Cohomological Methods In Homotopy Theory

This book contains a collection of articles summarizing the state of knowledge in a large portion of modern homotopy theory. A call for articles was made on the occasion of an emphasis semester organized by the Centre de Recerca Matemtica in Bellaterra (Barcelona) in 1998. The main topics treated in the book include abstract features of stable and unstable homotopy, homotopical localizations, p-compact groups, H-spaces, classifying spaces for proper actions, cohomology of discrete groups, K-theory and other generalized cohomology theories, configuration spaces, and Lusternik-Schnirelmann category. The book is addressed to all mathematicians interested in homotopy theory and in geometric aspects of group theory. New research directions in topology are highlighted. Moreover, this informative and educational book serves as a welcome reference for many new results and recent methods.

This book contains a collection of articles summarizing the state of knowledge in a large portion of modern homotopy theory. A call for articles was made on the occasion of an emphasis semester organized by the Centre de Recerca MatemA tica in Bellaterra (Barcelona) in 1998. The main topics treated in the book include abstract features of stable and unstable homotopy, homotopical localizations, p-compact groups, H-spaces, classifying spaces for proper actions, cohomology of discrete groups, K-theory and other generalized cohomology theories, configuration spaces, and Lusternik-Schnirelmann category.The book is addressed to all mathematicians interested in homotopy theory and in geometric aspects of group theory. New research directions in topology are highlighted. Moreover, this informative and educational book serves as a welcome reference for many new results and recent methods.

This book consists essentially of notes which were written for an Advanced Course on Classifying Spaces and Cohomology of Groups. The course took place at the Centre de Recerca Mathematica (CRM) in Bellaterra from May 27 to June 2, 1998 and was part of an emphasis semester on Algebraic Topology. It consisted of two parallel series of 6 lectures of 90 minutes each and was intended as an introduction to new homotopy theoretic methods in group cohomology. The first part of the book is concerned with methods of decomposing the classifying space of a finite group into pieces made of classifying spaces of appropriate subgroups. Such decompositions have been used with great success in the last 10-15 years in the homotopy theory of classifying spaces of compact Lie groups and p-compact groups in the sense of Dwyer and Wilkerson. For simplicity the emphasis here is on finite groups and on homological properties of various decompositions known as centralizer resp. normalizer resp. subgroup decomposition. A unified treatment of the various decompositions is given and the relations between them are explored. This is preceeded by a detailed discussion of basic notions such as classifying spaces, simplicial complexes and homotopy colimits.

This is an account of the theory of certain types of compact transformation groups, namely those that are susceptible to study using ordinary cohomology theory and rational homotopy theory, which in practice means the torus groups and elementary abelian p-groups. The efforts of many mathematicians have combined to bring a depth of understanding to this area. However to make it reasonably accessible to a wide audience, the authors have streamlined the presentation, referring the reader to the literature for purely technical results and working in a simplified setting where possible. In this way the reader with a relatively modest background in algebraic topology and homology theory can penetrate rather deeply into the subject, whilst the book at the same time makes a useful reference for the more specialised reader.

The author has attempted an ambitious and most commendable project. He assumes only a modest knowledge of algebraic topology on the part of the reader to start with, and he leads the reader systematically to the point at which he can begin to tackle problems in the current areas of research centered around generalized homology theories and their applications. After an account of classical homotopy theory, the author turns to homology and cohomology theories, first treating them axiomatically and then constructing them using spectra. These ideas are illustrated via a thorough development of the three main examples of ordinary homology, K-theory and bordisms. Next, the author takes up the study of products in homology and cohomology and the related questions of orientability and duality. The remainder of the book is devoted to more sophisticated techniques and methods currently in use such as characteristic classes, cohomology operations, and the Adams spectral sequence, all of which are developed in the context of generalized homology theories. This book is, all in all, a very admirable work and a valuable addition to the literature and its value is not diminished by the somewhat minor flaws mentioned. -- S.Y. Husseini.

Homotopy Theory: An Introduction to Algebraic Topology

The ultimate goal of this book is to explain that the Grothendieck–Teichmüller group, as defined by Drinfeld in quantum group theory, has a topological interpretation as a group of homotopy automorphisms associated to the little 2-disc operad. To establish this result, the applications of methods of algebraic topology to operads must be developed. This volume is devoted primarily to this subject, with the main objective of developing a rational homotopy theory for operads. The book starts with a comprehensive review of the general theory of model categories and of general methods of homotopy theory. The definition of the Sullivan model for the rational homotopy of spaces is revisited, and the definition of models for the rational homotopy of operads is then explained. The applications of spectral sequence methods to compute homotopy automorphism spaces associated to operads are also explained. This approach is used to get a topological interpretation of the Grothendieck–Teichmüller group in the case of the little 2-disc operad. This volume is intended for graduate students and researchers interested in the applications of homotopy theory methods in operad theory. It is accessible to readers with a minimal background in classical algebraic topology and operad theory.

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.