A Course in Real Algebraic Geometry

This textbook is designed for a one-year graduate course in real algebraic geometry, with a particular focus on positivity and sums of squares of polynomials. The first half of the book features a thorough introduction to ordered fields and real closed fields, including the Tarski–Seidenberg projection theorem and transfer principle. Classical results such as Artin's solution to Hilbert's 17th problem and Hilbert's theorems on sums of squares of polynomials are presented in detail. Other feature