This volume presents an array of topics that introduce the reader to key ideas in active areas in geometry and topology. The material is presented in a way that both graduate students and researchers should find accessible and enticing. The topics covered range from Morse theory and complex geometry theory to geometric group theory, and are accompanied by exercises that are designed to deepen the reader's understanding and to guide them in exciting directions for future investigation.
An elementary text that can be understood by anyone with a background in high school geometry, Invitation to Combinatorial Topology offers a stimulating initiation to important topological ideas. This translation from the original French does full justice to the text's coherent presentation as well as to its rich historical content. Subjects include the problems inherent to coloring maps, homeomorphism, applications of Descartes' theorem, and topological polygons. Considerations of the topological classification of closed surfaces cover elementary operations, use of normal forms of polyhedra, reduction to normal form, and application to the geometric theory of functions. 1967 edition. 108 figures. Bibliography. Index.
This book starts with a discussion of the classical intermediate value theorem and some of its uncommon “topological” consequences as an appetizer to whet the interest of the reader. It is a concise introduction to topology with a tinge of historical perspective, as the author’s perception is that learning mathematics should be spiced up with a dash of historical development. All the basics of general topology that a student of mathematics would need are discussed, and glimpses of the beginnings of algebraic and combinatorial methods in topology are provided. All the standard material on basic set topology is presented, with the treatment being sometimes new. This is followed by some of the classical, important topological results on Euclidean spaces (the higher-dimensional intermediate value theorem of Poincaré–Miranda, Brouwer’s fixed-point theorem, the no-retract theorem, theorems on invariance of domain and dimension, Borsuk’s antipodal theorem, the Borsuk–Ulam theorem and the Lusternik–Schnirelmann–Borsuk theorem), all proved by combinatorial methods. This material is not usually found in introductory books on topology. The book concludes with an introduction to homotopy, fundamental groups and covering spaces. Throughout, original formulations of concepts and major results are provided, along with English translations. Brief accounts of historical developments and biographical sketches of the dramatis personae are provided. Problem solving being an indispensable process of learning, plenty of exercises are provided to hone the reader's mathematical skills. The book would be suitable for a first course in topology and also as a source for self-study for someone desirous of learning the subject. Familiarity with elementary real analysis and some felicity with the language of set theory and abstract mathematical reasoning would be adequate prerequisites for an intelligent study of the book.
Differential geometry and topology have become essential tools for many theoretical physicists. In particular, they are indispensable in theoretical studies of condensed matter physics, gravity, and particle physics. Geometry, Topology and Physics, Second Edition introduces the ideas and techniques of differential geometry and topology at a level suitable for postgraduate students and researchers in these fields. The second edition of this popular and established text incorporates a number of changes designed to meet the needs of the reader and reflect the development of the subject. The book features a considerably expanded first chapter, reviewing aspects of path integral quantization and gauge theories. Chapter 2 introduces the mathematical concepts of maps, vector spaces, and topology. The following chapters focus on more elaborate concepts in geometry and topology and discuss the application of these concepts to liquid crystals, superfluid helium, general relativity, and bosonic string theory. Later chapters unify geometry and topology, exploring fiber bundles, characteristic classes, and index theorems. New to this second edition is the proof of the index theorem in terms of supersymmetric quantum mechanics. The final two chapters are devoted to the most fascinating applications of geometry and topology in contemporary physics, namely the study of anomalies in gauge field theories and the analysis of Polakov's bosonic string theory from the geometrical point of view. Geometry, Topology and Physics, Second Edition is an ideal introduction to differential geometry and topology for postgraduate students and researchers in theoretical and mathematical physics.
This book offers an introductory course in algebraic topology. Starting with general topology, it discusses differentiable manifolds, cohomology, products and duality, the fundamental group, homology theory, and homotopy theory. From the reviews: "An interesting and original graduate text in topology and geometry...a good lecturer can use this text to create a fine course....A beginning graduate student can use this text to learn a great deal of mathematics."—-MATHEMATICAL REVIEWS
This is the fourth volume of the Handbook of Geometry and Topology of Singularities, a series that aims to provide an accessible account of the state of the art of the subject, its frontiers, and its interactions with other areas of research. This volume consists of twelve chapters which provide an in-depth and reader-friendly survey of various important aspects of singularity theory. Some of these complement topics previously explored in volumes I to III. Amongst the topics studied in this volume are the Nash blow up, the space of arcs in algebraic varieties, determinantal singularities, Lipschitz geometry, indices of vector fields and 1-forms, motivic characteristic classes, the Hilbert-Samuel multiplicity and comparison theorems that spring from the classical De Rham complex. Singularities are ubiquitous in mathematics and science in general. Singularity theory is a crucible where different types of mathematical problems interact, surprising connections are born and simple questions lead to ideas which resonate in other subjects. Authored by world experts, the various contributions deal with both classical material and modern developments, covering a wide range of topics which are linked to each other in fundamental ways. The book is addressed to graduate students and newcomers to the theory, as well as to specialists who can use it as a guidebook.
Topology Through Inquiry is a comprehensive introduction to point-set, algebraic, and geometric topology, designed to support inquiry-based learning (IBL) courses for upper-division undergraduate or beginning graduate students. The book presents an enormous amount of topology, allowing an instructor to choose which topics to treat. The point-set material contains many interesting topics well beyond the basic core, including continua and metrizability. Geometric and algebraic topology topics include the classification of 2-manifolds, the fundamental group, covering spaces, and homology (simplicial and singular). A unique feature of the introduction to homology is to convey a clear geometric motivation by starting with mod 2 coefficients. The authors are acknowledged masters of IBL-style teaching. This book gives students joy-filled, manageable challenges that incrementally develop their knowledge and skills. The exposition includes insightful framing of fruitful points of view as well as advice on effective thinking and learning. The text presumes only a modest level of mathematical maturity to begin, but students who work their way through this text will grow from mathematics students into mathematicians. Michael Starbird is a University of Texas Distinguished Teaching Professor of Mathematics. Among his works are two other co-authored books in the Mathematical Association of America's (MAA) Textbook series. Francis Su is the Benediktsson-Karwa Professor of Mathematics at Harvey Mudd College and a past president of the MAA. Both authors are award-winning teachers, including each having received the MAA's Haimo Award for distinguished teaching. Starbird and Su are, jointly and individually, on lifelong missions to make learning—of mathematics and beyond—joyful, effective, and available to everyone. This book invites topology students and teachers to join in the adventure.
This book provides an introduction to topology, differential topology, and differential geometry. It is based on manuscripts refined through use in a variety of lecture courses. The first chapter covers elementary results and concepts from point-set topology. An exception is the Jordan Curve Theorem, which is proved for polygonal paths and is intended to give students a first glimpse into the nature of deeper topological problems. The second chapter of the book introduces manifolds and Lie groups, and examines a wide assortment of examples. Further discussion explores tangent bundles, vector bundles, differentials, vector fields, and Lie brackets of vector fields. This discussion is deepened and expanded in the third chapter, which introduces the de Rham cohomology and the oriented integral and gives proofs of the Brouwer Fixed-Point Theorem, the Jordan-Brouwer Separation Theorem, and Stokes's integral formula. The fourth and final chapter is devoted to the fundamentals of differential geometry and traces the development of ideas from curves to submanifolds of Euclidean spaces. Along the way, the book discusses connections and curvature--the central concepts of differential geometry. The discussion culminates with the Gauß equations and the version of Gauß's theorema egregium for submanifolds of arbitrary dimension and codimension. This book is primarily aimed at advanced undergraduates in mathematics and physics and is intended as the template for a one- or two-semester bachelor's course.
