Classical Topology and Combinatorial Group Theory

Classical Topology and Combinatorial Group Theory PDF Author: John Stillwell
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1461243726
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 344

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Book Description
In recent years, many students have been introduced to topology in high school mathematics. Having met the Mobius band, the seven bridges of Konigsberg, Euler's polyhedron formula, and knots, the student is led to expect that these picturesque ideas will come to full flower in university topology courses. What a disappointment "undergraduate topology" proves to be! In most institutions it is either a service course for analysts, on abstract spaces, or else an introduction to homological algebra in which the only geometric activity is the completion of commutative diagrams. Pictures are kept to a minimum, and at the end the student still does nr~ understand the simplest topological facts, such as the rcason why knots exist. In my opinion, a well-balanced introduction to topology should stress its intuitive geometric aspect, while admitting the legitimate interest that analysts and algebraists have in the subject. At any rate, this is the aim of the present book. In support of this view, I have followed the historical development where practicable, since it clearly shows the influence of geometric thought at all stages. This is not to claim that topology received its main impetus from geometric recreations like the seven bridges; rather, it resulted from the l'isualization of problems from other parts of mathematics-complex analysis (Riemann), mechanics (Poincare), and group theory (Dehn). It is these connec tions to other parts of mathematics which make topology an important as well as a beautiful subject.

Classical Topology and Combinatorial Group Theory

Classical Topology and Combinatorial Group Theory PDF Author: John Stillwell
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1461243726
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 344

Get Book Here

Book Description
In recent years, many students have been introduced to topology in high school mathematics. Having met the Mobius band, the seven bridges of Konigsberg, Euler's polyhedron formula, and knots, the student is led to expect that these picturesque ideas will come to full flower in university topology courses. What a disappointment "undergraduate topology" proves to be! In most institutions it is either a service course for analysts, on abstract spaces, or else an introduction to homological algebra in which the only geometric activity is the completion of commutative diagrams. Pictures are kept to a minimum, and at the end the student still does nr~ understand the simplest topological facts, such as the rcason why knots exist. In my opinion, a well-balanced introduction to topology should stress its intuitive geometric aspect, while admitting the legitimate interest that analysts and algebraists have in the subject. At any rate, this is the aim of the present book. In support of this view, I have followed the historical development where practicable, since it clearly shows the influence of geometric thought at all stages. This is not to claim that topology received its main impetus from geometric recreations like the seven bridges; rather, it resulted from the l'isualization of problems from other parts of mathematics-complex analysis (Riemann), mechanics (Poincare), and group theory (Dehn). It is these connec tions to other parts of mathematics which make topology an important as well as a beautiful subject.

Classical Topology and Combinatorial Group Theory

Classical Topology and Combinatorial Group Theory PDF Author: John Stillwell
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1468401106
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 309

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Book Description
In recent years, many students have been introduced to topology in high school mathematics. Having met the Mobius band, the seven bridges of Konigsberg, Euler's polyhedron formula, and knots, the student is led to expect that these picturesque ideas will come to full flower in university topology courses. What a disappointment "undergraduate topology" proves to be! In most institutions it is either a service course for analysts, on abstract spaces, or else an introduction to homological algebra in which the only geometric activity is the completion of commutative diagrams. Pictures are kept to a minimum, and at the end the student still does not understand the simplest topological facts, such as the reason why knots exist. In my opinion, a well-balanced introduction to topology should stress its intuitive geometric aspect, while admitting the legitimate interest that analysts and algebraists have in the subject. At any rate, this is the aim of the present book. In support of this view, I have followed the historical develop ment where practicable, since it clearly shows the influence of geometric thought at all stages. This is not to claim that topology received its main impetus from geometric recrea. ions like the seven bridges; rather, it resulted from the visualization of problems from other parts of mathematics complex analysis (Riemann), mechanics (poincare), and group theory (Oehn). It is these connections to other parts of mathematics which make topology an important as well as a beautiful subject.

Two-Dimensional Homotopy and Combinatorial Group Theory

Two-Dimensional Homotopy and Combinatorial Group Theory PDF Author: Cynthia Hog-Angeloni
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 0521447003
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 428

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Book Description
Basic work on two-dimensional homotopy theory dates back to K. Reidemeister and J. H. C. Whitehead. Much work in this area has been done since then, and this book considers the current state of knowledge in all the aspects of the subject. The editors start with introductory chapters on low-dimensional topology, covering both the geometric and algebraic sides of the subject, the latter including crossed modules, Reidemeister-Peiffer identities, and a concrete and modern discussion of Whitehead's algebraic classification of 2-dimensional homotopy types. Further chapters have been skilfully selected and woven together to form a coherent picture. The latest algebraic results and their applications to 3- and 4-dimensional manifolds are dealt with. The geometric nature of the subject is illustrated to the full by over 100 diagrams. Final chapters summarize and contribute to the present status of the conjectures of Zeeman, Whitehead, and Andrews-Curtis. No other book covers all these topics. Some of the material here has been used in courses, making this book valuable for anyone with an interest in two-dimensional homotopy theory, from graduate students to research workers.

Geometric Group Theory

Geometric Group Theory PDF Author: Clara Löh
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319722549
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 390

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Book Description
Inspired by classical geometry, geometric group theory has in turn provided a variety of applications to geometry, topology, group theory, number theory and graph theory. This carefully written textbook provides a rigorous introduction to this rapidly evolving field whose methods have proven to be powerful tools in neighbouring fields such as geometric topology. Geometric group theory is the study of finitely generated groups via the geometry of their associated Cayley graphs. It turns out that the essence of the geometry of such groups is captured in the key notion of quasi-isometry, a large-scale version of isometry whose invariants include growth types, curvature conditions, boundary constructions, and amenability. This book covers the foundations of quasi-geometry of groups at an advanced undergraduate level. The subject is illustrated by many elementary examples, outlooks on applications, as well as an extensive collection of exercises.

Papers on Group Theory and Topology

Papers on Group Theory and Topology PDF Author: Max Dehn
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1461246687
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 404

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Book Description
The work of Max Dehn (1878-1952) has been quietly influential in mathematics since the beginning of the 20th century. In 1900 he became the first to solve one of the famous Hilbert problems (the third, on the decomposition of polyhedra), in 1907 he collaborated with Heegaard to produce the first survey of topology, and in 1910 he began publishing his own investigations in topology and combinatorial group theory. His influence is apparent in the terms Dehn's algorithm, Dehn's lemma and Dehn surgery (and Dehnsche Gruppenbilder, generally known in English as Cayley diagrams), but direct access to his work has been difficult. No edition of his works has been produced, and some of his most important results were never published, at least not by him. The present volume is a modest attempt to bring Dehn's work to a wider audience, particularly topologists and group theorists curious about the origins of their subject and interested in mining the sources for new ideas. It consists of English translations of eight works : five of Dehn's major papers in topology and combinatorial group theory, and three unpublished works which illuminate the published papers and contain some results not available elsewhere. In addition, I have written a short introduction to each work, summarising its contents and trying to establish its place among related works of Dehn and others, and I have added an appendix on the Dehn-Nielsen theorem (often known simply as Nielsen's theorem) .

Geometry of Surfaces

Geometry of Surfaces PDF Author: John Stillwell
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1461209293
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 225

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Book Description
The geometry of surfaces is an ideal starting point for learning geometry, for, among other reasons, the theory of surfaces of constant curvature has maximal connectivity with the rest of mathematics. This text provides the student with the knowledge of a geometry of greater scope than the classical geometry taught today, which is no longer an adequate basis for mathematics or physics, both of which are becoming increasingly geometric. It includes exercises and informal discussions.

The Geometry and Topology of Coxeter Groups

The Geometry and Topology of Coxeter Groups PDF Author: Michael Davis
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691131384
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 601

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Book Description
The Geometry and Topology of Coxeter Groups is a comprehensive and authoritative treatment of Coxeter groups from the viewpoint of geometric group theory. Groups generated by reflections are ubiquitous in mathematics, and there are classical examples of reflection groups in spherical, Euclidean, and hyperbolic geometry. Any Coxeter group can be realized as a group generated by reflection on a certain contractible cell complex, and this complex is the principal subject of this book. The book explains a theorem of Moussong that demonstrates that a polyhedral metric on this cell complex is nonpositively curved, meaning that Coxeter groups are "CAT(0) groups." The book describes the reflection group trick, one of the most potent sources of examples of aspherical manifolds. And the book discusses many important topics in geometric group theory and topology, including Hopf's theory of ends; contractible manifolds and homology spheres; the Poincaré Conjecture; and Gromov's theory of CAT(0) spaces and groups. Finally, the book examines connections between Coxeter groups and some of topology's most famous open problems concerning aspherical manifolds, such as the Euler Characteristic Conjecture and the Borel and Singer conjectures.

Topological Methods in Group Theory

Topological Methods in Group Theory PDF Author: Ross Geoghegan
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 0387746110
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 473

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Book Description
This book is about the interplay between algebraic topology and the theory of infinite discrete groups. It is a hugely important contribution to the field of topological and geometric group theory, and is bound to become a standard reference in the field. To keep the length reasonable and the focus clear, the author assumes the reader knows or can easily learn the necessary algebra, but wants to see the topology done in detail. The central subject of the book is the theory of ends. Here the author adopts a new algebraic approach which is geometric in spirit.

Topology and Combinatorial Group Theory

Topology and Combinatorial Group Theory PDF Author: Paul Latiolais
Publisher: Springer
ISBN:
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
This book demonstrates the lively interaction between algebraic topology, very low dimensional topology and combinatorial group theory. Many of the ideas presented are still in their infancy, and it is hoped that the work here will spur others to new and exciting developments. Among the many techniques disussed are the use of obstruction groups to distinguish certain exact sequences and several graph theoretic techniques with applications to the theory of groups.

Combinatorial Methods

Combinatorial Methods PDF Author: Alexander Mikhalev
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9780387405629
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 336

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Book Description
The main purpose of this book is to show how ideas from combinatorial group theory have spread to two other areas of mathematics: the theory of Lie algebras and affine algebraic geometry. Some of these ideas, in turn, came to combinatorial group theory from low-dimensional topology in the beginning of the 20th Century. This book is divided into three fairly independent parts. Part I provides a brief exposition of several classical techniques in combinatorial group theory, namely, methods of Nielsen, Whitehead, and Tietze. Part II contains the main focus of the book. Here the authors show how the aforementioned techniques of combinatorial group theory found their way into affine algebraic geometry, a fascinating area of mathematics that studies polynomials and polynomial mappings. Part III illustrates how ideas from combinatorial group theory contributed to the theory of free algebras. The focus here is on Schreier varieties of algebras (a variety of algebras is said to be Schreier if any subalgebra of a free algebra of this variety is free in the same variety of algebras).