In the ongoing programme to classify noncommutative projective surfaces (connected graded noetherian domains of Gelfand-Kirillov dimension three) a natural question is to determine the minimal models within any birational class. In this paper we show that the generic noncommutative projective plane (corresponding to the three dimensional Sklyanin algebra R) as well as noncommutative analogues of P^1 x P^1 and of the Hirzebruch surface F_2 (arising from Van den Bergh's quadrics R) satisfy very strong minimality conditions. Translated into an algebraic question, where one is interested in a maximality condition, we prove the following theorem. Let R be a Sklyanin algebra or a Van den Bergh quadric that is infinite dimensional over its centre and let A be any connected graded noetherian maximal order containing R, with the same graded quotient ring as R. Then, up to taking Veronese rings, A is isomorphic to R. Secondly, let T be an elliptic algebra (that is, the coordinate ring of a noncommutative surface containing an elliptic curve). Then, under an appropriate homological condition, we prove that every connected graded noetherian overring of T is obtained by blowing down finitely many lines (line modules).
Recently the Euler forms on numerical Grothendieck groups of rank 4 whose properties mimick that of the Euler form of a smooth projective surface have been classified. This classification depends on a natural number $m$, and suggests the existence of noncommutative surfaces which up to that point had not been considered for $m\geq 2$. These have been constructed for $m=2$ using noncommutative $\mathbb{P}^1$-bundles, and for all $m\geq 2$ by a different construction using maximal orders on $\mathrm{Bl}_x\mathbb{P}^2$. In this article we compare the constructions for $m=2$, i.e. we compare the c…
In this survey article we describe some geometric results in the theory of noncommutative rings and, more generally, in the theory of abelian categories. Roughly speaking and by analogy with the commutative situation, the category of graded modules modulo torsion over a noncommutative graded ring of quadratic, respectively cubic growth should be thought of as the noncommutative analogue of a projective curve, respectively surface. This intuition has lead to a remarkable number of nontrivial insights and results in noncommutative algebra. Indeed, the problem of classifying noncommutative curves…
Divided into three parts, the first marks out enormous geometric issues with the notion of quasi-freenss of an algebra and seeks to replace this notion of formal smoothness with an approximation by means of a minimal unital commutative algebra's smoothness. The second part of this text is then, devoted to the approximating of properties of nc. schemes through the properties of two uniquely determined (classical) schemes estimating the nc. scheme in question in a maximal way from the inside and through the minimal scheme approximating the nc. scheme in question from the outside. The very brief …
We study a class of noncommutative surfaces and their higher dimensional analogues which provide answers to several open questions in noncommutative projective geometry. Specifically, we give the first known graded algebras which are noetherian but not strongly noetherian, answering a question of Artin, Small, and Zhang. In addition, these examples are maximal orders and satisfy the $χ_1$ condition but not $χ_i$ for $i \geq 2$, answering a questions of Stafford and Zhang and a question of Stafford and Van den Bergh. Finally, we show that these algebras have finite cohomological dimension.
The aim of the paper is to attach a noncommutative cluster-like structure to each marked surface $Σ$. This is a noncommutative algebra ${\mathcal A}_Σ$ generated by "noncommutative geodesics" between marked points subject to certain triangle relations and noncommutative analogues of Ptolemy-Plücker relations. It turns out that the algebra ${\mathcal A}_Σ$ exhibits a noncommutative Laurent Phenomenon with respect to any triangulation of $Σ$, which confirms its "cluster nature". As a surprising byproduct, we obtain a new topological invariant of $Σ$, which is a free or a 1-relator group easily c…
Noncommutative rational functions, i.e., elements of the universal skew field of fractions of a free algebra, can be defined through evaluations of noncommutative rational expressions on tuples of matrices. This interpretation extends their traditional important role in the theory of division rings and gives rise to their applications in other areas, from free real algebraic geometry to systems and control theory. If a noncommutative rational function is analytic at the origin, it can be described by a linear object, called a {\em realization}. In this article we present a realization theory t…
One of the major open problems in noncommutative algebraic geometry is the classification of noncommutative projective surfaces (or, slightly more generally, of noetherian connected graded domains of Gelfand-Kirillov dimension 3). Earlier work of the authors classified the connected graded noetherian subalgebras of Sklyanin algebras using a noncommutative analogue of blowing up. In order to understand other algebras birational to a Sklyanin algebra, one also needs a notion of blowing down. This is achieved in this paper, where we give a noncommutative analogue of Castelnuovo's classic theorem …
In this paper we propose a general method for computing a minimal free right resolution of a finitely presented graded right module over a finitely presented graded noncommutative algebra. In particular, if such module is the base field of the algebra then one obtains its graded homology. The approach is based on the possibility to obtain the resolution via the computation of syzygies for modules over commutative algebras. The method behaves algorithmically if one bounds the degree of the required elements in the resolution. Of course, this implies a complete computation when the resolution is…
We implement a noncommutative analogue of the well-known commutative cyclic covering trick and implement it to explicitly construct a vast collection of numerically Calabi-Yau orders, noncommutative analogues of surfaces of Kodaira dimension 0. We construct maximal orders, noncommutative analogues of normal schemes, on rational surfaces and ruled surfaces. We also use Ogg-Shafarevich theory to construct Azumaya algebras and, more generally, maximal orders on elliptically fibred surfaces.
A noncommutative deformation of a quadric surface is usually described by a three-dimensional cubic Artin-Schelter regular algebra. In this paper we show that for such an algebra its bounded derived category embeds into the bounded derived category of a commutative deformation of the Hilbert scheme of two points on the quadric. This is the second example in support of a conjecture by Orlov. Based on this example, we formulate an infinitesimal version of the conjecture, and provide some evidence in the case of smooth projective surfaces.
Let A=k+A_1+A_2.... be a connected graded, noetherian k-algebra that is generated in degree one over an algebraically closed field k. Suppose that the graded quotient ring Q(A) has the form Q(A)=k(Y)[t,t^{-1},sigma], where sigma is an automorphism of the integral projective surface Y. Then we prove that A can be written as a naive blowup algebra of a projective surface X birational to Y. This enables one to obtain a deep understanding of the structure of these algebras; for example, generically they are not strongly noetherian and their point modules are not parametrized by a projective scheme…
One of the major open problems in noncommutative algebraic geometry is the classification of noncommutative projective surfaces (or, slightly more generally, of noetherian connected graded domains of Gelfand-Kirillov dimension 3). In a companion paper the authors described a noncommutative version of blowing down and, for example, gave a noncommutative analogue of Castelnuovo's classic theorem that lines of self-intersection (-1) on a smooth surface can be contracted. In this paper we will use these techniques to construct explicit birational transformations between various noncommutative surf…
The hypersurface in a 3-dimensional vector space with an isolated quasi-homogeneous elliptic singularity of type E_r,r=6,7,8, has a natural Poisson structure. We show that the family of del Pezzo surfaces of the corresponding type E_r provides a semiuniversal Poisson deformation of that Poisson structure. We also construct a deformation-quantization of the coordinate ring of such a del Pezzo surface. To this end, we first deform the polynomial algebra C[x,y,z] to a noncommutative algebra with generators x,y,z and the following 3 relations (where [u,v]_t = uv- t.vu): [x,y]_t=F_1(z), [y,z]_t=F_2…
In the past 15 years a study of ``noncommutative projective geometry'' has flourished. By using and generalizing techniques of commutative projective geometry, one can study certain noncommutative graded rings and obtain results for which no purely algebraic proof is known. For instance, noncommutative graded domains of quadratic growth, or ``noncommutative curves,'' have now been classified by geometric data and these rings must be noetherian. Rings of cubic growth, or ``noncommutative surfaces,'' are not yet classified, but a rich theory is currently forming. In this survey, we describe some…
Noncommutative surfaces finite over their centres can be realised as orders over surfaces. The aim of this paper is to present a noncommutative generalisation of rational singularities, which we call numerical rationality, for such orders. We show that numerical rationality is independent of the choice of resolution. Our main result is that the log terminal orders arising from the noncommutative minimal model program, in particular, canonical orders are numerically rational. Both of these generalise well known facts about rational singularities in commutative algebraic geometry.
We examine the noncommutative minimal model program for orders on arithmetic surfaces, or equivalently, arithmetic surfaces enriched by a Brauer class $β$. When $β$ has prime index $p>5$, we show the classical theory extends with analogues of existence of terminal resolutions, Castelnuovo contraction and Zariski factorisation. We also classify $β$-terminal surfaces and Castelnuovo contractions, and discover new unexpected behaviour.
We introduce a geometric realization of noncommutative singularity resolutions. To do this, we first present a new conjectural method of obtaining conventional resolutions using coordinate rings of matrix-valued functions. We verify this conjecture for all cyclic quotient surface singularities, the Kleinian D_n and E_6 surface singularities, the conifold singularity, and a non-isolated singularity, using appropriate quiver algebras. This conjecture provides a possible new generalization of the classical McKay correspondence. Then, using symplectic reduction within these rings, we obtain new, n…
We construct a family of connected graded domains of GK-dimension 4 that are birational to P2, and show that the general member of this family is noetherian. This disproves a conjecture of the first author and Stafford. The algebras we construct are Koszul and have global dimension 4. They fail to be Artin-Schelter Gorenstein, however, showing that a theorem of Zhang and Stephenson for dimension 3 algebras does not extend to dimension 4. The Auslander-Buchsbaum formula also fails to hold for our family. The algebras can be obtained as global sections of a certain quasicoherent graded sheaf on …
For a Grothendieck category having a noetherian generator, we prove that there are only finitely many minimal atoms. This is a noncommutative analogue of the fact that every noetherian scheme has only finitely many irreducible components. It is also shown that each minimal atom is represented by a compressible object.
We present a method for computing the Hilbert series of the algebra of invariants of the complex symplectic and orthogonal groups acting on graded noncommutative algebras with homogeneous components which are polynomial modules of the general linear group. We apply our method to compute the Hilbert series for different actions of the symplectic and orthogonal groups on the relatively free algebras of the varieties of associative algebras generated, respectively, by the Grassmann algebra and the algebra of $2\times 2$ upper triangular matrices. These two varieties are remarkable with the proper…
