Informally, $K$-theory is a tool for probing the structure of a mathematical object such as a ring or a topological space in terms of suitably parameterized vector spaces and producing important intrinsic invariants which are useful in the study of algebr

Algebraic K-Theory is crucial in many areas of modern mathematics, especially algebraic topology, number theory, algebraic geometry, and operator theory. This text is designed to help graduate students in other areas learn the basics of K-Theory and get a feel for its many applications. Topics include algebraic topology, homological algebra, algebraic number theory, and an introduction to cyclic homology and its interrelationship with K-Theory.

Algebraic K-theory encodes important invariants for several mathematical disciplines, spanning from geometric topology and functional analysis to number theory and algebraic geometry. As is commonly encountered, this powerful mathematical object is very hard to calculate. Apart from Quillen's calculations of finite fields and Suslin's calculation of algebraically closed fields, few complete calculations were available before the discovery of homological invariants offered by motivic cohomology and topological cyclic homology. This book covers the connection between algebraic K-theory and Bökstedt, Hsiang and Madsen's topological cyclic homology and proves that the difference between the theories are ‘locally constant’. The usefulness of this theorem stems from being more accessible for calculations than K-theory, and hence a single calculation of K-theory can be used with homological calculations to obtain a host of ‘nearby’ calculations in K-theory. For instance, Quillen's calculation of the K-theory of finite fields gives rise to Hesselholt and Madsen's calculations for local fields, and Voevodsky's calculations for the integers give insight into the diffeomorphisms of manifolds. In addition to the proof of the full integral version of the local correspondence between K-theory and topological cyclic homology, the book provides an introduction to the necessary background in algebraic K-theory and highly structured homotopy theory; collecting all necessary tools into one common framework. It relies on simplicial techniques, and contains an appendix summarizing the methods widely used in the field. The book is intended for graduate students and scientists interested in algebraic K-theory, and presupposes a basic knowledge of algebraic topology.

The book focuses on the relation between transformation groups and algebraic K-theory. The general pattern is to assign to a geometric problem an invariant in an algebraic K-group which determines the problem. The algebraic K-theory of modules over a category is studied extensively and appplied to the fundamental category of G-space. Basic details of the theory of transformation groups sometimes hard to find in the literature, are collected here (Chapter I) for the benefit of graduate students. Chapters II and III contain advanced new material of interest to researchers working in transformation groups, algebraic K-theory or related fields.

From the Introduction: "These notes are taken from a course on algebraic K-theory [given] at the University of Chicago in 1967. They also include some material from an earlier course on abelian categories, elaborating certain parts of Gabriel's thesis. The results on K-theory are mostly of a very general nature."

This is an introduction to algebraic K-theory with no prerequisite beyond a first semester of algebra (including Galois theory and modules over a principal ideal domain). The presentation is almost entirely self-contained, and is divided into short sections with exercises to reinforce the ideas and suggest further lines of inquiry. No experience with analysis, geometry, number theory or topology is assumed. Within the context of linear algebra, K-theory organises and clarifies the relations among ideal class groups, group representations, quadratic forms, dimensions of a ring, determinants, quadratic reciprocity and Brauer groups of fields. By including introductions to standard algebra topics (tensor products, localisation, Jacobson radical, chain conditions, Dedekind domains, semi-simple rings, exterior algebras), the author makes algebraic K-theory accessible to first-year graduate students and other mathematically sophisticated readers. Even if your algebra is rusty, you can read this book; the necessary background is here, with proofs.