string theory. Proofs or sketches are given for many important results. From the reviews: "An excellent introduction to current research in the geometry of Calabi-Yau manifolds, hyper-Kahler manifolds, exceptional holonomy and mirror symmetry... This is an excellent and useful book." --MATHEMATICAL REVIEWS