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Algebraic and Geometric Surgery

Andrew Ranicki

This book is an introduction to surgery theory, the standard algebraic topology classification method for manifolds of dimension greater than 4. It is aimed at those who have already been on a basic ... More

This book is an introduction to surgery theory, the standard algebraic topology classification method for manifolds of dimension greater than 4. It is aimed at those who have already been on a basic topology course, and would now like to understand the topology of high-dimensional manifolds. This text contains entry-level accounts of the various prerequisites of both algebra and topology. Surgery theory expresses the manifold structure set in terms of the topological K-theory of vector bundles and the algebraic L-theory of quadratic forms. While concentrating on the basic mechanics of surgery, this book includes many worked examples, useful drawings for illustration of the algebra and references for further reading.Less

Differential Geometry: Bundles, Connections, Metrics and Curvature

Clifford Henry Taubes

Bundles, connections, metrics, and curvature are the ‘lingua franca’ of modern differential geometry and theoretical physics. Many of the tools used in differential topology are introduced and the ... More

Bundles, connections, metrics, and curvature are the ‘lingua franca’ of modern differential geometry and theoretical physics. Many of the tools used in differential topology are introduced and the basic results about differentiable manifolds, smooth maps, differential forms, vector fields, Lie groups, and Grassmanians are all presented here. Other material covered includes the basic theorems about geodesics and Jacobi fields, the classification theorem for flat connections, the definition of characteristic classes, and also an introduction to complex and Kähler geometry. The book uses many of the classical examples from, and applications of, the subjects it covers, in particular those where closed form expressions are available, to bring abstract ideas to life.Less

2-Dimensional Categories

Niles Johnson and Donald Yau

2-Dimensional Categories provides an introduction to 2-categories and bicategories, assuming only the most elementary aspects of category theory. A review of basic category theory is followed by a ... More

2-Dimensional Categories provides an introduction to 2-categories and bicategories, assuming only the most elementary aspects of category theory. A review of basic category theory is followed by a systematic discussion of 2-/bicategories; pasting diagrams; lax functors; 2-/bilimits; the Duskin nerve; the 2-nerve; internal adjunctions; monads in bicategories; 2-monads; biequivalences; the Bicategorical Yoneda Lemma; and the Coherence Theorem for bicategories. Grothendieck fibrations and the Grothendieck construction are discussed next, followed by tricategories, monoidal bicategories, the Gray tensor product, and double categories. Completely detailed proofs of several fundamental but hard-to-find results are presented for the first time. With exercises and plenty of motivation and explanation, this book is useful for both beginners and experts.Less

The Disc Embedding Theorem

Stefan Behrens, Boldizsar Kalmar, Min Hoon Kim, Mark Powell, and Arunima Ray (eds)

The disc embedding theorem provides a detailed proof of the eponymous theorem in 4-manifold topology. The theorem, due to Michael Freedman, underpins virtually all of our understanding of 4-manifolds ... More

The disc embedding theorem provides a detailed proof of the eponymous theorem in 4-manifold topology. The theorem, due to Michael Freedman, underpins virtually all of our understanding of 4-manifolds in the topological category. Most famously, this includes the 4-dimensional topological Poincaré conjecture. Combined with the concurrent work of Simon Donaldson, the theorem reveals a remarkable disparity between the topological and smooth categories for 4-manifolds. A thorough exposition of Freedman’s proof of the disc embedding theorem is given, with many new details. A self-contained account of decomposition space theory, a beautiful but outmoded branch of topology that produces non-differentiable homeomorphisms between manifolds, is provided. Techniques from decomposition space theory are used to show that an object produced by an infinite, iterative process, which we call a skyscraper, is homeomorphic to a thickened disc, relative to its boundary. A stand-alone interlude explains the disc embedding theorem’s key role in smoothing theory, the existence of exotic smooth structures on Euclidean space, and all known homeomorphism classifications of 4-manifolds via surgery theory and the s-cobordism theorem. The book is written to be accessible to graduate students working on 4-manifolds, as well as researchers in related areas. It contains over a hundred professionally rendered figures.Less

Flips for 3-folds and 4-folds

Alessio Corti (ed.)

The minimal model program in algebraic geometry is a conjectural sequence of algebraic surgery operations that simplifies any algebraic variety to a point where it can be decomposed into pieces with ... More

The minimal model program in algebraic geometry is a conjectural sequence of algebraic surgery operations that simplifies any algebraic variety to a point where it can be decomposed into pieces with negative, zero, and positive curvature, in a similar vein as the geometrization program in topology decomposes a three-manifold into pieces with a standard geometry. The last few years have seen dramatic advances in the minimal model program for higher dimensional algebraic varieties, with the proof of the existence of minimal models under appropriate conditions, and the prospect within a few years of having a complete generalization of the minimal model program and the classification of varieties in all dimensions, comparable to the known results for surfaces and 3-folds. This edited collection of chapters, authored by leading experts, provides a complete and self-contained construction of 3-fold and 4-fold flips, and n-dimensional flips assuming minimal models in dimension n-1. A large part of the text is an elaboration of the work of Shokurov, and a complete and pedagogical proof of the existence of 3-fold flips is presented. The book contains a self-contained treatment of many topics that could only be found, with difficulty, in the specialized literature. The text includes a ten-page glossary.Less

Fourier-Mukai Transforms in Algebraic Geometry

D. Huybrechts

This book provides a systematic exposition of the theory of Fourier-Mukai transforms from an algebro-geometric point of view. Assuming a basic knowledge of algebraic geometry, the key aspect of this ... More

This book provides a systematic exposition of the theory of Fourier-Mukai transforms from an algebro-geometric point of view. Assuming a basic knowledge of algebraic geometry, the key aspect of this book is the derived category of coherent sheaves on a smooth projective variety. The derived category is a subtle invariant of the isomorphism type of a variety, and its group of autoequivalences often shows a rich structure. As it turns out — and this feature is pursued throughout the book — the behaviour of the derived category is determined by the geometric properties of the canonical bundle of the variety. Including notions from other areas, e.g., singular cohomology, Hodge theory, abelian varieties, K3 surfaces; full proofs and exercises are provided. The final chapter summarizes recent research directions, such as connections to orbifolds and the representation theory of finite groups via the McKay correspondence, stability conditions on triangulated categories, and the notion of the derived category of sheaves twisted by a gerbe.Less

Geometry and Physics: Volume I: A Festschrift in honour of Nigel Hitchin

Andrew Dancer, Jørgen Ellegaard Andersen, and Oscar García-Prada (eds)

These volumes contain the proceedings of the conference held at Aarhus, Oxford and Madrid in September 2016 to mark the seventieth birthday of Nigel Hitchin, one of the world’s foremost geometers and ... More

These volumes contain the proceedings of the conference held at Aarhus, Oxford and Madrid in September 2016 to mark the seventieth birthday of Nigel Hitchin, one of the world’s foremost geometers and Savilian Professor of Geometry at Oxford. The proceedings contain twenty-nine articles, including three by Fields medallists (Donaldson, Mori and Yau). The articles cover a wide range of topics in geometry and mathematical physics, including the following: Riemannian geometry, geometric analysis, special holonomy, integrable systems, dynamical systems, generalized complex structures, symplectic and Poisson geometry, low-dimensional topology, algebraic geometry, moduli spaces, Higgs bundles, geometric Langlands programme, mirror symmetry and string theory. These volumes will be of interest to researchers and graduate students both in geometry and mathematical physics.Less

Geometry and Physics: Volume II: A Festschrift in honour of Nigel Hitchin

Andrew Dancer, Jørgen Ellegaard Andersen, and Oscar García-Prada (eds)

These volumes contain the proceedings of the conference held at Aarhus, Oxford and Madrid in September 2016 to mark the seventieth birthday of Nigel Hitchin, one of the world’s foremost geometers and ... More

These volumes contain the proceedings of the conference held at Aarhus, Oxford and Madrid in September 2016 to mark the seventieth birthday of Nigel Hitchin, one of the world’s foremost geometers and Savilian Professor of Geometry at Oxford. The proceedings contain twenty-nine articles, including three by Fields medallists (Donaldson, Mori and Yau). The articles cover a wide range of topics in geometry and mathematical physics, including the following: Riemannian geometry, geometric analysis, special holonomy, integrable systems, dynamical systems, generalized complex structures, symplectic and Poisson geometry, low-dimensional topology, algebraic geometry, moduli spaces, Higgs bundles, geometric Langlands programme, mirror symmetry and string theory. These volumes will be of interest to researchers and graduate students both in geometry and mathematical physics.Less

Introduction to Symplectic Topology

Dusa McDuff and Dietmar Salamon

Over the past number of years powerful new methods in analysis and topology have led to the development of the modern global theory of symplectic topology, including several striking and important ... More

Over the past number of years powerful new methods in analysis and topology have led to the development of the modern global theory of symplectic topology, including several striking and important results. The first edition of Introduction to Symplectic Topology was published in 1995. The book was the first comprehensive introduction to the subject and became a key text in the area. In 1998, a significantly revised second edition contained new sections and updates. This third edition includes both further updates and new material on this fast-developing area. All chapters have been revised to improve the exposition, new material has been added in many places, and various proofs have been tightened up. Copious new references to key papers have been added to the bibliography. In particular, the material on contact geometry has been significantly expanded, many more details on linear complex structures and on the symplectic blowup and blowdown have been added, the section on J-holomorphic curves in Chapter 4 has been thoroughly revised, there are new sections on GIT and on the topology of symplectomorphism groups, and the section on Floer homology has been revised and updated. Chapter 13 has been completely rewritten and has a new title (Questions of Existence and Uniqueness). It now contains an introduction to existence and uniqueness problems in symplectic topology, a section describing various examples, an overview of Taubes–Seiberg–Witten theory and its applications to symplectic topology, and a section on symplectic 4-manifolds. Chapter 14 on open problems has been added.Less

An Invitation to Computational Homotopy

Graham Ellis

This book is an introduction to elementary algebraic topology for students with an interest in computers and computer programming. Its aim is to illustrate how the basics of the subject can be ... More

This book is an introduction to elementary algebraic topology for students with an interest in computers and computer programming. Its aim is to illustrate how the basics of the subject can be implemented on a computer. The transition from basic theory to practical computation raises a range of non-trivial algorithmic issues and it is hoped that the treatment of these will also appeal to readers already familiar with basic theory who are interested in developing computational aspects. The book covers a subset of standard introductory material on fundamental groups, covering spaces, homology, cohomology and classifying spaces as well as some less standard material on crossed modules, homotopy 2- types and explicit resolutions for an eclectic selection of discrete groups. It attempts to cover these topics in a way that hints at potential applications of topology in areas of computer science and engineering outside the usual territory of pure mathematics, and also in a way that demonstrates how computers can be used to perform explicit calculations within the domain of pure algebraic topology itself. The initial chapters include examples from data mining, biology and digital image analysis, while the later chapters cover a range of computational examples on the cohomology of classifying spaces that are likely beyond the reach of a purely paper-and-pen approach to the subject. The applied examples in the initial chapters use only low-dimensional and mainly abelian topological tools. Our applications of higher dimensional and less abelian computational methods are currently confined to pure mathematical calculations. The approach taken to computational homotopy is very much based on J.H.C. Whitehead’s theory of combinatorial homotopy in which he introduced the fundamental notions of CW-space, simple homotopy equivalence and crossed module. The book should serve as a self-contained informal introduction to these topics and their computer implementation. It is written in a style that tries to lead as quickly as possible to a range of potentially useful machine computations.Less

Lectures on Geometry

Edward Witten, Martin Bridson, Helmut Hofer, Marc Lackenby, and Rahul Pandharipande

N M J Woodhouse (ed.)

This volume contains a collection of papers based on lectures delivered by distinguished mathematicians at Clay Mathematics Institute events over the past few years. Although not explicitly linked, ... More

This volume contains a collection of papers based on lectures delivered by distinguished mathematicians at Clay Mathematics Institute events over the past few years. Although not explicitly linked, the topics in this volume have a common flavour and a common appeal to all who are interested in recent developments in geometry. They are intended to be accessible to all who work in this general area, regardless of their own particular research interests.Less

4-Manifolds

Selman Akbulut

This book present the topology of smooth 4-manifolds in an intuitive self-contained way. The handlebody theory, and the seiberg-witten theory of 4-manifolds are presented. Also stein and symplectic ... More

This book present the topology of smooth 4-manifolds in an intuitive self-contained way. The handlebody theory, and the seiberg-witten theory of 4-manifolds are presented. Also stein and symplectic structures on 4-manifolds are discussed, and many recent applications are given.Less

The Many Facets of Geometry: A Tribute to Nigel Hitchin

Oscar Garcia-Prada, Jean Pierre Bourguignon, and Simon Salamon (eds)

Few people have proved more influential in the field of differential and algebraic geometry, and in showing how this links with mathematical physics, than Nigel Hitchin. Oxford University's Savilian ... More

Few people have proved more influential in the field of differential and algebraic geometry, and in showing how this links with mathematical physics, than Nigel Hitchin. Oxford University's Savilian Professor of Geometry has made fundamental contributions in areas as diverse as: spin geometry, instanton and monopole equations, twistor theory, symplectic geometry of moduli spaces, integrables systems, Higgs bundles, Einstein metrics, hyperkähler geometry, Frobenius manifolds, Painlevé equations, special Lagrangian geometry and mirror symmetry, theory of grebes, and many more. He was previously Rouse Ball Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge University, as well as Professor of Mathematics at the University of Warwick, is a Fellow of the Royal Society and has been the President of the London Mathematical Society. The chapters in this book, written by some of the greats in their fields (including four Fields Medalists), show how Hitchin's ideas have impacted on a wide variety of subjects. The book grew out of the Geometry Conference in Honour of Nigel Hitchin, held in Madrid.Less

New Perspectives in Stochastic Geometry

Wilfrid S. Kendall and Ilya Molchanov (eds)

Stochastic geometry is a subject with roots stretching back at least 300 years, but one which has only been formed as an academic area in the last 50 years. It covers the study of random patterns, ... More

Stochastic geometry is a subject with roots stretching back at least 300 years, but one which has only been formed as an academic area in the last 50 years. It covers the study of random patterns, their probability theory, and the challenging problems raised by their statistical analysis. It has grown rapidly in response to challenges in all kinds of applied science, from image analysis through to materials science. Recently, still more stimulus has arisen from exciting new links with rapidly developing areas of mathematics, from fractals through percolation theory to randomized allocation schemes. Coupled with many ongoing developments arising from all sorts of applications, the area is changing and developing rapidly. This book is intended to lay foundations for future research directions by collecting together seventeen chapters contributed by leading researchers in the field, both theoreticians and people involved in applications, surveying these new developments both in theory and in applications. It will introduce and lay foundations for appreciating the fresh perspectives, new ideas, and interdisciplinary connections now arising from stochastic geometry and from other areas of mathematics now connecting to this area.Less

On the Topology and Future Stability of the Universe

Hans Ringström

The subject of the book is the topology and future stability of models of the universe. In standard cosmology, the universe is assumed to be spatially homogeneous and isotropic. However, it is of ... More

The subject of the book is the topology and future stability of models of the universe. In standard cosmology, the universe is assumed to be spatially homogeneous and isotropic. However, it is of interest to know whether perturbations of the corresponding initial data lead to similar solutions or not. This is the question of stability. It is also of interest to know what the limitations on the global topology imposed by observational constraints are. These are the topics addressed in the book. The theory underlying the discussion is the general theory of relativity. Moreover, in the book, matter is modelled using kinetic theory. As background material, the general theory of the Cauchy problem for the Einstein–Vlasov equations is therefore developed.Less

Riemann Surfaces

Simon Donaldson

The theory of Riemann surfaces occupies a very special place in mathematics. It is a culmination of much of traditional calculus, making surprising connections with geometry and arithmetic. It is an ... More

The theory of Riemann surfaces occupies a very special place in mathematics. It is a culmination of much of traditional calculus, making surprising connections with geometry and arithmetic. It is an extremely useful part of mathematics, knowledge of which is needed by specialists in many other fields. It provides a model for a large number of more recent developments in areas including manifold topology, global analysis, algebraic geometry, Riemannian geometry, and diverse topics in mathematical physics. This text on Riemann surface theory proves the fundamental analytical results on the existence of meromorphic functions and the Uniformisation Theorem. The approach taken emphasises PDE methods, applicable more generally in global analysis. The connection with geometric topology, and in particular the role of the mapping class group, is also explained. To this end, some more sophisticated topics have been included, compared with traditional texts at this level. While the treatment is novel, the roots of the subject in traditional calculus and complex analysis are kept well in mind. Part I sets up the interplay between complex analysis and topology, with the latter treated informally. Part II works as a rapid first course in Riemann surface theory, including elliptic curves. The core of the book is contained in Part III, where the fundamental analytical results are proved.Less

Sasakian Geometry

Charles Boyer and Krzysztof Galicki

Sasakian manifolds were first introduced in 1962. This book's main focus is on the intricate relationship between Sasakian and Kähler geometries, especially when the Kähler structure is that of an ... More

Sasakian manifolds were first introduced in 1962. This book's main focus is on the intricate relationship between Sasakian and Kähler geometries, especially when the Kähler structure is that of an algebraic variety. The book is divided into three parts. The first five chapters carefully prepare the stage for the proper introduction of the subject. After a brief discussion of G-structures, the reader is introduced to the theory of Riemannian foliations. A concise review of complex and Kähler geometry precedes a fairly detailed treatment of compact complex Kähler orbifolds. A discussion of the existence and obstruction theory of Kähler-Einstein metrics (Monge-Ampère problem) on complex compact orbifolds follows. The second part gives a careful discussion of contact structures in the Riemannian setting. Compact quasi-regular Sasakian manifolds emerge here as algebraic objects: they are orbifold circle bundles over compact projective algebraic orbifolds. After a discussion of symmetries of Sasakian manifolds in Chapter 8, the book looks at Sasakian structures on links of isolated hypersurface singularities in Chapter 9. What follows is a study of compact Sasakian manifolds in dimensions three and five focusing on the important notion of positivity. The latter is crucial in understanding the existence of Sasaki-Einstein and 3-Sasakian metrics, which are studied in Chapters 11 and 13. Chapter 12 gives a fairly brief description of quaternionic geometry which is a prerequisite for Chapter 13. The study of Sasaki-Einstein geometry was the original motivation for the book. The final chapter on Killing spinors discusses the properties of Sasaki-Einstein manifolds, which allow them to play an important role as certain models in the supersymmetric field theories of theoretical physics.Less

Theories, Sites, Toposes: Relating and studying mathematical theories through topos-theoretic 'bridges'

Olivia Caramello

This book is devoted to a general study of geometric theories from a topos-theoretic perspective. After recalling the necessary topos-theoretic preliminaries, it presents the main methodology it uses ... More

This book is devoted to a general study of geometric theories from a topos-theoretic perspective. After recalling the necessary topos-theoretic preliminaries, it presents the main methodology it uses to extract ‘concrete’ information on theories from properties of their classifying toposes—the ‘bridge’ technique. As a first implementation of this methodology, a duality is established between the subtoposes of the classifying topos of a geometric theory and the geometric theory extensions (also called ‘quotients’) of the theory. Many concepts of elementary topos theory which apply to the lattice of subtoposes of a given topos are then transferred via this duality into the context of geometric theories. A second very general implementation of the ‘bridge’ technique is the investigation of the class of theories of presheaf type (i.e. classified by a presheaf topos). After establishing a number of preliminary results on flat functors in relation to classifying toposes, the book carries out a systematic investigation of this class resulting in a number of general results and a characterization theorem allowing one to test whether a given theory is of presheaf type by considering its models in arbitrary Grothendieck toposes. Expansions of geometric theories and faithful interpretations of theories of presheaf type are also investigated. As geometric theories can always be written (in many ways) as quotients of presheaf type theories, the study of quotients of a given theory of presheaf type is undertaken. Lastly, the book presents a number of applications in different fields of mathematics of the theory it develops.Less