Topology, K. Janich

This book constitutes nothing less than an up-to-date survey of the whole field of topology (with the exception of "general (set-theoretic) topology"), or, in the words of Novikov himself, of what was termed at the end of the 19th century "Analysis Situs", and subsequently diversified into the various subfields of combinatorial, algebraic, differential, homotopic, and geometric topology. The book gives an overview of these subfields, beginning with the elements and proceeding right up to the present frontiers of research.

This textbook on algebraic topology updates a popular textbook from the golden era of the Moscow school of I. M. Gelfand. The first English translation, done many decades ago, remains very much in demand, although it has been long out-of-print and is difficult to obtain. Therefore, this updated English edition will be much welcomed by the mathematical community. Distinctive features of this book include: a concise but fully rigorous presentation, supplemented by a plethora of illustrations of a high technical and artistic caliber; a huge number of nontrivial examples and computations done in detail; a deeper and broader treatment of topics in comparison to most beginning books on algebraic topology; an extensive, and very concrete, treatment of the machinery of spectral sequences. The second edition contains an entirely new chapter on K-theory and the Riemann-Roch theorem (after Hirzebruch and Grothendieck).

K -Theory has revolutionized the study of operator algebras in the last few years. As the primary component of the subject of "noncommutative topol­ ogy," K -theory has opened vast new vistas within the structure theory of C*­ algebras, as well as leading to profound and unexpected applications of opera­ tor algebras to problems in geometry and topology. As a result, many topolo­ gists and operator algebraists have feverishly begun trying to learn each others' subjects, and it appears certain that these two branches of mathematics have become deeply and permanently intertwined. Despite the fact that the whole subject is only about a decade old, operator K -theory has now reached a state of relative stability. While there will undoubtedly be many more revolutionary developments and applications in the future, it appears the basic theory has more or less reached a "final form." But because of the newness of the theory, there has so far been no comprehensive treatment of the subject. It is the ambitious goal of these notes to fill this gap. We will develop the K -theory of Banach algebras, the theory of extensions of C*-algebras, and the operator K -theory of Kasparov from scratch to its most advanced aspects. We will not treat applications in detail; however, we will outline the most striking of the applications to date in a section at the end, as well as mentioning others at suitable points in the text.

K -Theory has revolutionized the study of operator algebras in the last few years. As the primary component of the subject of "noncommutative topol­ ogy," K -theory has opened vast new vistas within the structure theory of C*­ algebras, as well as leading to profound and unexpected applications of opera­ tor algebras to problems in geometry and topology. As a result, many topolo­ gists and operator algebraists have feverishly begun trying to learn each others' subjects, and it appears certain that these two branches of mathematics have become deeply and permanently intertwined. Despite the fact that the whole subject is only about a decade old, operator K -theory has now reached a state of relative stability. While there will undoubtedly be many more revolutionary developments and applications in the future, it appears the basic theory has more or less reached a "final form." But because of the newness of the theory, there has so far been no comprehensive treatment of the subject. It is the ambitious goal of these notes to fill this gap. We will develop the K -theory of Banach algebras, the theory of extensions of C*-algebras, and the operator K -theory of Kasparov from scratch to its most advanced aspects. We will not treat applications in detail; however, we will outline the most striking of the applications to date in a section at the end, as well as mentioning others at suitable points in the text.

The 2007 Abel Symposium took place at the University of Oslo in August 2007. The goal of the symposium was to bring together mathematicians whose research efforts have led to recent advances in algebraic geometry, algebraic K-theory, algebraic topology, and mathematical physics. A common theme of this symposium was the development of new perspectives and new constructions with a categorical flavor. As the lectures at the symposium and the papers of this volume demonstrate, these perspectives and constructions have enabled a broadening of vistas, a synergy between once-differentiated subjects, and solutions to mathematical problems both old and new.

The 2007 Abel Symposium took place at the University of Oslo in August 2007. The goal of the symposium was to bring together mathematicians whose research efforts have led to recent advances in algebraic geometry, algebraic K-theory, algebraic topology, and mathematical physics. A common theme of this symposium was the development of new perspectives and new constructions with a categorical flavor. As the lectures at the symposium and the papers of this volume demonstrate, these perspectives and constructions have enabled a broadening of vistas, a synergy between once-differentiated subjects, and solutions to mathematical problems both old and new.

Homotopy theory and C*-algebras are central topics in contemporary mathematics. This book introduces a modern homotopy theory for C*-algebras. One basic idea of the setup is to merge C*-algebras and spaces studied in algebraic topology into one category comprising C*-spaces. These objects are suitable fodder for standard homotopy theoretic moves, leading to unstable and stable model structures. With the foundations in place one is led to natural definitions of invariants for C*-spaces such as homology and cohomology theories, K-theory and zeta-functions. The text is largely self-contained. It serves a wide audience of graduate students and researchers interested in C*-algebras, homotopy theory and applications.