In mathematics, algebraic geometry and analytic geometry are two closely related subjects. While algebraic geometry studies algebraic varieties, analytic geometry deals with complex manifolds and the more general analytic spaces defined locally by the vanishing of analytic functions of several complex variables. The deep relation between these subjects has numerous applications in which algebraic techniques are applied to analytic spaces and analytic techniques to algebraic varieties.
Let X be a projective complex algebraic variety. Because X is a complex variety, its set of complex points X(C) can be given the structure of a compact complex analytic space. This analytic space is denoted Xan. Similarly, if is a sheaf on X, then there is a corresponding sheaf on Xan. This association of an analytic object to an algebraic one is a functor. The prototypical theorem relating X and Xan says that for any two coherent sheaves and on X, the natural homomorphism: