Wikipedia / Finite morphism
Wikipedia / Finite morphism
In algebraic geometry, a finite morphism between two affine varieties is a dense regular map between their coordinate rings is integral over. This definition can be extended to the quasi-projective varieties, such that a regular map between quasiprojective varieties is finite is a finite map (in view of the previous definition, because it is between affine varieties).
Definition by schemes
A morphism f: X → Y of schemess is a finite morphism if Y has an open cover by affine schemes
such that for each i,
is an open affine subscheme Spec Ai, and the restriction of f to Ui, which induces a ring homomorphism
makes Ai a finitely generated module over Bi (in other words, a finite Bi-algebra). One also says that X is finite over Y.
In fact, f is finite if and only if for every open affine subscheme V = Spec B in Y, the inverse image of V in X is affine, of the form Spec A, with A a finitely generated B-module.
For example, for any field k-modules. Geometrically, this is obviously finite since this is a ramified n-sheeted cover of the affine line which degenerates at the origin. By contrast, the inclusion of A1 − 0 into A1 is not finite. (Indeed, the Laurent polynomial ring k[y, y−1] is not finitely generated as a module over k[y].) This restricts our geometric intuition to surjective families with finite fibers.
Properties of finite morphisms
The composition of two finite morphisms is finite.
Any base change of a finite morphism f: X → Y is finite. That is, if g: Z → Y is any morphism of schemes, then the resulting morphism X ×Y Z → Z is finite. This corresponds to the following algebraic statement: if A and C are (commutative) B-algebras, and A is finitely generated as a B-module, then the tensor product A ⊗B C is finitely generated as a C-module. Indeed, the generators can be taken to be the elements ai ⊗ 1, where ai are the given generators of A as a B-module.
Closed immersions are finite, as they are locally given by A → A/I, where I is the ideal (section of the ideal sheaf) corresponding to the closed subscheme.
Finite morphisms are closed, hence (because of their stability under base change) proper. This follows from the going up theorem of Cohen-Seidenberg in commutative algebra.
Finite morphisms have finite fibers (that is, they are quasi-finite). This follows from the fact that for a field k, every finite k-algebra is an Artinian ring. A related statement is that for a finite surjective morphism f: X → Y, X and Y have the same dimension.
By Deligne, a morphism of schemes is finite if and only if it is proper and quasi-finite. This had been shown by Grothendieck if the morphism f: X → Y is locally of finite presentation, which follows from the other assumptions if Y is Noetherian.
Finite morphisms are both projective and affine.