Polynomial Algebras Which Are Modules Over The Mod P Steenrod Algebra

A comprehensive account of one of the main directions of algebraic topology, this book focuses on the Sullivan conjecture and its generalizations and applications. Lionel Schwartz collects here for the first time some of the most innovative work on the theory of modules over the Steenrod algebra, including ideas on the Segal conjecture, work from the late 1970s by Adams and Wilkerson, and topics in algebraic group representation theory. This course-tested book provides a valuable reference for algebraic topologists and includes foundational material essential for graduate study.

This is the first book to link the mod 2 Steenrod algebra, a classical object of study in algebraic topology, with modular representations of matrix groups over the field F of two elements. The link is provided through a detailed study of Peterson's 'hit problem' concerning the action of the Steenrod algebra on polynomials, which remains unsolved except in special cases. The topics range from decompositions of integers as sums of 'powers of 2 minus 1', to Hopf algebras and the Steinberg representation of GL(n,F). Volume 1 develops the structure of the Steenrod algebra from an algebraic viewpoint and can be used as a graduate-level textbook. Volume 2 broadens the discussion to include modular representations of matrix groups.

The first of two volumes covering the Steenrod algebra and its various applications. Suitable as a graduate text.

This is the first book to link the mod 2 Steenrod algebra, a classical object of study in algebraic topology, with modular representations of matrix groups over the field F of two elements. The link is provided through a detailed study of Peterson's `hit problem' concerning the action of the Steenrod algebra on polynomials, which remains unsolved except in special cases. The topics range from decompositions of integers as sums of 'powers of 2 minus 1', to Hopf algebras and the Steinberg representation of GL(n, F). Volume 1 develops the structure of the Steenrod algebra from an algebraic viewpoint and can be used as a graduate-level textbook. Volume 2 broadens the discussion to include modular representations of matrix groups.

This book is concerned with the role played by modules of infinite length when dealing with problems in the representation theory of groups and algebras, but also in topology and geometry; it shows the intriguing interplay between finite and infinite length modules.

I have intended this book to be more than just the sum of its chapters, and the introduction is, in part, an attempt to spell out what the more is. Algebraic topology is the study of topological problems by algebraic means. More precisely, this has come to be framed as the study of topological categories by means of functors to algebraic categories. Beyond the basic definitions and structure, the focus is often on particular problems, for example, Adams’ use of K-theory to solve the vector fields on spheres problem. On the other hand, there are contributions of a more global nature yielding insight into the overall structure of some topological category, for example, Quillen’s work on rational homotopy type. This book is intended primarily as a contribution of this latter sort. So while there will be a variety of particular examples and computations, and although the structure being developed has significant application to many specific problems (some of which are considered here), the major thrust of the text is toward understanding the global structure and linkage of the topological and algebraic categories considered: the stable homotopy category and the category of modules over the Steenrod algebra.

Cohomology operations are at the center of a major area of activity in algebraic topology. This treatment explores the single most important variety of operations, the Steenrod squares. It constructs these operations, proves their major properties, and provides numerous applications, including several different techniques of homotopy theory useful for computation. 1968 edition.