Introduction To Homotopy Theory

This is a book in pure mathematics dealing with homotopy theory, one of the main branches of algebraic topology. The principal topics are as follows: Basic Homotopy; H-spaces and co-H-spaces; fibrations and cofibrations; exact sequences of homotopy sets, actions, and coactions; homotopy pushouts and pullbacks; classical theorems, including those of Serre, Hurewicz, Blakers-Massey, and Whitehead; homotopy Sets; homotopy and homology decompositions of spaces and maps; and obstruction theory. The underlying theme of the entire book is the Eckmann-Hilton duality theory. The book can be used as a text for the second semester of an advanced ungraduate or graduate algebraic topology course.

Offers a summary for students and non-specialists who are interested in learning the basics of algebraic topology. This book covers fibrations and cofibrations, Hurewicz and cellular approximation theorems, topics in classical homotopy theory, simplicial sets, fiber bundles, Hopf algebras, and generalized homology and cohomology operations.

The core of classical homotopy theory is a body of ideas and theorems that emerged in the 1950s and was later largely codified in the notion of a model category. This core includes the notions of fibration and cofibration; CW complexes; long fiber and cofiber sequences; loop spaces and suspensions; and so on. Brown's representability theorems show that homology and cohomology are also contained in classical homotopy theory. This text develops classical homotopy theory from a modern point of view, meaning that the exposition is informed by the theory of model categories and that homotopy limits and colimits play central roles. The exposition is guided by the principle that it is generally preferable to prove topological results using topology (rather than algebra). The language and basic theory of homotopy limits and colimits make it possible to penetrate deep into the subject with just the rudiments of algebra. The text does reach advanced territory, including the Steenrod algebra, Bott periodicity, localization, the Exponent Theorem of Cohen, Moore, and Neisendorfer, and Miller's Theorem on the Sullivan Conjecture. Thus the reader is given the tools needed to understand and participate in research at (part of) the current frontier of homotopy theory. Proofs are not provided outright. Rather, they are presented in the form of directed problem sets. To the expert, these read as terse proofs; to novices they are challenges that draw them in and help them to thoroughly understand the arguments.

Since the introduction of homotopy groups by Hurewicz in 1935, homotopy theory has occupied a prominent place in the development of algebraic topology. This monograph provides an account of the subject which bridges the gap between the fundamental concepts of topology and the more complex treatment to be found in original papers. The first six chapters describe the essential ideas of homotopy theory: homotopy groups, the classical theorems, the exact homotopy sequence, fibre-spaces, the Hopf invariant, and the Freudenthal suspension. The final chapters discuss J. H. C. Whitehead's cell-complexes and their application to homotopy groups of complexes.

Homotopy Theory: An Introduction to Algebraic Topology

Bridge the gap between category theory and its applications in homotopy theory with this guide for graduate students and researchers.

This categorical perspective on homotopy theory helps consolidate and simplify one's understanding of derived functors, homotopy limits and colimits, and model categories, among others.