Schemes of finite expansion and universally closed curves

Abstract In algebraic geometry there is a well-known categorical equivalence between the category of normal proper integral curves over a field k and the category of finitely generated field extensions of k of transcendence degree 1. In this paper we generalize this equivalence to the category of normal quasi-compact universally closed separated integral k -schemes of dimension 1 and the category of field extensions of k of transcendence degree 1. Our key technique are morphisms of finite expansion which can be considered as relaxation of morphisms of finite type. Since the schemes in the generalized category have many properties similar to normal proper integral curves, we call them normal integral universally closed curves over k .