Spectral Structures And Topological Methods In Mathematics

The final volume of the three-volume edition, this book features classical papers on algebraic and differential topology published in the 1950s-1960s. The partition of these papers among the volumes is rather conditional. The original methods and constructions from these works are properly documented for the first time in this book. No existing book covers the beautiful ensemble of methods created in topology starting from approximately 1950. That is, from Serre's celebrated “singular homologies of fiber spaces.”

This book presents contributions on topics ranging from novel applications of topological analysis for particular problems, through studies of the effectiveness of modern topological methods, algorithmic improvements on existing methods, and parallel computation of topological structures, all the way to mathematical topologies not previously applied to data analysis. Topological methods are broadly recognized as valuable tools for analyzing the ever-increasing flood of data generated by simulation or acquisition. This is particularly the case in scientific visualization, where the data sets have long since surpassed the ability of the human mind to absorb every single byte of data. The biannual TopoInVis workshop has supported researchers in this area for a decade, and continues to serve as a vital forum for the presentation and discussion of novel results in applications in the area, creating a platform to disseminate knowledge about such implementations throughout and beyond the community. The present volume, resulting from the 2015 TopoInVis workshop held in Annweiler, Germany, will appeal to researchers in the fields of scientific visualization and mathematics, domain scientists with an interest in advanced visualization methods, and developers of visualization software systems.

In recent years new topological methods, especially the theory of sheaves founded by J. LERAY, have been applied successfully to algebraic geometry and to the theory of functions of several complex variables. H. CARTAN and J. -P. SERRE have shown how fundamental theorems on holomorphically complete manifolds (STEIN manifolds) can be for mulated in terms of sheaf theory. These theorems imply many facts of function theory because the domains of holomorphy are holomorphically complete. They can also be applied to algebraic geometry because the complement of a hyperplane section of an algebraic manifold is holo morphically complete. J. -P. SERRE has obtained important results on algebraic manifolds by these and other methods. Recently many of his results have been proved for algebraic varieties defined over a field of arbitrary characteristic. K. KODAIRA and D. C. SPENCER have also applied sheaf theory to algebraic geometry with great success. Their methods differ from those of SERRE in that they use techniques from differential geometry (harmonic integrals etc. ) but do not make any use of the theory of STEIN manifolds. M. F. ATIYAH and W. V. D. HODGE have dealt successfully with problems on integrals of the second kind on algebraic manifolds with the help of sheaf theory. I was able to work together with K. KODAIRA and D. C. SPENCER during a stay at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton from 1952 to 1954.

The connective topological modular forms spectrum, $tmf$, is in a sense initial among elliptic spectra, and as such is an important link between the homotopy groups of spheres and modular forms. A primary goal of this volume is to give a complete account, with full proofs, of the homotopy of $tmf$ and several $tmf$-module spectra by means of the classical Adams spectral sequence, thus verifying, correcting, and extending existing approaches. In the process, folklore results are made precise and generalized. Anderson and Brown-Comenetz duality, and the corresponding dualities in homotopy groups, are carefully proved. The volume also includes an account of the homotopy groups of spheres through degree 44, with complete proofs, except that the Adams conjecture is used without proof. Also presented are modern stable proofs of classical results which are hard to extract from the literature. Tools used in this book include a multiplicative spectral sequence generalizing a construction of Davis and Mahowald, and computer software which computes the cohomology of modules over the Steenrod algebra and products therein. Techniques from commutative algebra are used to make the calculation precise and finite. The $H$-infinity ring structure of the sphere and of $tmf$ are used to determine many differentials and relations.

The theory of topological modular forms is an intricate blend of classical algebraic modular forms and stable homotopy groups of spheres. The construction of this theory combines an algebro-geometric perspective on elliptic curves over finite fields with techniques from algebraic topology, particularly stable homotopy theory. It has applications to and connections with manifold topology, number theory, and string theory. This book provides a careful, accessible introduction to topological modular forms. After a brief history and an extended overview of the subject, the book proper commences with an exposition of classical aspects of elliptic cohomology, including background material on elliptic curves and modular forms, a description of the moduli stack of elliptic curves, an explanation of the exact functor theorem for constructing cohomology theories, and an exploration of sheaves in stable homotopy theory. There follows a treatment of more specialized topics, including localization of spectra, the deformation theory of formal groups, and Goerss-Hopkins obstruction theory for multiplicative structures on spectra. The book then proceeds to more advanced material, including discussions of the string orientation, the sheaf of spectra on the moduli stack of elliptic curves, the homotopy of topological modular forms, and an extensive account of the construction of the spectrum of topological modular forms. The book concludes with the three original, pioneering and enormously influential manuscripts on the subject, by Hopkins, Miller, and Mahowald.

In recent years new topological methods, especially the theory of sheaves founded by J. LERAY, have been applied successfully to algebraic geometry and to the theory of functions of several complex variables. H. CARTAN and J. -P. SERRE have shown how fundamental theorems on holomorphically complete manifolds (STEIN manifolds) can be for mulated in terms of sheaf theory. These theorems imply many facts of function theory because the domains of holomorphy are holomorphically complete. They can also be applied to algebraic geometry because the complement of a hyperplane section of an algebraic manifold is holo morphically complete. J. -P. SERRE has obtained important results on algebraic manifolds by these and other methods. Recently many of his results have been proved for algebraic varieties defined over a field of arbitrary characteristic. K. KODAIRA and D. C. SPENCER have also applied sheaf theory to algebraic geometry with great success. Their methods differ from those of SERRE in that they use techniques from differential geometry (harmonic integrals etc. ) but do not make any use of the theory of STEIN manifolds. M. F. ATIYAH and W. V. D. HODGE have dealt successfully with problems on integrals of the second kind on algebraic manifolds with the help of sheaf theory. I was able to work together with K. KODAIRA and D. C. SPENCER during a stay at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton from 1952 to 1954.

This volume offers an introduction to recent developments in several active topics of research at the interface between geometry, topology and quantum field theory. These include Hopf algebras underlying renormalization schemes in quantum field theory, noncommutative geometry with applications to index theory on one hand and the study of aperiodic solids on the other, geometry and topology of low dimensional manifolds with applications to topological field theory, Chern-Simons supergravity and the anti de Sitter/conformal field theory correspondence. It comprises seven lectures organized around three main topics, noncommutative geometry, topological field theory, followed by supergravity and string theory, complemented by some short communications by young participants of the school.

Based on lectures held at the 7th Villa de Leyva summer school, this book presents an introduction to topics of current interest in the interface of geometry, topology and physics. It is aimed at graduate students in physics or mathematics with interests in geometric, algebraic as well as topological methods and their applications to quantum field theory. This volume contains the written notes corresponding to lectures given by experts in the field. They cover current topics of research in a way that is suitable for graduate students of mathematics or physics interested in the recent developments and interactions between geometry, topology and physics. The book also contains contributions by younger participants, displaying the ample range of topics treated in the school. A key feature of the present volume is the provision of a pedagogical presentation of rather advanced topics, in a way which is suitable for both mathematicians and physicists.