Intuitive Topology


Book Description

This book is an introduction to elementary topology presented in an intuitive way, emphasizing the visual aspect. Examples of nontrivial and often unexpected topological phenomena acquaint the reader with the picturesque world of knots, links, vector fields, and two-dimensional surfaces. The book begins with definitions presented in a tangible and perceptible way, on an everyday level, and progressively makes them more precise and rigorous, eventually reaching the level of fairly sophisticated proofs. This allows meaningful problems to be tackled from the outset. Another unusual trait of this book is that it deals mainly with constructions and maps, rather than with proofs that certain maps and constructions do or do not exist. The numerous illustrations are an essential feature. The book is accessible not only to undergraduates but also to high school students and will interest any reader who has some feeling for the visual elegance of geometry and topology.




Intuitive Combinatorial Topology


Book Description

Topology is a relatively young and very important branch of mathematics, which studies the properties of objects that are preserved through deformations, twistings, and stretchings. This book deals with the topology of curves and surfaces as well as with the fundamental concepts of homotopy and homology, and does this in a lively and well-motivated way. This book is well suited for readers who are interested in finding out what topology is all about.




Intuitive Concepts in Elementary Topology


Book Description

Classroom-tested and much-cited, this concise text is designed for undergraduates. It offers a valuable and instructive introduction to the basic concepts of topology, taking an intuitive rather than an axiomatic viewpoint. 1962 edition.




Algebraic Topology: An Intuitive Approach


Book Description

The single most difficult thing one faces when one begins to learn a new branch of mathematics is to get a feel for the mathematical sense of the subject. The purpose of this book is to help the aspiring reader acquire this essential common sense about algebraic topology in a short period of time. To this end, Sato leads the reader through simple but meaningful examples in concrete terms. Moreover, results are not discussed in their greatest possible generality, but in terms of the simplest and most essential cases. In response to suggestions from readers of the original edition of this book, Sato has added an appendix of useful definitions and results on sets, general topology, groups and such. He has also provided references. Topics covered include fundamental notions such as homeomorphisms, homotopy equivalence, fundamental groups and higher homotopy groups, homology and cohomology, fiber bundles, spectral sequences and characteristic classes. Objects and examples considered in the text include the torus, the Möbius strip, the Klein bottle, closed surfaces, cell complexes and vector bundles.




Elementary Topology


Book Description

This text contains a detailed introduction to general topology and an introduction to algebraic topology via its most classical and elementary segment. Proofs of theorems are separated from their formulations and are gathered at the end of each chapter, making this book appear like a problem book and also giving it appeal to the expert as a handbook. The book includes about 1,000 exercises.




Introduction to Topology


Book Description

This English translation of a Russian book presents the basic notions of differential and algebraic topology, which are indispensable for specialists and useful for research mathematicians and theoretical physicists. In particular, ideas and results are introduced related to manifolds, cell spaces, coverings and fibrations, homotopy groups, homology and cohomology, intersection index, etc. The author notes, "The lecture note origins of the book left a significant imprint on itsstyle. It contains very few detailed proofs: I tried to give as many illustrations as possible and to show what really occurs in topology, not always explaining why it occurs." He concludes, "As a rule, only those proofs (or sketches of proofs) that are interesting per se and have importantgeneralizations are presented."




Motivic Homotopy Theory


Book Description

This book is based on lectures given at a summer school on motivic homotopy theory at the Sophus Lie Centre in Nordfjordeid, Norway, in August 2002. Aimed at graduate students in algebraic topology and algebraic geometry, it contains background material from both of these fields, as well as the foundations of motivic homotopy theory. It will serve as a good introduction as well as a convenient reference for a broad group of mathematicians to this important and fascinating new subject. Vladimir Voevodsky is one of the founders of the theory and received the Fields medal for his work, and the other authors have all done important work in the subject.




A First Course in Topology


Book Description

Students must prove all of the theorems in this undergraduate-level text, which features extensive outlines to assist in study and comprehension. Thorough and well-written, the treatment provides sufficient material for a one-year undergraduate course. The logical presentation anticipates students' questions, and complete definitions and expositions of topics relate new concepts to previously discussed subjects. Most of the material focuses on point-set topology with the exception of the last chapter. Topics include sets and functions, infinite sets and transfinite numbers, topological spaces and basic concepts, product spaces, connectivity, and compactness. Additional subjects include separation axioms, complete spaces, and homotopy and the fundamental group. Numerous hints and figures illuminate the text. Dover (2014) republication of the edition originally published by The Williams & Wilkins Company, Baltimore, 1975. See every Dover book in print at www.doverpublications.com




Elementary Concepts of Topology


Book Description

Concise work presents topological concepts in clear, elementary fashion, from basics of set-theoretic topology, through topological theorems and questions based on concept of the algebraic complex, to the concept of Betti groups. Includes 25 figures.




Knots, Molecules, and the Universe


Book Description

This book is an elementary introduction to geometric topology and its applications to chemistry, molecular biology, and cosmology. It does not assume any mathematical or scientific background, sophistication, or even motivation to study mathematics. It is meant to be fun and engaging while drawing students in to learn about fundamental topological and geometric ideas. Though the book can be read and enjoyed by nonmathematicians, college students, or even eager high school students, it is intended to be used as an undergraduate textbook. The book is divided into three parts corresponding to the three areas referred to in the title. Part 1 develops techniques that enable two- and three-dimensional creatures to visualize possible shapes for their universe and to use topological and geometric properties to distinguish one such space from another. Part 2 is an introduction to knot theory with an emphasis on invariants. Part 3 presents applications of topology and geometry to molecular symmetries, DNA, and proteins. Each chapter ends with exercises that allow for better understanding of the material. The style of the book is informal and lively. Though all of the definitions and theorems are explicitly stated, they are given in an intuitive rather than a rigorous form, with several hundreds of figures illustrating the exposition. This allows students to develop intuition about topology and geometry without getting bogged down in technical details.