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One-Cocycles and Knot Invariants is about classical knots, i.e., smooth oriented knots in 3-space. It introduces discrete combinatorial analysis in knot theory in order to solve a global tetrahedron equation. This new technique is then used to construct combinatorial 1-cocycles in a certain moduli space of knot diagrams. The construction of the moduli space makes use of the meridian and the longitude of the knot. The combinatorial 1-cocycles are therefore lifts of the well-known Conway polynomial of knots, and they can be calculated in polynomial time. The 1-cocycles can distinguish loops consisting of knot diagrams in the moduli space up to homology. They give knot invariants when they are evaluated on canonical loops in the connected components of the moduli space. They are a first candidate for numerical knot invariants which can perhaps distinguish the orientation of knots.

Written by leading experts in the field, this monograph provides homotopy theoretic foundations for surgery theory on higher-dimensional manifolds. Presenting classical ideas in a modern framework, the authors carefully highlight how their results relate to (and generalize) existing results in the literature. The central result of the book expresses algebraic surgery theory in terms of the geometric Hopf invariant, a construction in stable homotopy theory which captures the double points of immersions. Many illustrative examples and applications of the abstract results are included in the book, making it of wide interest to topologists. Serving as a valuable reference, this work is aimed at graduate students and researchers interested in understanding how the algebraic and geometric topology fit together in the surgery theory of manifolds. It is the only book providing such a wide-ranging historical approach to the Hopf invariant, double points and surgery theory, withmany results old and new.

This volume is concerned with algebraic invariants, such as the Stiefel-Whitney classes of quadratic forms (with values in Galois cohomology mod 2) and the trace form of étale algebras (with values in the Witt ring). The invariants are analogues for Galois cohomology of the characteristic classes of topology. Historically, one of the first examples of cohomological invariants of the type considered here was the Hasse-Witt invariant of quadratic forms. The first part classifies such invariants in several cases. A principal tool is the notion of versal torsor, which is an analogue of the universal bundle in topology. The second part gives Rost's determination of the invariants of $G$-torsors with values in $H^3(\mathbb{Q}/\mathbb{Z}(2))$, when $G$ is a semisimple, simply connected, linear group. This part gives detailed proofs of the existence and basic properties of the Rost invariant. This is the first time that most of this material appears in print.

This book is about the computational aspects of invariant theory. Of central interest is the question how the invariant ring of a given group action can be calculated. Algorithms for this purpose form the main pillars around which the book is built. There are two introductory chapters, one on Gröbner basis methods and one on the basic concepts of invariant theory, which prepare the ground for the algorithms. Then algorithms for computing invariants of finite and reductive groups are discussed. Particular emphasis lies on interrelations between structural properties of invariant rings and computational methods. Finally, the book contains a chapter on applications of invariant theory, covering fields as disparate as graph theory, coding theory, dynamical systems, and computer vision.The book is intended for postgraduate students as well as researchers in geometry, computer algebra, and, of course, invariant theory. The text is enriched with numerous explicit examples which illustrate the theory and should be of more than passing interest.More than ten years after the first publication of the book, the second edition now provides a major update and covers many recent developments in the field. Among the roughly 100 added pages there are two appendices, authored by Vladimir Popov, and an addendum by Norbert A'Campo and Vladimir Popov.

With hundreds of worked examples, exercises and illustrations, this detailed exposition of the theory of Vassiliev knot invariants opens the field to students with little or no knowledge in this area. It also serves as a guide to more advanced material. The book begins with a basic and informal introduction to knot theory, giving many examples of knot invariants before the class of Vassiliev invariants is introduced. This is followed by a detailed study of the algebras of Jacobi diagrams and 3-graphs, and the construction of functions on these algebras via Lie algebras. The authors then describe two constructions of a universal invariant with values in the algebra of Jacobi diagrams: via iterated integrals and via the Drinfeld associator, and extend the theory to framed knots. Various other topics are then discussed, such as Gauss diagram formulae, before the book ends with Vassiliev's original construction.

This book serves as a reference on links and on the invariants derived via algebraic topology from covering spaces of link exteriors. It emphasizes the features of the multicomponent case not normally considered by knot-theorists, such as longitudes, the homological complexity of many-variable Laurent polynomial rings, the fact that links are not usually boundary links, free coverings of homology boundary links, the lower central series as a source of invariants, nilpotent completion and algebraic closure of the link group, and disc links. Invariants of the types considered here play an essential role in many applications of knot theory to other areas of topology.This second edition introduces two new chapters — twisted polynomial invariants and singularities of plane curves. Each replaces brief sketches in the first edition. Chapter 2 has been reorganized, and new material has been added to four other chapters.

The first part of this book provides a self-contained and accessible introduction to the subject in the general setting of pseudo-Riemannian manifolds and their non-degenerate submanifolds, only assuming from the reader some basic knowledge about manifold theory. A number of recent results on pseudo-Riemannian submanifolds are also included.The second part of this book is on δ-invariants, which was introduced in the early 1990s by the author. The famous Nash embedding theorem published in 1956 was aimed for, in the hope that if Riemannian manifolds could be regarded as Riemannian submanifolds, this would then yield the opportunity to use extrinsic help. However, this hope had not been materialized as pointed out by M Gromov in his 1985 article published in Asterisque. The main reason for this is the lack of control of the extrinsic invariants of the submanifolds by known intrinsic invariants. In order to overcome such difficulties, as well as to provide answers for an open question on minimal immersions, the author introduced in the early 1990s new types of Riemannian invariants, known as δ-invariants, which are very different in nature from the classical Ricci and scalar curvatures. At the same time he was able to establish general optimal relations between δ-invariants and the main extrinsic invariants. Since then many new results concerning these δ-invariants have been obtained by many geometers. The second part of this book is to provide an extensive and comprehensive survey over this very active field of research done during the last two decades.

This monograph, now in its second revised edition, provides a systematic treatment of topological quantum field theories in three dimensions, inspired by the discovery of the Jones polynomial of knots, the Witten-Chern-Simons field theory, and the theory of quantum groups. The author, one of the leading experts in the subject, gives a rigorous and self-contained exposition of fundamental algebraic and topological concepts that emerged in this theory.

Symmetry is a key ingredient in many mathematical, physical, and biological theories. Using representation theory and invariant theory to analyze the symmetries that arise from group actions, and with strong emphasis on the geometry and basic theory of Lie groups and Lie algebras, Symmetry, Representations, and Invariants is a significant reworking of an earlier highly-acclaimed work by the authors. The result is a comprehensive introduction to Lie theory, representation theory, invariant theory, and algebraic groups, in a new presentation that is more accessible to students and includes a broader range of applications. The philosophy of the earlier book is retained, i.e., presenting the principal theorems of representation theory for the classical matrix groups as motivation for the general theory of reductive groups. The wealth of examples and discussion prepares the reader for the complete arguments now given in the general case. Key Features of Symmetry, Representations, and Invariants: (1) Early chapters suitable for honors undergraduate or beginning graduate courses, requiring only linear algebra, basic abstract algebra, and advanced calculus; (2) Applications to geometry (curvature tensors), topology (Jones polynomial via symmetry), and combinatorics (symmetric group and Young tableaux); (3) Self-contained chapters, appendices, comprehensive bibliography; (4) More than 350 exercises (most with detailed hints for solutions) further explore main concepts; (5) Serves as an excellent main text for a one-year course in Lie group theory; (6) Benefits physicists as well as mathematicians as a reference work.

This volume concerns invariants of $G$-torsors with values in mod $p$ Galois cohomology—in the sense of Serre's lectures in the book Cohomological invariants in Galois cohomology—for various simple algebraic groups $G$ and primes $p$. The author determines the invariants for the exceptional groups $F_4$ mod 3, simply connected $E_6$ mod 3, $E_7$ mod 3, and $E_8$ mod 5. He also determines the invariants of $\mathrm{Spin}_n$ mod 2 for $n \leq 12$ and constructs some invariants of $\mathrm{Spin}_{14}$. Along the way, the author proves that certain maps in nonabelian cohomology are surjective. These surjectivities give as corollaries Pfister's results on 10- and 12-dimensional quadratic forms and Rost's theorem on 14-dimensional quadratic forms. This material on quadratic forms and invariants of $\mathrm{Spin}_n$ is based on unpublished work of Markus Rost. An appendix by Detlev Hoffmann proves a generalization of the Common Slot Theorem for 2-Pfister quadratic forms.

The homology of manifolds enjoys a remarkable symmetry: Poincaré duality. If the manifold is triangulated, then this duality can be established by associating to a s- plex its dual block in the barycentric subdivision. In a manifold, the dual block is a cell, so the chain complex based on the dual blocks computes the homology of the manifold. Poincaré duality then serves as a cornerstone of manifold classi cation theory. One reason is that it enables the de nition of a fundamental bordism inva- ant, the signature. Classifying manifolds via the surgery program relies on modifying a manifold by executing geometric surgeries. The trace of the surgery is a bordism between the original manifold and the result of surgery. Since the signature is a b- dism invariant, it does not change under surgery and is thus a basic obstruction to performing surgery. Inspired by Hirzebruch's signature theorem, a method of Thom constructs characteristic homology classes using the bordism invariance of the s- nature. These classes are not in general homotopy invariants and consequently are ne enough to distinguish manifolds within the same homotopy type. Singular spaces do not enjoy Poincaré duality in ordinary homology. After all, the dual blocks are not cells anymore, but cones on spaces that may not be spheres. This book discusses when, and how, the invariants for manifolds described above can be established for singular spaces.

This unique book deals with the theory of Rozansky-Witten invariants, introduced by L Rozansky and E Witten in 1997. It covers the latest developments in an area where research is still very active and promising. With a chapter on compact hyper-Kähler manifolds, the book includes a detailed discussion on the applications of the general theory to the two main example series of compact hyper-Kähler manifolds: the Hilbert schemes of points on a K3 surface and the generalized Kummer varieties.

This book is intended as a reference on links and on the invariants derived via algebraic topology from covering spaces of link exteriors. It emphasizes features of the multicomponent case not normally considered by knot theorists, such as longitudes, the homological complexity of many-variable Laurent polynomial rings, free coverings of homology boundary links, the fact that links are not usually boundary links, the lower central series as a source of invariants, nilpotent completion and algebraic closure of the link group, and disc links. Invariants of the types considered here play an essential role in many applications of knot theory to other areas of topology.

This book provides an extensive and self-contained presentation of quantum and related invariants of knots and 3-manifolds. Polynomial invariants of knots, such as the Jones and Alexander polynomials, are constructed as quantum invariants, i.e. invariants derived from representations of quantum groups and from the monodromy of solutions to the Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov equation. With the introduction of the Kontsevich invariant and the theory of Vassiliev invariants, the quantum invariants become well-organized. Quantum and perturbative invariants, the LMO invariant, and finite type invariants of 3-manifolds are discussed. The Chern-Simons field theory and the Wess-Zumino-Witten model are described as the physical background of the invariants.

This invaluable monograph has arisen in part from E Witten's lectures on topological quantum field theory in the spring of 1989 at Princeton University. At that time Witten unified several important mathematical works in terms of quantum field theory, most notably the Donaldson polynomial, the Gromov-Floer homology and the Jones polynomials.In his lectures, among other things, Witten explained his intrinsic three-dimensional construction of Jones polynomials via Chern-Simons gauge theory. He provided both a rigorous proof of the geometric quantization of the Chern-Simons action and a very illuminating view as to how the quantization arises from quantization of the space of connections. He constructed a projective flat connection for the Hilbert space bundle over the space of complex structures, which becomes the Knizhik-Zamolodchikov equations in a special case. His construction leads to many beautiful applications, such as the derivation of the skein relation and the surgery formula for knot invariant, a proof of Verlinde's formula, and the establishment of a connection with conformal field theory.In this book, Sen Hu has added material to provide some of the details left out of Witten's lectures and to update some new developments. In Chapter 4 he presents a construction of knot invariant via representation of mapping class groups based on the work of Moore-Seiberg and Kohno. In Chapter 6 he offers an approach to constructing knot invariant from string theory and topological sigma models proposed by Witten and Vafa. The localization principle is a powerful tool to build mathematical foundations for such cohomological quantum field theories.In addition, some highly relevant material by S S Chern and E Witten has been included as appendices for the convenience of readers: (1) Complex Manifold without Potential Theory by S S Chern, pp148-154. (2) “Geometric quantization of Chern-Simons gauge theory” by S Axelrod, S D Pietra and E Witten. (3) “On holomorphic factorization of WZW and Coset models” by E Witten.

In the spring of 1985, A. Casson announced an interesting invariant of homology 3-spheres via constructions on representation spaces. This invariant generalizes the Rohlin invariant and gives surprising corollaries in low-dimensional topology. In the fall of that same year, Selman Akbulut and John McCarthy held a seminar on this invariant. These notes grew out of that seminar. The authors have tried to remain close to Casson's original outline and proceed by giving needed details, including an exposition of Newstead's results. They have often chosen classical concrete approaches over general methods. For example, they did not attempt to give gauge theory explanations for the results of Newstead; instead they followed his original techniques.Originally published in 1990.The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

This book offers a self-contained account of the 3-manifold invariants arising from the original Jones polynomial. These are the Witten-Reshetikhin-Turaev and the Turaev-Viro invariants. Starting from the Kauffman bracket model for the Jones polynomial and the diagrammatic Temperley-Lieb algebra, higher-order polynomial invariants of links are constructed and combined to form the 3-manifold invariants. The methods in this book are based on a recoupling theory for the Temperley-Lieb algebra. This recoupling theory is a q-deformation of the SU(2) spin networks of Roger Penrose. The recoupling theory is developed in a purely combinatorial and elementary manner. Calculations are based on a reformulation of the Kirillov-Reshetikhin shadow world, leading to expressions for all the invariants in terms of state summations on 2-cell complexes. Extensive tables of the invariants are included. Manifolds in these tables are recognized by surgery presentations and by means of 3-gems (graph encoded 3-manifolds) in an approach pioneered by Sostenes Lins. The appendices include information about gems, examples of distinct manifolds with the same invariants, and applications to the Turaev-Viro invariant and to the Crane-Yetter invariant of 4-manifolds.

This book describes an invariant, l, of oriented rational homology 3-spheres which is a generalization of work of Andrew Casson in the integer homology sphere case. Let R(X) denote the space of conjugacy classes of representations of p(X) into SU(2). Let (W,W,F) be a Heegaard splitting of a rational homology sphere M. Then l(M) is declared to be an appropriately defined intersection number of R(W) and R(W) inside R(F). The definition of this intersection number is a delicate task, as the spaces involved have singularities. A formula describing how l transforms under Dehn surgery is proved. The formula involves Alexander polynomials and Dedekind sums, and can be used to give a rather elementary proof of the existence of l. It is also shown that when M is a Z-homology sphere, l(M) determines the Rochlin invariant of M.