This is the first unified treatment in book form of the lower K-groups of Bass and the lower L-groups of the author. These groups arise as the Grothendieck groups of modules and quadratic forms which are components of the K- and L-groups of polynomial extensions. They are important in the topology of non-compact manifolds such as Euclidean spaces, being the value groups for Whitehead torsion, the Siebemann end obstruction and the Wall finiteness and surgery obstructions. Some of the applications to topology are included, such as the obstruction theories for splitting homotopy equivalences and for fibering compact manifolds over the circle. Only elementary algebraic constructions are used, which are always motivated by topology. The material is accessible to a wide mathematical audience, especially graduate students and research workers in topology and algebra.

How is a subway map different from other maps? What makes a knot knotted? What makes the Moebius strip one-sided? These are questions of topology, the mathematical study of properties preserved by twisting or stretching objects. In the 20th century topology became as broad and fundamental as algebra and geometry, with important implications for science, especially physics. In this Very Short Introduction Richard Earl gives a sense of the more visual elements of topology (looking at surfaces) as well as covering the formal definition of continuity. Considering some of the eye-opening examples that led mathematicians to recognize a need for studying topology, he pays homage to the historical people, problems, and surprises that have propelled the growth of this field. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

J. Frank Adams had a profound influence on algebraic topology, and his works continue to shape its development. The International Symposium on Algebraic Topology held in Manchester during July 1990 was dedicated to his memory, and virtually all of the world's leading experts took part. This two volume work constitutes the proceedings of the symposium; the articles contained here range from overviews to reports of work still in progress, as well as a survey and complete bibliography of Adams' own work. These proceedings form an important compendium of current research in algebraic topology, and one that demonstrates the depth of Adams' many contributions to the subject. This second volume is oriented towards stable homotopy theory, the Steenrod algebra and the Adams spectral sequence. In the first volume the theme is mainly unstable homotopy theory, homological and categorical algebra.

J. Frank Adams had a profound influence on algebraic topology, and his works continue to shape its development. The International Symposium on Algebraic Topology held in Manchester during July 1990 was dedicated to his memory, and virtually all of the world's leading experts took part. This two volume work constitutes the proceedings of the symposium; the articles contained here range from overviews to reports of work still in progress, as well as a survey and complete bibliography of Adams' own work. These proceedings form an important compendium of current research in algebraic topology, and one that demonstrates the depth of Adams' many contributions to the subject. Here in the first volume the theme is mainly unstable homotopy theory, homological and categorical algebra. The second volume is oriented towards stable homotopy theory, the Steenrod algebra and the Adams spectral sequence.

This book describes the construction and the properties of CW-complexes. These spaces are important because firstly they are the correct framework for homotopy theory, and secondly most spaces that arise in pure mathematics are of this type. The authors discuss the foundations and also developments, for example, the theory of finite CW-complexes, CW-complexes in relation to the theory of fibrations, and Milnor's work on spaces of the type of CW-complexes. They establish very clearly the relationship between CW-complexes and the theory of simplicial complexes, which is developed in great detail. Exercises are provided throughout the book; some are straightforward, others extend the text in a non-trivial way. For the latter; further reference is given for their solution. Each chapter ends with a section sketching the historical development. An appendix gives basic results from topology, homology and homotopy theory. These features will aid graduate students, who can use the work as a course text. As a contemporary reference work it will be essential reading for the more specialized workers in algebraic topology and homotopy theory.

This book is based on a course taught to an audience of undergraduate and graduate students at Oxford, and can be viewed as a bridge between the study of metric spaces and general topological spaces. About half the book is devoted to relatively little-known results, much of which is published here for the first time. The author sketches a theory of uniform transformation groups, leading to the theory of uniform spaces over a base and hence to the theory of uniform covering spaces. Readers interested in general topology will find much to interest them here.

To attack certain problems in 4-dimensional knot theory the author draws on a variety of techniques, focusing on knots in S^T4, whose fundamental groups contain abelian normal subgroups. Their class contains the most geometrically appealing and best understood examples. Moreover, it is possible to apply work in algebraic methods to these problems. Work in four-dimensional topology is applied in later chapters to the problem of classifying 2-knots.

Originally published in 1989, this is an advanced text and research monograph on groups acting on low-dimensional topological spaces, and for the most part the viewpoint is algebraic. Much of the book occurs at the one-dimensional level, where the topology becomes graph theory. Two-dimensional topics include the characterization of Poincare duality groups and accessibility of almost finitely presented groups. The main three-dimensional topics are the equivariant loop and sphere theorems. The prerequisites grow as the book progresses up the dimensions. A familiarity with group theory is sufficient background for at least the first third of the book, while the later chapters occasionally state without proof and then apply various facts which require knowledge of homological algebra and algebraic topology. This book is essential reading for anyone contemplating working in the subject.

This book gives a general outlook on homotopy theory; fundamental concepts, such as homotopy groups and spectral sequences, are developed from a few axioms and are thus available in a broad variety of contexts. Many examples and applications in topology and algebra are discussed, including an introduction to rational homotopy theory in terms of both differential Lie algebras and De Rham algebras. The author describes powerful tools for homotopy classification problems, particularly for the classification of homotopy types and for the computation of the group homotopy equivalences. Applications and examples of such computations are given, including when the fundamental group is non-trivial. Moreover, the deep connection between the homotopy classification problems and the cohomology theory of small categories is demonstrated. The prerequisites of the book are few: elementary topology and algebra. Consequently, this account will be valuable for non-specialists and experts alike. It is an important supplement to the standard presentations of algebraic topology, homotopy theory, category theory and homological algebra.

Model categories are used as a tool for inverting certain maps in a category in a controllable manner. As such, they are useful in diverse areas of mathematics. The list of such areas is continually growing. This book is a comprehensive study of the relationship between a model category and its homotopy category. The author develops the theory of model categories, giving a careful development of the main examples. One highlight of the theory is a proof that the homotopy category of any model category is naturally a closed module over the homotopy category of simplicial sets. Little is required of the reader beyond some category theory and set theory, which makes the book accessible to advanced graduate students. The book begins with the basic theory of model categories and proceeds to a careful exposition of the main examples, using the theory of cofibrantly generated model categories. It then develops the general theory more fully, showing in particular that the homotopy category of any model category is a module over the homotopy category of simplicial sets, in an appropriate sense. This leads to a simplification and generalisation of the loop and suspension functors in the homotopy category of a pointed model category. The book concludes with a discussion of the stable case, where the homotopy category is triangulated in a strong sense and has a set of small weak generators.

Algebraic groups and Lie groups are important in most major areas of mathematics, occuring in diverse roles such as the symmetries of differential equations and as central figures in the Langlands program for number theory. In this book, Professor Borel looks at the development of the theory of Lie groups and algebraic groups, highlighting the evolution from the almost purely local theory at the start to the global theory that we know today. As the starting point of this passage from local to global, the author takes Lie's theory of local analytic transformation groups and Lie algebras. He then follows the globalization of the process in its two most important frameworks: (transcendental) differential geometry and algebraic geometry. Chapters II to IV are devoted to the former, Chapters V to VIII, to the latter.The essays in the first part of the book survey various proofs of the full reducibility of linear representations of $SL 2M$, the contributions H. Weyl to representation and invariant theory for Lie groups, and conclude with a chapter on E. Cartan's theory of symmetric spaces and Lie groups in the large. The second part of the book starts with Chapter V describing the development of the theory of linear algebraic groups in the 19th century. Many of the main contributions here are due to E. Study, E. Cartan, and above all, to L. Maurer. After being abandoned for nearly 50 years, the theory was revived by Chevalley and Kolchin and then further developed by many others. This is the focus of Chapter VI. The book concludes with two chapters on various aspects of the works of Chevalley on Lie groups and algebraic groups and Kolchin on algebraic groups and the Galois theory of differential fields. The author brings a unique perspective to this study. As an important developer of some of the modern elements of both the differential geometric and the algebraic geometric sides of the theory, he has a particularly deep appreciation of the underlying mathematics. His lifelong involvement and his historical research in the subject give him a special appreciation of the story of its development.

The theory of crossed products is extremely rich and intriguing. There are applications not only to operator algebras, but to subjects as varied as noncommutative geometry and mathematical physics. This book provides a detailed introduction to this vast subject suitable for graduate students and others whose research has contact with crossed product $C*$-algebras. In addition to providing the basic definitions and results, the main focus of this book is the fine ideal structure of crossed products as revealed by the study of induced representations via the Green-Mackey-Rieffel machine. In particular, there is an in-depth analysis of the imprimitivity theorems on which Rieffel's theory of induced representations and Morita equivalence of $C*$-algebras are based. There is also a detailed treatment of the generalized Effros-Hahn conjecture and its proof due to Gootman, Rosenberg, and Sauvageot. This book is meant to be self-contained and accessible to any graduate student coming out of a first course on operator algebras. There are appendices that deal with ancillary subjects, which while not central to the subject, are nevertheless crucial for a complete understanding of the material. Some of the appendices will be of independent interest. To view another book by this author, please visit Morita Equivalence and Continuous-Trace $C*$-Algebras.

Written by Arthur Ogus on the basis of notes from Pierre Berthelot's seminar on crystalline cohomology at Princeton University in the spring of 1974, this book constitutes an informal introduction to a significant branch of algebraic geometry. Specifically, it provides the basic tools used in the study of crystalline cohomology of algebraic varieties in positive characteristic. Originally published in 1978. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

In the 1950s, Eilenberg and Steenrod presented their famous characterization of homology theory by seven axioms. Somewhat later, it was found that keeping just the first six of these axioms (all except the condition on the 'homology' of the point), one can obtain many other interesting systems of algebraic invariants of topological manifolds, such as $K$-theory, cobordisms, and others. These theories come under the common name of generalized homology (or cohomology) theories. The purpose of the book is to give an exposition of generalized (co)homology theories that can be read by a wide group of mathematicians who are not experts in algebraic topology. It starts with basic notions of homotopy theory and then introduces the axioms of generalized (co)homology theory. Then the authors discuss various types of generalized cohomology theories, such as complex-oriented cohomology theories and Chern classes, $K$-theory, complex cobordisms, and formal group laws.A separate chapter is devoted to spectral sequences and their use in generalized cohomology theories. The book is intended to serve as an introduction to the subject for mathematicians who do not have advanced knowledge of algebraic topology. Prerequisites include standard graduate courses in algebra and topology, with some knowledge of ordinary homology theory and homotopy theory.

This is a memorial volume to the distinguished Canadian-born mathematician Hugh Dowker, one of the most highly regarded topologists in the United Kingdom and sometime Professor at Birkbeck College, London. The volume comprises specially written articles on various topological topics by experts in many countries who worked with Dowker at one time or another. These include survey, expository and research articles on general topology, algebraic topology and related subjects such as knot theory and graph theory. The volume will be of great interest to graduate students and professional mathematicians whose speciality is topology, in all its aspects.

Aimed at graduate students, this textbook provides an accessible and comprehensive introduction to operator theory. Rather than discuss the subject in the abstract, this textbook covers the subject through twenty examples of a wide variety of operators, discussing the norm, spectrum, commutant, invariant subspaces, and interesting properties of each operator. The text is supplemented by over 600 end-of-chapter exercises, designed to help the reader master the topics covered in the chapter, as well as providing an opportunity to further explore the vast operator theory literature. Each chapter also contains well-researched historical facts which place each chapter within the broader context of the development of the field as a whole.

Developed from a first-year graduate course in algebraic topology, this text is an informal introduction to some of the main ideas of contemporary homotopy and cohomology theory. The materials are structured around four core areas: de Rham theory, the Cech-de Rham complex, spectral sequences, and characteristic classes. By using the de Rham theory of differential forms as a prototype of cohomology, the machineries of algebraic topology are made easier to assimilate. With its stress on concreteness, motivation, and readability, this book is equally suitable for self-study and as a one-semester course in topology.

Professor Peter Hilton is one of the best known mathematicians of his generation. He has published almost 300 books and papers on various aspects of topology and algebra. The present volume is to celebrate the occasion of his sixtieth birthday. It begins with a bibliography of his work, followed by reviews of his contributions to topology and algebra. These are followed by eleven research papers concerned with various topics of current interest in algebra and topology. The articles are contributed by some of the many mathematicians with whom he has worked at one time or another. This book will be of interest to both topologists and algebraists, particularly those concerned with homotopy theory.

Knots are familiar objects. We use them to moor our boats, to wrap our packages, to tie our shoes. Yet the mathematical theory of knots quickly leads to deep results in topology and geometry. ""The Knot Book"" is an introduction to this rich theory, starting with our familiar understanding of knots and a bit of college algebra and finishing with exciting topics of current research. ""The Knot Book"" is also about the excitement of doing mathematics. Colin Adams engages the reader with fascinating examples, superb figures, and thought-provoking ideas. He also presents the remarkable applications of knot theory to modern chemistry, biology, and physics. This is a compelling book that will comfortably escort you into the marvelous world of knot theory. Whether you are a mathematics student, someone working in a related field, or an amateur mathematician, you will find much of interest in ""The Knot Book"".Colin Adams received the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) Award for Distinguished Teaching and has been an MAA Polya Lecturer and a Sigma Xi Distinguished Lecturer. Other key books of interest available from the ""AMS"" are ""Knots and Links"" and ""The Shoelace Book: A Mathematical Guide to the Best (and Worst) Ways to Lace your Shoes"".

This is the first book to link the mod 2 Steenrod algebra, a classical object of study in algebraic topology, with modular representations of matrix groups over the field F of two elements. The link is provided through a detailed study of Peterson's 'hit problem' concerning the action of the Steenrod algebra on polynomials, which remains unsolved except in special cases. The topics range from decompositions of integers as sums of 'powers of 2 minus 1', to Hopf algebras and the Steinberg representation of GL(n,F). Volume 1 develops the structure of the Steenrod algebra from an algebraic viewpoint and can be used as a graduate-level textbook. Volume 2 broadens the discussion to include modular representations of matrix groups.

This book gives a nice overview of the diversity of current trends in computational and statistical group theory. It presents the latest research and a number of specific topics, such as growth, black box groups, measures on groups, product replacement algorithms, quantum automata, and more. It includes contributions by speakers at AMS Special Sessions at The University of Nevada (Las Vegas) and the Stevens Institute of Technology (Hoboken, NJ). It is suitable for graduate students and research mathematicians interested in group theory.

"Nilpotence and Periodicity in Stable Homotopy Theory" describes some major advances made in algebraic topology in recent years, centering on the nilpotence and periodicity theorems, which were conjectured by the author in 1977 and proved by Devinatz, Hopkins, and Smith in 1985. During the last ten years a number of significant advances have been made in homotopy theory, and this book fills a real need for an up-to-date text on that topic.

Ravenel's first few chapters are written with a general mathematical audience in mind. They survey both the ideas that lead up to the theorems and their applications to homotopy theory. The book begins with some elementary concepts of homotopy theory that are needed to state the problem. This includes such notions as homotopy, homotopy equivalence, CW-complex, and suspension. Next the machinery of complex cobordism, Morava K-theory, and formal group laws in characteristic "p" are introduced. The latter portion of the book provides specialists with a coherent and rigorous account of the proofs. It includes hitherto unpublished material on the smash product and chromatic convergence theorems and on modular representations of the symmetric group.

This book is an introduction to manifolds at the beginning graduate level, and accessible to any student who has completed a solid undergraduate degree in mathematics. It contains the essential topological ideas that are needed for the further study of manifolds, particularly in the context of differential geometry, algebraic topology, and related fields.

Although this second edition has the same basic structure as the first edition, it has been extensively revised and clarified; not a single page has been left untouched. The major changes include a new introduction to CW complexes (replacing most of the material on simplicial complexes in Chapter 5); expanded treatments of manifolds with boundary, local compactness, group actions, and proper maps; and a new section on paracompactness."

The beginning graduate student in homotopy theory is confronted with a vast literature on spectra that is scattered across books, articles and decades. There is much folklore but very few easy entry points. This comprehensive introduction to stable homotopy theory changes that. It presents the foundations of the subject together in one place for the first time, from the motivating phenomena to the modern theory, at a level suitable for those with only a first course in algebraic topology. Starting from stable homotopy groups and (co)homology theories, the authors study the most important categories of spectra and the stable homotopy category, before moving on to computational aspects and more advanced topics such as monoidal structures, localisations and chromatic homotopy theory. The appendix containing essential facts on model categories, the numerous examples and the suggestions for further reading make this a friendly introduction to an often daunting subject.

This monograph focuses on the geometric theory of motivic integration, which takes its values in the Grothendieck ring of varieties. This theory is rooted in a groundbreaking idea of Kontsevich and was further developed by Denef & Loeser and Sebag. It is presented in the context of formal schemes over a discrete valuation ring, without any restriction on the residue characteristic. The text first discusses the main features of the Grothendieck ring of varieties, arc schemes, and Greenberg schemes. It then moves on to motivic integration and its applications to birational geometry and non-Archimedean geometry. Also included in the work is a prologue on p-adic analytic manifolds, which served as a model for motivic integration. With its extensive discussion of preliminaries and applications, this book is an ideal resource for graduate students of algebraic geometry and researchers of motivic integration. It will also serve as a motivation for more recent and sophisticated theories that have been developed since.