Hilbert's Fourteenth Problem
Hilbert's Fourteenth Problem
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David Villalobos Paz, Princeton University
Hilbert鈥檚 Fourteenth Problem asks if certain k-algebras are听finitely generated. We will look at this problem from the point of听view of Geometric Invariant Theory: Say a group G acts on an affine听variety X. Then we can ask whether the subring of G-invariants of the听coordinate ring k[X] is finitely generated. Hilbert showed that this听happens when G is reductive. However, Nagata discovered a听counterexample for a choice of non-reductive G, which Mukai later听 generalised. We will go over this construction of Mukai鈥檚. If time听permits, we will mention a more recent result of B茅rczi, Doran and听Kirwan regarding the finite generation of the subring of invariants听when G is not assumed to be reductive.