This book is an enhanced version of an earlier Russian edition. Besides thorough revisions, more emphasis was put on reordering the topics according to a category-theoretical view. This allows the mathematical results to be stated, proved, and understood in a much easier and elegant way.

From the reviews of the Russian edition:
"The main accent is shifted to the application. . .in geometrical optics, thermostatics and control theory, and not to the Hamiltonian mechanics only. . . . To make the book fairly self-contained, full details of basic definitions and all proofs are included. In this way, the majority of the text can be read without the prerequisite of a course in geometry. The excellent collection of examples illustrates the relatively hard and highly abstract mathematical theory and its hidden difficulties.. . .The book can rise real interest for specialists . . . . The . . . book is a significant input in the modern symplectic geometry and its applications."
(Andrey Tsiganov, St. Petersburg State University)"

Minimal Surfaces is the first volume of a three volume treatise on minimal surfaces (Grundlehren Nr. 339-341). Each volume can be read and studied independently of the others. The central theme is boundary value problems for minimal surfaces. The treatise is a substantially revised and extended version of the monograph Minimal Surfaces I, II (Grundlehren Nr. 295 & 296). The first volume begins with an exposition of basic ideas of the theory of surfaces in three-dimensional Euclidean space, followed by an introduction of minimal surfaces as stationary points of area, or equivalently, as surfaces of zero mean curvature. The final definition of a minimal surface is that of a non-constant harmonic mapping X: \Omega\to\R DEGREES3 which is conformally parametrized on \Omega\subset\R DEGREES2 and may have branch points. Thereafter the classical theory of minimal surfaces is surveyed, comprising many examples, a treatment of Bjorlings initial value problem, reflection principles, a formula of the second variation of area, the theorems of Bernstein, Heinz, Osserman, and Fujimoto. The second part of this volume begins with a survey of Plateaus problem and of some of its modifications. One of the main features is a new, completely elementary proof of the fact that area A and Dirichlet integral D have the same infimum in the class C(G) of admissible surfaces spanning a prescribed contour G. This leads to a new, simplified solution of the simultaneous problem of minimizing A and D in C(G), as well as to new proofs of the mapping theorems of Riemann and Korn-Lichtenstein, and to a new solution of the simultaneous Douglas problem for A and D where G consists of several closed components. Then basic facts of stable minimal surfaces are derived; this is done in the context of stable H-surfaces (i.e. of stable surfaces of prescribed mean curvature H), especially of cmc-surfaces (H = const), and leads to curvature estimates for stable, immersed cmc-surfaces and to Nitsches uniqueness theorem and Tomis finiteness result. In addition, a theory of unstable solutions of Plateaus problems is developed which is based on Courants mountain pass lemma. Furthermore, Dirichlets problem for nonparametric H-surfaces is solved, using the solution of Plateaus problem for H-surfaces and the pertinent estimates."

Whoever you are How can I but offer you divine leaves . . . ? Walt Whitman The object of study in modern differential geometry is a manifold with a differ ential structure, and usually some additional structure as well. Thus, one is given a topological space M and a family of homeomorphisms, called coordinate sys tems, between open subsets of the space and open subsets of a real vector space V. It is supposed that where two domains overlap, the images are related by a diffeomorphism, called a coordinate transformation, between open subsets of V. M has associated with it a tangent bundle, which is a vector bundle with fiber V and group the general linear group GL(V). The additional structures that occur include Riemannian metrics, connections, complex structures, foliations, and many more. Frequently there is associated to the structure a reduction of the group of the tangent bundle to some subgroup G of GL(V). It is particularly pleasant if one can choose the coordinate systems so that the Jacobian matrices of the coordinate transformations belong to G. A reduction to G is called a G-structure, which is called integrable (or flat) if the condition on the Jacobians is satisfied. The strength of the integrability hypothesis is well-illustrated by the case of the orthogonal group On. An On-structure is given by the choice of a Riemannian metric, and therefore exists on every smooth manifold."

This volume of the Encyclopaedia contains three contributions in the field of complex analysis; on mean periodicity and convolutionequations, Yang-Mills fields and the Radon-Penrose transform, and stringtheory. It is immensely useful to graduate students and researchers in complex analysis, differential geometry, quantum field theory, string theory and general relativity.

Everybody having even the slightest interest in analytical mechanics remembers having met there the Poisson bracket of two functions of 2n variables (pi, qi) f g ~(8f8g 8 8 ) (0.1) {f,g} = L...~[ji - [ji~ ,;=1 p, q q p, and the fundamental role it plays in that field. In modern works, this bracket is derived from a symplectic structure, and it appears as one of the main in- gredients of symplectic manifolds. In fact, it can even be taken as the defining clement of the structure (e.g., [TIl]). But, the study of some mechanical sys- tems, particularly systems with symmetry groups or constraints, may lead to more general Poisson brackets. Therefore, it was natural to define a mathematical structure where the notion of a Poisson bracket would be the primary notion of the theory, and, from this viewpoint, such a theory has been developed since the early 19708, by A. Lichnerowicz, A. Weinstein, and many other authors (see the references at the end of the book). But, it has been remarked by Weinstein [We3] that, in fact, the theory can be traced back to S. Lie himself [Lie].

The material and references in this extended second edition of "The Topology of Torus Actions on Symplectic Manifolds," published as Volume 93 in this series in 1991, have been updated. Symplectic manifolds and torus actions are investigated, with numerous examples of torus actions, for instance on some moduli spaces. Although the book is still centered on convexity results, it contains much more material, in particular lots of new examples and exercises.

The development of geometry from Euclid to Euler to Lobachevsky, Bolyai, Gauss, and Riemann is a story that is often broken into parts axiomatic geometry, non-Euclidean geometry, and differential geometry. This poses a problem for undergraduates: Which part is geometry? What is the big picture to which these parts belong? In this introduction to differential geometry, the parts are united with all of their interrelations, motivated by the history of the parallel postulate. Beginning with the ancient sources, the author first explores synthetic methods in Euclidean and non-Euclidean geometry and then introduces differential geometry in its classical formulation, leading to the modern formulation on manifolds such as space-time. The presentation is enlivened by historical diversions such as Hugyens's clock and the mathematics of cartography. The intertwined approaches will help undergraduates understand the role of elementary ideas in the more general, differential setting. This thoroughly revised second edition includes numerous new exercises and a new solution key. New topics include Clairaut's relation for geodesics, Euclid's geometry of space, further properties of cycloids and map projections, and the use of transformations such as the reflections of the Beltrami disk.

Multivariable analysis is of interest to pure and applied mathematicians, physicists, electrical, mechanical and systems engineers, mathematical economists, biologists, and statisticians. This book takes the student and researcher on a journey through the core topics of the subject. Systematic exposition, with numerous examples and exercises from the computational to the theoretical, makes difficult ideas as concrete as possible. Good bibliography and index.

Finslerian Laplacians have arisen from the demands of modelling the modern world. However, the roots of the Laplacian concept can be traced back to the sixteenth century. Its phylogeny and history are presented in the Prologue of this volume. The text proper begins with a brief introduction to stochastically derived Finslerian Laplacians, facilitated by applications in ecology, epidemiology and evolutionary biology. The mathematical ideas are then fully presented in section II, with generalizations to Lagrange geometry following in section III. With section IV, the focus abruptly shifts to the local mean-value approach to Finslerian Laplacians and a Hodge-de Rham theory is developed for the representation on real cohomology classes by harmonic forms on the base manifold. Similar results are proved in sections II and IV, each from different perspectives. Modern topics treated include nonlinear Laplacians, Bochner and Lichnerowicz vanishing theorems, Weitzenbock formulas, and Finslerian spinors and Dirac operators. The tools developed in this book will find uses in several areas of physics and engineering, but especially in the mechanics of inhomogeneous media, e.g. Cofferat continua. Audience: This text will be of use to workers in stochastic processes, differential geometry, nonlinear analysis, epidemiology, ecology and evolution, as well as physics of the solid state and continua."

A synthetic approach to intrinsic differential geometry in the large and its connections with the foundations of geometry was presented in "The Geometry of Geodesics" (1955, quoted as G). It is the purpose of the present report to bring this theory up to date. Many of the later ip.vestigations were stimulated by problems posed in G, others concern newtopics. Naturally references to G are frequent. However, large parts, in particular Chapters I and III as weIl as several individual seetions, use only the basic definitions. These are repeated here, sometimes in a slightly different form, so as to apply to more general situations. In many cases a quoted result is quite familiar in Riemannian Geometry and consulting G will not be found necessary. There are two exceptions : The theory of paralleIs is used in Sections 13, 15 and 17 without reformulating all definitions and properties (of co-rays and limit spheres). Secondly, many items from the literature in G (pp. 409-412) are used here and it seemed superfluous to include them in the present list of references (pp. 106-110). The quotations are distinguished by [ ] and ( ), so that, for example, FreudenthaI [1] and (I) are found, respectively, in G and here.

This two-volume monograph obtains fundamental notions and results of the standard differential geometry of smooth (CINFINITY) manifolds, without using differential calculus. Here, the sheaf-theoretic character is emphasised. This has theoretical advantages such as greater perspective, clarity and unification, but also practical benefits ranging from elementary particle physics, via gauge theories and theoretical cosmology (`differential spaces'), to non-linear PDEs (generalised functions). Thus, more general applications, which are no longer `smooth' in the classical sense, can be coped with. The treatise might also be construed as a new systematic endeavour to confront the ever-increasing notion that the `world around us is far from being smooth enough'. Audience: This work is intended for postgraduate students and researchers whose work involves differential geometry, global analysis, analysis on manifolds, algebraic topology, sheaf theory, cohomology, functional analysis or abstract harmonic analysis.

The present. volume is the second volume of the book "Singularities of Differentiable Maps" by V.1. Arnold, A. N. Varchenko and S. M. Gusein-Zade. The first volume, subtitled "Classification of critical points, caustics and wave fronts," was published by Moscow, "Nauka," in 1982. It will be referred to in this text simply as "Volume 1." Whilst the first volume contained the zoology of differentiable maps, that is it was devoted to a description of what, where and how singularities could be encountered, this volume contains the elements of the anatomy and physiology of singularities of differentiable functions. This means that the questions considered in it are about the structure of singularities and how they function. Another distinctive feature of the present volume is that we take a hard look at questions for which it is important to work in the complex domain, where the first volume was devoted to themes for which, on the whole, it was not important which field (real or complex) we were considering. Such topics as, for example, decomposition of singularities, the connection between singularities and Lie algebras and the asymptotic behaviour of different integrals depending on parameters become clearer in the complex domain. The book consists of three parts. In the first part we consider the topological structure of isolated critical points of holomorphic functions. We describe the fundamental topological characteristics of such critical points: vanishing cycles, distinguished bases, intersection matrices, monodromy groups, the variation operator and their interconnections and method of calculation.

Advances in science and technology necessitate the use of increasingly-complicated dynamic control processes. Undoubtedly, sophisticated mathematical models are also concurrently elaborated for these processes. In particular, linear dynamic control systems iJ = Ay + Bu, y E M C ]Rn, U E ]RT, (1) where A and B are constants, are often abandoned in favor of nonlinear dynamic control systems (2) which, in addition, contain a large number of equations. The solution of problems for multidimensional nonlinear control systems en counters serious difficulties, which are both mathematical and technical in nature. Therefore it is imperative to develop methods of reduction of nonlinear systems to a simpler form, for example, decomposition into systems of lesser dimension. Approaches to reduction are diverse, in particular, techniques based on approxi mation methods. In this monograph, we elaborate the most natural and obvious (in our opinion) approach, which is essentially inherent in any theory of math ematical entities, for instance, in the theory of linear spaces, theory of groups, etc. Reduction in our interpretation is based on assigning to the initial object an isomorphic object, a quotient object, and a subobject. In the theory of linear spaces, for instance, reduction consists in reducing to an isomorphic linear space, quotient space, and subspace. Strictly speaking, the exposition of any mathemat ical theory essentially begins with the introduction of these reduced objects and determination of their basic properties in relation to the initial object."

Foliation theory has its origins in the global analysis of solutions of ordinary differential equations: on an n-dimensional manifold M, an [autonomous] differential equation is defined by a vector field X ; if this vector field has no singularities, then its trajectories form a par tition of M into curves, i.e. a foliation of codimension n - 1. More generally, a foliation F of codimension q on M corresponds to a partition of M into immersed submanifolds [the leaves] of dimension ,--------,- - . - -- p = n - q. The first global image that comes to mind is 1--------;- - - - - - that of a stack of "plaques". 1---------;- - - - - - Viewed laterally [transver 1--------1- - - -- sally], the leaves of such a 1--------1 - - - - -. stacking are the points of a 1--------1--- ----. quotient manifold W of di L..... -' _ mension q. -----~) W M Actually, this image corresponds to an elementary type of folia tion, that one says is "simple". For an arbitrary foliation, it is only l- u L ally [on a "simpIe" open set U] that the foliation appears as a stack of plaques and admits a local quotient manifold. Globally, a leaf L may - - return and cut a simple open set U in several plaques, sometimes even an infinite number of plaques.

The papers in this volume are based on lectures given during the meeting of the Seminaire Sud Rhodanien de Geometrie which we organized at MSRI from May 22 to June 2, 1989, as part of a year-long program on Symplectic Geometry and Mechanics. The Seminaire Sud Rhodanien de Geometrie (SSRG) was established in 1982 by geometers and mathematical physicists at the Universities of Avignon, Lyon, Marseille, and Montpellier, with the aim of developing and coordinating research in symplectic geometry and its applications to analysis and mathematical physics. It has been designated by the Centre N ationale de la Recherche Scientifique as a "Groupement de Recherche" (G.D.R. 144), centered at the Universite Claude Bernard (Lyon I). From the beginning, the SSRG has involved the cooperation of colleagues from other universities inside and outside France; in addition to the editors of this volume, its Scientific Committee consists of D. Bennequin, P. Libermann, A. Lichnerowicz, C.-M. MarIe, J.-M. Morvan, P. Molino, and J.-M. Souriau. In particular, there have always been strong connections with the University of California at Berkeley, making this other "UCB" into a virtual fifth pole of the SSRG. Through its international meetings, of which the first five were held at Lyon, Montpellier, and Marseille, the SSRG has become an important cen ter of exchange for the latest developments in symplectic geometry and its applications. It seemed natural, therefore, to have this sixth meeting at MSRI in Berkeley in conjunction with the "symplectic year" 1988-89."

The invited papers in this volume provide a detailed examination of Clifford algebras and their significance to analysis, geometry, mathematical structures, physics, and applications in engineering. While the papers collected in this volume require that the reader possess a solid knowledge of appropriate background material, they lead to the most current research topics. With its wide range of topics, well-established contributors, and excellent references and index, this book will appeal to graduate students and researchers.

The question of existence of c10sed geodesics on a Riemannian manifold and the properties of the corresponding periodic orbits in the geodesic flow has been the object of intensive investigations since the beginning of global differential geo metry during the last century. The simplest case occurs for c10sed surfaces of negative curvature. Here, the fundamental group is very large and, as shown by Hadamard [Had] in 1898, every non-null homotopic c10sed curve can be deformed into a c10sed curve having minimallength in its free homotopy c1ass. This minimal curve is, up to the parameterization, uniquely determined and represents a c10sed geodesic. The question of existence of a c10sed geodesic on a simply connected c10sed surface is much more difficult. As pointed out by Poincare [po 1] in 1905, this problem has much in common with the problem ofthe existence of periodic orbits in the restricted three body problem. Poincare [l.c.] outlined a proof that on an analytic convex surface which does not differ too much from the standard sphere there always exists at least one c10sed geodesic of elliptic type, i. e., the corres ponding periodic orbit in the geodesic flow is infinitesimally stable.

X 1 O S R Cher lecteur, J'entre bien tard dans la sphere etroite des ecrivains au double alphabet, moi qui, il y a plus de quarante ans deja, avais accueilli sur mes terres un general epris de mathematiques. JI m'avait parle de ses projets grandioses en promettant d'ailleurs de m'envoyer ses ouvrages de geometrie. Je suis entiche de geometrie et c'est d'elle dontje voudrais vous parler, oh! certes pas de toute la geometrie, mais de celle que fait l'artisan qui taille, burine, amene, gauchit, peaufine les formes. Mon interet pour le probleme dont je veux vous entretenir ici, je le dois a un ami ebeniste. En effet comme je rendais un jour visite il cet ami, je le trouvai dans son atelier affaire a un tour. Il se retourna bientot, puis, rayonnant, me tendit une sorte de toupie et me dit: "Monsieur Besse, vous qui calculez les formes avec vos grimoires, que pensez-vous de ceci?)) Je le regardai interloque. Il poursuivit: "Regardez! Si vous prenez ce collier de laine et si vous le maintenez fermement avec un doigt place n'importe ou sur la toupie, eh bien! la toupie passera toujours juste en son interieur, sans laisser le moindre espace.)) Je rentrai chez moi, fort etonne, car sa toupie etait loin d'etre une boule. Je me mis alors au travail ...

Shapes are complex objects to apprehend, as mathematical entities, in terms that also are suitable for computerized analysis and interpretation. This volume provides the background that is required for this purpose, including different approaches that can be used to model shapes, and algorithms that are available to analyze them. It explores, in particular, the interesting connections between shapes and the objects that naturally act on them, diffeomorphisms. The book is, as far as possible, self-contained, with an appendix that describes a series of classical topics in mathematics (Hilbert spaces, differential equations, Riemannian manifolds) and sections that represent the state of the art in the analysis of shapes and their deformations. A direct application of what is presented in the book is a branch of the computerized analysis of medical images, called computational anatomy.

L' inj' ' enuit' ' m eme d' un regard neuf (celui de la science l'est toujours) peut parfois ' 'clairer d' un jour nouveau d' anciens probl' emes. J.Monod [77, p. 13] his book is intended as a comprehensive introduction to the theory of T principalsheaves andtheirconnections inthesettingofAbstractDi?- ential Geometry (ADG), the latter being initiated by A. Mallios'sGeometry of Vector Sheaves [62]. Based on sheaf-theoretic methods and sheaf - homology, the presentGeometry of Principal Sheaves embodies the classical theory of connections on principal and vector bundles, and connections on vector sheaves, thus paving the way towards a uni?ed (abstract) gauge t- ory and other potential applications to theoretical physics. We elaborate on the aforementioned brief description in the sequel. Abstract (ADG) vs. Classical Di?erential Geometry (CDG). M- ern di?erential geometry is built upon the fundamental notions of di?er- tial (smooth) manifolds and ?ber bundles, based,intheir turn, on ordinary di?erential calculus. However, the theory of smooth manifolds is inadequate to cope, for - stance, with spaces like orbifolds, spaces with corners, or other spaces with more complicated singularities. This is a rather unfortunate situation, since one cannot apply the powerful methods of di?erential geometry to them or to any spaces that do not admit an ordinary method of di?erentiation. The ix x Preface same inadequacy manifests in physics, where many geometrical models of physical phenomena are non-smooth.

The present monograph is motivated by two distinct aims. Firstly, an endeavour has been made to furnish a reasonably comprehensive account of the theory of Finsler spaces based on the methods of classical differential geometry. Secondly, it is hoped that this monograph may serve also as an introduction to a branch of differential geometry which is closely related to various topics in theoretical physics, notably analytical dynamics and geometrical optics. With this second object in mind, an attempt has been made to describe the basic aspects of the theory in some detail - even at the expense of conciseness - while in the more specialised sections of the later chapters, which might be of interest chiefly to the specialist, a more succinct style has been adopted. The fact that there exist several fundamentally different points of view with regard to Finsler geometry has rendered the task of writing a coherent account a rather difficult one. This remark is relevant not only to the development of the subject on the basis of the tensor calculus, but is applicable in an even wider sense. The extensive work of H. BUSEMANN has opened up new avenues of approach to Finsler geometry which are independent of the methods of classical tensor analysis. In the latter sense, therefore, a full description of this approach does not fall within the scope of this treatise, although its fundamental l significance cannot be doubted.

Reprinted as it originally appeared in the 1990s, this work is as an affordable textthat will be of interest to a range of researchers in geometric analysis and mathematical physics. Thebook covers avarietyof concepts fundamental tothe study and applications of the spin-c Dirac operator, making use of the heat kernels theory of Berline, Getzlet, and Vergne. True to the precision and clarity for which J.J. Duistermaat was so well known, the exposition is elegant and concise."

Nilpotent Ue algebras have played an Important role over the last ye!US : either In the domain at Algebra when one considers Its role In the classlftcation problems of Ue algebras, or In the domain of geometry since one knows the place of nilmanlfolds In the Illustration, the description and representation of specific situations. The first fondamental results In the study of nilpotent Ue algebras are obvlsouly, due to Umlauf. In his thesis (leipZig, 1991), he presented the first non trlvlal classifications. The systematic study of real and complex nilpotent Ue algebras was Independently begun by D1xmler and Morozov. Complete classifications In dimension less than or equal to six were given and the problems regarding superior dimensions brought to light, such as problems related to the existence from seven up, of an infinity of non Isomorphic complex nilpotent Ue algebras. One can also find these losts (for complex and real algebras) In the books about differential geometry by Vranceanu. A more formal approach within the frame of algebraiC geometry was developed by Michele Vergne. The variety of Ue algebraiC laws Is an affine algebraic subset In this view the role variety and the nilpotent laws constitute a Zarlski's closed of Irreduclbl~ components appears naturally as well the determination or estimate of their numbers. Theoritical physiCiSts, Interested In the links between diverse mechanics have developed the Idea of contractions of Ue algebras (Segal, Inonu, Wlgner). That Idea was In fact very convenient In the determination of components.

This two-volume treatise is a standard reference in the field. It pays special attention to the historical aspects and the origins partly in applied problems such as those of geometric optics of parts of the theory. It contains an introduction to each chapter, section, and subsection and an overview of the relevant literature in the footnotes and bibliography. It also includes an index of the examples used throughout the book.