The book covers topics in the theory of algebraic transformation groups and algebraic varieties which are very much at the frontier of mathematical research.

This IMA Volume in Mathematics and its Applications FRACTALS IN MULTIMEDIA is a result of a very successful three-day minisymposium on the same title. The event was an integral part of the IMA annual program on Mathemat ics in Multimedia, 2000-2001. We would like to thank Michael F. Barnsley (Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Melbourne), Di etmar Saupe (Institut fUr Informatik, UniversiUit Leipzig), and Edward R. Vrscay (Department of Applied Mathematics, University of Waterloo) for their excellent work as organizers of the meeting and for editing the proceedings. We take this opportunity to thank the National Science Foundation for their support of the IMA. Series Editors Douglas N. Arnold, Director of the IMA Fadil Santosa, Deputy Director of the IMA v PREFACE This volume grew out of a meeting on Fractals in Multimedia held at the IMA in January 2001. The meeting was an exciting and intense one, focused on fractal image compression, analysis, and synthesis, iterated function systems and fractals in education. The central concerns of the meeting were to establish within these areas where we are now and to develop a vision for the future."

Helmholtz's seminal paper on vortex motion (1858) marks the beginning of what is now called topological fluid mechanics.After 150 years of work, the field has grown considerably. In the last several decades unexpected developments have given topological fluid mechanics new impetus, benefiting from the impressive progress in knot theory and geometric topology on the one hand, and in mathematical and computational fluid dynamics on the other.

This volume contains a wide-ranging collection of up-to-date, valuable research papers written by some of the most eminent experts in the field. Topics range from fundamental aspects of mathematical fluid mechanics, including topological vortex dynamics and magnetohydrodynamics, integrability issues, Hamiltonian structures and singularity formation, to DNA tangles and knotted DNAs in sedimentation. A substantial introductory chapter on knots and links, covering elements of modern braid theory and knot polynomials, as well as more advanced topics in knot classification, provides an invaluable addition to this material.

In this broad introduction to topology, the author searches for topological invariants of spaces, together with techniques for their calculating. Students with knowledge of real analysis, elementary group theory, and linear algebra will quickly become familiar with a wide variety of techniques and applications involving point-set, geometric, and algebraic topology. Over 139 illustrations and more than 350 problems of various difficulties help students gain a thorough understanding of the subject.

A. Banyaga: On the group of diffeomorphisms preserving an exact symplectic.- G.A. Fredricks: Some remarks on Cauchy-Riemann structures.- A. Haefliger: Differentiable Cohomology.- J.N. Mather: On the homology of Haefliger 's classifying space.- P. Michor: Manifolds of differentiable maps.- V. Poenaru: Some remarks on low-dimensional topology and immersion theory.- F. Sergeraert: La classe de cobordisme des feuilletages de Reeb de S est nulle.- G. Wallet: Invariant de Godbillon-Vey et diff omorphismes commutants.

This volume covers the proceedings of an international conference held in Oxford in June 2002. In addition to articles arising from the conference, the book also contains the famous as yet unpublished article by Graeme Segal on the Definition of Conformal Field Theories. It is ideal as a view of the current state of the art and will appeal to established researchers as well as to novice graduate students.

Topological solitons occur in many nonlinear classical field theories. They are stable, particle-like objects, with finite mass and a smooth structure. Examples are monopoles and Skyrmions, Ginzburg-Landau vortices and sigma-model lumps, and Yang-Mills instantons. This book is a comprehensive survey of static topological solitons and their dynamical interactions. Particular emphasis is placed on the solitons which satisfy first-order Bogomolny equations. For these, the soliton dynamics can be investigated by finding the geodesics on the moduli space of static multi-soliton solutions. Remarkable scattering processes can be understood this way. The book starts with an introduction to classical field theory, and a survey of several mathematical techniques useful for understanding many types of topological soliton. Subsequent chapters explore key examples of solitons in one, two, three and four dimensions. The final chapter discusses the unstable sphaleron solutions which exist in several field theories.

Arising from a summer school course taught by János Kollár, this book develops the modern theory of rational varieties at a level appropriate for graduate study. Kollár's original course has been developed, with his co-authors, into a state-of-the-art treatment of the classification of algebraic varieties. The authors have included numerous exercises with solutions, which help students reach the stage where they can begin to tackle related contemporary research problems.

Since the early part of the 20th century, topology has gradually spread to many other branches of mathematics, and this book demonstrates how the subject continues to play a central role in the field. Written by a world-renowned mathematician, this classic text traces the history of algebraic topology beginning with its creation in the early 1900s and describes in detail the important theories that were discovered before 1960. Through the work of Poincare, de Rham, Cartan, Hureqicz, and many others, this historical book also focuses on the emergence of new ideas and methods that have led 21st-century mathematicians towards new research directions.

This book is a well-informed and detailed analysis of the problems and development of algebraic topology, from Poincare and Brouwer to Serre, Adams, and Thom. The author has examined each significant paper along this route and describes the steps and strategy of its proofs and its relation to other work. Previously, the history of the many technical developments of 20th-century mathematics had seemed to present insuperable obstacles to scholarship. This book demonstrates in the case of topology how these obstacles can be overcome, with enlightening results.... Within its chosen boundaries the coverage of this book is superb. Read it (MathSciNet)

The author] traces the development of algebraic and differential topology from the innovative work by Poincare at the turn of the century to the period around 1960. He] has given a superb account of the growth of these fields. The details are interwoven with the narrative in a very pleasant fashion. The author] has previous written histories of functional analysis and of algebraic geometry, but neither book was on such a grand scale as this one. He has made it possible to trace the important steps in the growth of algebraic and differential topology, and to admire the hard work and major advances made by the founders. (Zentralblatt MATH)

This book describes a striking connection between topology and algebra, namely that 2D topological quantum field theories are equivalent to Frobenius algebras. The precise formulation of the theorem and its proof is given in terms of monoidal categories, and the main purpose of the book is to develop these concepts from an elementary level, and more generally serve as an introduction to categorical viewpoints in mathematics. Rather than just proving the theorem, it is shown how the result fits into a more general pattern concerning universal monoidal categories for algebraic structures. Throughout, the emphasis is on the interplay between algebra and topology, with graphical interpretation of algebraic operations, and topological structures described algebraically in terms of generators and relations. The book will prove valuable to students or researchers entering this field who will learn a host of modern techniques that will prove useful for future work.

This 2003 book describes a striking connection between topology and algebra, namely that 2D topological quantum field theories are equivalent to commutative Frobenius algebras. The precise formulation of the theorem and its proof is given in terms of monoidal categories, and the main purpose of the book is to develop these concepts from an elementary level, and more generally serve as an introduction to categorical viewpoints in mathematics. Rather than just proving the theorem, it is shown how the result fits into a more general pattern concerning universal monoidal categories for algebraic structures. Throughout, the emphasis is on the interplay between algebra and topology, with graphical interpretation of algebraic operations, and topological structures described algebraically in terms of generators and relations. The book will prove valuable to students or researchers entering this field who will learn a host of modern techniques that will prove useful for future work.

Based on courses held at the Feza GÜrsey Institute, this collection of survey articles introduces advanced graduate students to an exciting area on the border of mathematics and mathematical physics. Including articles by key names such as Calogero, Donagi and Mason, it features the algebro-geometric material from Donagi as well as the twistor space methods in Woodhouse's contribution, forming a bridge between the pure mathematics and the more physical approaches.

Incorporated in this volume are the first two books in Mukai's series on Moduli Theory. The notion of a moduli space is central to geometry. However, its influence is not confined there; for example, the theory of moduli spaces is a crucial ingredient in the proof of Fermat's last theorem. Researchers and graduate students working in areas ranging from Donaldson or Seiberg-Witten invariants to more concrete problems such as vector bundles on curves will find this to be a valuable resource. Among other things this volume includes an improved presentation of the classical foundations of invariant theory that, in addition to geometers, would be useful to those studying representation theory. This translation gives an accurate account of Mukai's influential Japanese texts.

The Shape of Space, Third Edition maintains the standard of excellence set by the previous editions. This lighthearted textbook covers the basic geometry and topology of two- and three-dimensional spaces-stretching students' minds as they learn to visualize new possibilities for the shape of our universe. Written by a master expositor, leading researcher in the field, and MacArthur Fellow, its informal exposition and engaging exercises appeal to an exceptionally broad audience, from liberal arts students to math undergraduate and graduate students looking for a clear intuitive understanding to supplement more formal texts, and even to laypeople seeking an entertaining self-study book to expand their understanding of space. Features of the Third Edition: Full-color figures throughout "Picture proofs" have replaced algebraic proofs Simpler handles-and-crosscaps approach to surfaces Updated discussion of cosmological applications Intuitive examples missing from many college and graduate school curricula About the Author: Jeffrey R. Weeks is a freelance geometer living in Canton, New York. With support from the U.S. National Science Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation and several science museums, his work spans pure mathematics, applications in cosmology and-closest to his heart-exposition for the general public.

Information content and programming semantics are just two of the applications of the mathematical concepts of order, continuity and domains. This authoritative and comprehensive account of the subject will be an essential handbook for all those working in the area. An extensive index and bibliography make this an ideal sourcebook for all those working in domain theory.

Celebrating a century of geometry and geometry teaching, this volume includes popular articles on Pythagoras, the golden ratio and recreational geometry. Thirty "Desert Island Theorems" from distinguished mathematicians and educators disclose surprising results. (Contributors include a Nobel Laureate and a Pulitzer Prize winner.) Co-published with The Mathematical Association of America.

Abstract regular polytopes stand at the end of more than two millennia of geometrical research, which began with regular polygons and polyhedra. The rapid development of the subject in the past twenty years has resulted in a rich new theory featuring an attractive interplay of mathematical areas, including geometry, combinatorics, group theory and topology. This is the first comprehensive, up-to-date account of the subject and its ramifications. It meets a critical need for such a text, because no book has been published in this area since Coxeter's "Regular Polytopes" (1948) and "Regular Complex Polytopes" (1974).

Complex Polynomials explores the geometric theory of polynomials and rational functions in the plane. Early chapters build the foundations of complex variable theory, melding together ideas from algebra, topology, and analysis. Throughout the book, the author introduces a variety of ideas and constructs theories around them, incorporating much of the classical theory of polynomials as he proceeds. These ideas are used to study a number of unsolved problems. Several solutions to problems are given, including a comprehensive account of the geometric convolution theory.

For those working in singularity theory or other areas of complex geometry, this volume will open the door to the study of Frobenius manifolds. In the first part Hertling explains the theory of manifolds with a multiplication on the tangent bundle. He then presents a simplified explanation of the role of Frobenius manifolds in singularity theory along with all the necessary tools and several applications. Readers will benefit from this careful and sound study of the fundamental structures and results in this exciting branch of mathematics.

Praise for George Francis's A Topological Picturebook:

Bravo to Springer for reissuing this unique and beautiful book! It not only reminds the older generation of the pleasures of doing mathematics by hand, but also shows the new generation what hands on'' really means.

- John Stillwell, University of San Francisco

The Topological Picturebook has taught a whole generation of mathematicians to draw, to see, and to think.

- Tony Robbin, artist and author of Shadows of Reality: The Fourth Dimension in Relativity, Cubism, and Modern Thought

The classic reference for how to present topological information visually, full of amazing hand-drawn pictures of complicated surfaces.

- John Sullivan, Technische Universitat Berlin

A Topological Picturebook lets students see topology as the original discoverers conceived it: concrete and visual, free of the formalism that burdens conventional textbooks.

- Jeffrey Weeks, author of The Shape of Space

A Topological Picturebook is a visual feast for anyone concerned with mathematical images. Francis provides exquisite examples to build one's "visualization muscles." At the same time, he explains the underlying principles and design techniques for readers to create their own lucid drawings.

- George W. Hart, Stony Brook University

In this collection of narrative gems and intriguing hand-drawn pictures, George Francis demonstrates the chicken-and-egg relationship, in mathematics, of image and text. Since the book was first published, the case for pictures in mathematics has been won, and now it is time to reflect on their meaning. A Topological Picturebook remains indispensable.

- Marjorie Senechal, Smith College andco-editor of the Mathematical Intelligencer

If mathematics is a language, then taking a topology course at the undergraduate level is cramming vocabulary and memorizing irregular verbs: a necessary, but not always exciting exercise one has to go through before one can read great works of literature in the original language.The present book grew out of notes for an introductory topology course at the University of Alberta. It provides a concise introduction to set theoretic topology (and to a tiny little bit of algebraic topology). It is accessible to undergraduates from the second year on, but even beginning graduate students canbenefit from some parts.Great care has been devoted to the selection of examples that are not self-serving, but already accessible for students who have a background in calculus and elementary algebra, but not necessarily in real or complex analysis.In some points, the book treats its material differently than other texts on the subject:

This work presents a general theory as well as constructive methodology in order to solve "observation problems," namely, those problems that pertain to reconstructing the full information about a dynamical process on the basis of partial observed data. A general methodology to control processes on the basis of the observations is also developed. Illustrative but practical applications in the chemical and petroleum industries are shown.

Here is a genuine introduction to the differential geometry of plane curves for undergraduates in mathematics, or postgraduates and researchers in the engineering and physical sciences. This well-illustrated text contains several hundred worked examples and exercises, making it suitable for adoption as a course text. Key concepts are illustrated by named curves, of historical and scientific significance, leading to the central idea of curvature. The author introduces the core material of classical kinematics, developing the geometry of trajectories via the ideas of roulettes and centrodes, and culminating in the inflexion circle and cubic of stationary curvature.

This book provides a self-contained introduction to typical properties of volume preserving homeomorphisms, examples of which include transitivity, chaos and ergodicity. The authors make the first part of the book very concrete by focusing on volume preserving homeomorphisms of the unit n-dimensional cube. They also prove fixed point theorems (Conley-Zehnder-Franks). This is done in a number of short self-contained chapters that would be suitable for an undergraduate analysis seminar or a graduate lecture course. Parts Two and Three consider compact manifolds and sigma compact manifolds respectively, describing the work of the two authors in extending the celebrated result of Oxtoby and Ulam that for volume homeomorphisms of the unit cube, ergodicity is a typical property.

Spectral sequences are among the most elegant, most powerful, and most complicated methods of computation in mathematics. This book describes some of the most important examples of spectral sequences and some of their most spectacular applications. The first third of the book treats the algebraic foundations for this sort of homological algebra, starting from informal calculations, to give the novice a familiarity with the range of applications possible. The heart of the book is an exposition of the classical examples from homotopy theory, with chapters on the Leray-Serre spectral sequence, the Eilenberg-Moore spectral sequence, the Adams spectral sequence, and, in this new edition, the Bockstein spectral sequence. The last part of the book treats applications throughout mathematics, including the theory of knots and links, algebraic geometry, differential geometry and algebra. This is an excellent reference for students and researchers in geometry, topology, and algebra.