Ntroduction to Complex Manifolds Lee

The aim of this book is to give an understandable introduction to the the­ ory of complex manifolds. With very few exceptions we give complete proofs. Many examples and figures along with quite a few exercises are included. Our intent is to familiarize the reader with the most important branches and methods in complex analysis of several variables and to do this as simply as possible. Therefore, the abstract concepts involved with sheaves, coherence, and higher-dimensional cohomology are avoided. Only elementary methods such as power series, holomorphic vector bundles, and one-dimensional co­ cycles are used.

In developing the tools necessary for the study of complex manifolds, this comprehensive, well-organized treatment presents in its opening chapters a detailed survey of recent progress in four areas: geometry (manifolds with vector bundles), algebraic topology, differential geometry, and partial differential equations. Subsequent chapters then develop such topics as Hermitian exterior algebra and the Hodge *-operator, harmonic theory on compact manifolds, differential operators on a Kahler manifold, the Hodge decomposition theorem on compact Kahler manifolds, the Hodge-Riemann bilinear relations on Kahler manifolds, Griffiths's period mapping, quadratic transformations, and Kodaira's vanishing and embedding theorems.

In developing the tools necessary for the study of complex manifolds, this comprehensive, well-organized treatment presents in its opening chapters a detailed survey of recent progress in four areas: geometry (manifolds with vector bundles), algebraic topology, differential geometry, and partial differential equations. Subsequent chapters then develop such topics as Hermitian exterior algebra and the Hodge *-operator, harmonic theory on compact manifolds, differential operators on a Kahler manifold, the Hodge decomposition theorem on compact Kahler manifolds, the Hodge-Riemann bilinear relations on Kahler manifolds, Griffiths's period mapping, quadratic transformations, and Kodaira's vanishing and embedding theorems.

Shafarevich's Basic Algebraic Geometry has been a classic and universally used introduction to the subject since its first appearance over 40 years ago. As the translator writes in a prefatory note, ``For all [advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate] students, and for the many specialists in other branches of math who need a liberal education in algebraic geometry, Shafarevich’s book is a must.''

From the reviews of the first printing, published as Volume 7 of the Encyclopaedia of Mathematical Sciences:
"…… In this volume, we find an introductory essay entitled "Remarkable Facts of Complex Analysis" by Vitushkin… This is followed by articles by G.M.Khenkin on integral formulas in complex analysis, by E.M.Chirka on complex analytic sets, by Vitushkin on the geometry of hypersurfaces and by P.Dolbeault, on the theory of residues in several variables. … In sum, the volume under review is the first quarter of an important work that surveys an active branch of modern mathematics. Some of the individual articles are reminiscent in style of the early volumes of the first Ergebnisse series and will probably prove to be equally useful as a reference; all contain substantial lists of references."
Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society, 1991 "… This remarkable book has a helpfully informal style, abundant motivation, outlined proofs followed by precise references, and an extensive bibliography; it will be an invaluable reference and a companion to modern courses on several complex variables."

This text focuses on developing an intimate acquaintance with the geometric meaning of curvature and thereby introduces and demonstrates all the main technical tools needed for a more advanced course on Riemannian manifolds. It covers proving the four most fundamental theorems relating curvature and topology: the Gauss-Bonnet Theorem, the Cartan-Hadamard Theorem, Bonnet’s Theorem, and a special case of the Cartan-Ambrose-Hicks Theorem.