From Holomorphic Functions To Complex Manifolds

This introduction to the theory of complex manifolds covers the most important branches and methods in complex analysis of several variables while completely avoiding abstract concepts involving sheaves, coherence, and higher-dimensional cohomology. Only elementary methods such as power series, holomorphic vector bundles, and one-dimensional cocycles are used. Each chapter contains a variety of examples and exercises.

No detailed description available for "Theory of Functions on Complex Manifolds".

Serves as an introduction to the Kodaira-Spencer theory of deformations of complex structures. Based on lectures given by Kunihiko Kodaira at Stanford University in 1965-1966, this book gives the original proof of the Kodaira embedding theorem, showing that the restricted class of Kahler manifolds called Hodge manifolds is algebraic.

Chapter 1 presents theorems on differentiable functions often used in differential topology, such as the implicit function theorem, Sard's theorem and Whitney's approximation theorem. The next chapter is an introduction to real and complex manifolds. It contains an exposition of the theorem of Frobenius, the lemmata of Poincaré and Grothendieck with applications of Grothendieck's lemma to complex analysis, the imbedding theorem of Whitney and Thom's transversality theorem. Chapter 3 includes characterizations of linear differentiable operators, due to Peetre and Hormander. The inequalities of Garding and of Friedrichs on elliptic operators are proved and are used to prove the regularity of weak solutions of elliptic equations. The chapter ends with the approximation theorem of Malgrange-Lax and its application to the proof of the Runge theorem on open Riemann surfaces due to Behnke and Stein.

The main theme of this book is the homotopy principle for holomorphic mappings from Stein manifolds to the newly introduced class of Oka manifolds. The book contains the first complete account of Oka-Grauert theory and its modern extensions, initiated by Mikhail Gromov and developed in the last decade by the author and his collaborators. Included is the first systematic presentation of the theory of holomorphic automorphisms of complex Euclidean spaces, a survey on Stein neighborhoods, connections between the geometry of Stein surfaces and Seiberg-Witten theory, and a wide variety of applications ranging from classical to contemporary.

The first edition of this influential book, published in 1970, opened up a completely new field of invariant metrics and hyperbolic manifolds. The large number of papers on the topics covered by the book written since its appearance led Mathematical Reviews to create two new subsections ?invariant metrics and pseudo-distances? and ?hyperbolic complex manifolds? within the section ?holomorphic mappings?. The invariant distance introduced in the first edition is now called the ?Kobayashi distance?, and the hyperbolicity in the sense of this book is called the ?Kobayashi hyperbolicity? to distinguish it from other hyperbolicities. This book continues to serve as the best introduction to hyperbolic complex analysis and geometry and is easily accessible to students since very little is assumed. The new edition adds comments on the most recent developments in the field.