Equivariant Stable Homotopy Theory And The Kervaire Invariant Problem

A complete and definitive account of the authors' resolution of the Kervaire invariant problem in stable homotopy theory.

This second volume shows how factorization algebras arise from interacting field theories, both classical and quantum.

Factorization algebras are local-to-global objects that play a role in classical and quantum field theory that is similar to the role of sheaves in geometry: they conveniently organize complicated information. Their local structure encompasses examples like associative and vertex algebras; in these examples, their global structure encompasses Hochschild homology and conformal blocks. In this second volume, the authors show how factorization algebras arise from interacting field theories, both classical and quantum, and how they encode essential information such as operator product expansions, Noether currents, and anomalies. Along with a systematic reworking of the Batalin–Vilkovisky formalism via derived geometry and factorization algebras, this book offers concrete examples from physics, ranging from angular momentum and Virasoro symmetries to a five-dimensional gauge theory.

This book gives a complete proof of the Verlinde formula and of its connection to generalized theta functions.

This book outlines a vast array of techniques and methods regarding model categories, without focussing on the intricacies of the proofs. Quillen model categories are a fundamental tool for the understanding of homotopy theory. While many introductions to model categories fall back on the same handful of canonical examples, the present book highlights a large, self-contained collection of other examples which appear throughout the literature. In particular, it collects a highly scattered literature into a single volume. The book is aimed at anyone who uses, or is interested in using, model categories to study homotopy theory. It is written in such a way that it can be used as a reference guide for those who are already experts in the field. However, it can also be used as an introduction to the theory for novices.

Finally, we give an alternate description of the multiplicative norm maps used in recent work on the Kervaire invariant one problem. Comparing our construction with that used in [17] gives insight into the mechanism of norm maps.

This book is an excellent illustration of the versatility of Algebraic Topology interacting with other areas in Mathematics and Physics. Topics discussed in this volume range from classical Differential Topology and Homotopy Theory (Kervaire invariant one problem) to more recent lines of research such as Topological Quantum Field Theory (string theory). Likewise, alternative viewpoints on classical problems in Global Analysis and Dynamical Systems are developed (a spectral sequence approach to normal form theory). This collection of papers is based on talks at the conference on the occasion of Sam Gitler's 70th birthday (December, 2003). The variety of topics covered in this book reflects the many areas where Sam Gitler's contributions have had an impact.

During the Winter and spring of 1985 a Workshop in Algebraic Topology was held at the University of Washington. The course notes by Emmanuel Dror Farjoun and by Frederick R. Cohen contained in this volume are carefully written graduate level expositions of certain aspects of equivariant homotopy theory and classical homotopy theory, respectively. M.E. Mahowald has included some of the material from his further papers, represent a wide range of contemporary homotopy theory: the Kervaire invariant, stable splitting theorems, computer calculation of unstable homotopy groups, and studies of L(n), Im J, and the symmetric groups.

This book is an excellent illustration of the versatility of Algebraic Topology interacting with other areas in Mathematics and Physics. Topics discussed in this volume range from classical Differential Topology and Homotopy Theory (Kervaire invariant one problem) to more recent lines of research such as Topological Quantum Field Theory (string theory). Likewise, alternative viewpoints on classical problems in Global Analysis and Dynamical Systems are developed (a spectral sequence approach to normal form theory). This collection of papers is based on talks at the conference on the occasion of Sam Gitler's 70th birthday (December, 2003). The variety of topics covered in this book reflects the many areas where Sam Gitler's contributions have had an impact.

The papers in this volume are divided into the following four parts: 1. Simple homotopy theory and G-actions. 2. Classifying spaces and characteristic classes. 3. Topology of manifolds. 4. Homotopy problems - unstable and stable cases.

V.1. A.N. v.2. O.Z. Apendices and indexes.