An inductive analytic criterion for flatness

Abstract: We present a constructive criterion for flatness of a morphism of analytic spaces X -> Y or, more generally, for flatness over Y of a coherent sheaf of modules on X. The criterion is a combination of a simple linear-algebra condition "in codimension zero" and a condition "in codimension one" which can be used together with the Weierstrass preparation theorem to inductively reduce the fibre dimension of the morphism.