From Calculus To Cohomology

An introductory textbook on cohomology and curvature with emphasis on applications.

The power that analysis, topology and algebra bring to geometry has revolutionised the way geometers and physicists look at conceptual problems. Some of the key ingredients in this interplay are sheaves, cohomology, Lie groups, connections and differential operators. In Global Calculus, the appropriate formalism for these topics is laid out with numerous examples and applications by one of the experts in differential and algebraic geometry. Ramanan has chosen an uncommon but natural path through the subject. In this almost completely self-contained account, these topics are developed from scratch. The basics of Fourier transforms, Sobolev theory and interior regularity are proved at the same time as symbol calculus, culminating in beautiful results in global analysis, real and complex. Many new perspectives on traditional and modern questions of differential analysis and geometry are the hallmarks of the book. The book is suitable for a first year graduate course on Global Analysis.

Self-contained development of cohomological theory of manifolds with various sheaves and its application to differential geometry covers categories and functions, sheaves and cohomology, fiber and vector bundles, and cohomology classes and differential forms. 1973 edition.

This book presents modern vector analysis and carefully describes the classical notation and understanding of the theory. It covers all of the classical vector analysis in Euclidean space, as well as on manifolds, and goes on to introduce de Rham Cohomology, Hodge theory, elementary differential geometry, and basic duality. The material is accessible to readers and students with only calculus and linear algebra as prerequisites. A large number of illustrations, exercises, and tests with answers make this book an invaluable self-study source.

Developed from a first-year graduate course in algebraic topology, this text is an informal introduction to some of the main ideas of contemporary homotopy and cohomology theory. The materials are structured around four core areas: de Rham theory, the Cech-de Rham complex, spectral sequences, and characteristic classes. By using the de Rham theory of differential forms as a prototype of cohomology, the machineries of algebraic topology are made easier to assimilate. With its stress on concreteness, motivation, and readability, this book is equally suitable for self-study and as a one-semester course in topology.

Homology and cohomology -- De Rham cohomology -- Singular homology and cohomology -- Simplicial homology and cohomology -- Homology and cohomology of CW complexes -- Poincaré duality -- Presheaves and sheaves; Basics -- Cech cohomology with values in a presheaf -- Presheaves and sheaves; A deeper look -- Derived functors, [delta]-functors, and [del]-functors -- Universal coefficient theorems -- Cohomology of sheaves -- Alexander and Alexander-Lefschetz duality -- Spectral sequences.

The notion of a motive is an elusive one, like its namesake "the motif" of Cezanne's impressionist method of painting. Its existence was first suggested by Grothendieck in 1964 as the underlying structure behind the myriad cohomology theories in Algebraic Geometry. We now know that there is a triangulated theory of motives, discovered by Vladimir Voevodsky, which suffices for the development of a satisfactory Motivic Cohomology theory. However, the existence of motives themselves remains conjectural. This book provides an account of the triangulated theory of motives. Its purpose is to introduce Motivic Cohomology, to develop its main properties, and finally to relate it to other known invariants of algebraic varieties and rings such as Milnor K-theory, etale cohomology, and Chow groups. The book is divided into lectures, grouped in six parts. The first part presents the definition of Motivic Cohomology, based upon the notion of presheaves with transfers. Some elementary comparison theorems are given in this part. The theory of (etale, Nisnevich, and Zariski) sheaves with transfers is developed in parts two, three, and six, respectively. The theoretical core of the book is the fourth part, presenting the triangulated category of motives. Finally, the comparison with higher Chow groups is developed in part five. The lecture notes format is designed for the book to be read by an advanced graduate student or an expert in a related field. The lectures roughly correspond to one-hour lectures given by Voevodsky during the course he gave at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton on this subject in 1999-2000. In addition, many of the original proofs have been simplified and improved so that this book will also be a useful tool for research mathematicians. Information for our distributors: Titles in this series are copublished with the Clay Mathematics Institute (Cambridge, MA).