Rudyak’s groundbreaking monograph is the first guide on the subject of cobordism since Stong's influential notes of a generation ago. It concentrates on Thom spaces (spectra), orientability theory and (co)bordism theory (including (co)bordism with singularities and, in particular, Morava K-theories). These are all framed by (co)homology theories and spectra. The author has also performed a service to the history of science in this book, giving detailed attributions.
The amount of algebraic topology a graduate student specializing in topology must learn can be intimidating. Moreover, by their second year of graduate studies, students must make the transition from understanding simple proofs line-by-line to understanding the overall structure of proofs of difficult theorems. To help students make this transition, the material in this book is presented in an increasingly sophisticated manner. It is intended to bridge the gap between algebraic and geometric topology, both by providing the algebraic tools that a geometric topologist needs and by concentrating on those areas of algebraic topology that are geometrically motivated. Prerequisites for using this book include basic set-theoretic topology, the definition of CW-complexes, some knowledge of the fundamental group/covering space theory, and the construction of singular homology. Most of this material is briefly reviewed at the beginning of the book. The topics discussed by the authors include typical material for first- and second-year graduate courses. The core of the exposition consists of chapters on homotopy groups and on spectral sequences. There is also material that would interest students of geometric topology (homology with local coefficients and obstruction theory) and algebraic topology (spectra and generalized homology), as well as preparation for more advanced topics such as algebraic $K$-theory and the s-cobordism theorem. A unique feature of the book is the inclusion, at the end of each chapter, of several projects that require students to present proofs of substantial theorems and to write notes accompanying their explanations. Working on these projects allows students to grapple with the “big picture”, teaches them how to give mathematical lectures, and prepares them for participating in research seminars. The book is designed as a textbook for graduate students studying algebraic and geometric topology and homotopy theory. It will also be useful for students from other fields such as differential geometry, algebraic geometry, and homological algebra. The exposition in the text is clear; special cases are presented over complex general statements.
These notes contain the first complete treatment of cobordism, a topic that has become increasingly important in the past ten years. The subject is fully developed and the latest theories are treated. Originally published in 1968. 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.
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.
The publication of this book in 1970 marked the culmination of a period in the history of the topology of manifolds. This edition, based on the original text, is supplemented by notes on subsequent developments and updated references and commentaries.
Algebraic topology is a basic part of modern mathematics, and some knowledge of this area is indispensable for any advanced work relating to geometry, including topology itself, differential geometry, algebraic geometry, and Lie groups. This book provides a detailed treatment of algebraic topology both for teachers of the subject and for advanced graduate students in mathematics either specializing in this area or continuing on to other fields. J. Peter May's approach reflects the enormous internal developments within algebraic topology over the past several decades, most of which are largely unknown to mathematicians in other fields. But he also retains the classical presentations of various topics where appropriate. Most chapters end with problems that further explore and refine the concepts presented. The final four chapters provide sketches of substantial areas of algebraic topology that are normally omitted from introductory texts, and the book concludes with a list of suggested readings for those interested in delving further into the field.
J. Frank Adams, the founder of stable homotopy theory, gave a lecture series at the University of Chicago in 1967, 1970, and 1971, the well-written notes of which are published in this classic in algebraic topology. The three series focused on Novikov's work on operations in complex cobordism, Quillen's work on formal groups and complex cobordism, and stable homotopy and generalized homology. Adams's exposition of the first two topics played a vital role in setting the stage for modern work on periodicity phenomena in stable homotopy theory. His exposition on the third topic occupies the bulk of the book and gives his definitive treatment of the Adams spectral sequence along with many detailed examples and calculations in KU-theory that help give a feel for the subject.
Noncommutative Geometry is one of the most deep and vital research subjects of present-day Mathematics. Its development, mainly due to Alain Connes, is providing an increasing number of applications and deeper insights for instance in Foliations, K-Theory, Index Theory, Number Theory but also in Quantum Physics of elementary particles. The purpose of the Summer School in Martina Franca was to offer a fresh invitation to the subject and closely related topics; the contributions in this volume include the four main lectures, cover advanced developments and are delivered by prominent specialists.
The recent revolution in differential topology related to the discovery of non-standard (”exotic”) smoothness structures on topologically trivial manifolds such as R4 suggests many exciting opportunities for applications of potentially deep importance for the spacetime models of theoretical physics, especially general relativity. This rich panoply of new differentiable structures lies in the previously unexplored region between topology and geometry. Just as physical geometry was thought to be trivial before Einstein, physicists have continued to work under the tacit — but now shown to be incorrect — assumption that differentiability is uniquely determined by topology for simple four-manifolds. Since diffeomorphisms are the mathematical models for physical coordinate transformations, Einstein's relativity principle requires that these models be physically inequivalent. This book provides an introductory survey of some of the relevant mathematics and presents preliminary results and suggestions for further applications to spacetime models.
