Introduction to Compact Transformation Groups

An advanced monograph on the subject of topological transformation groups, this volume summarizes important research conducted during a period of lively activity in this area of mathematics. The book is of particular note because it represents the culmination of research by authors Deane Montgomery and Leo Zippin, undertaken in collaboration with Andrew Gleason of Harvard University, that led to their solution of a well-known mathematical conjecture, Hilbert's Fifth Problem. The treatment begins with an examination of topological spaces and groups and proceeds to locally compact groups and groups with no small subgroups. Subsequent chapters address approximation by Lie groups and transformation groups, concluding with an exploration of compact transformation groups.

Given a mathematical structure, one of the basic associated mathematical objects is its automorphism group. The object of this book is to give a biased account of automorphism groups of differential geometric struc tures. All geometric structures are not created equal; some are creations of ~ods while others are products of lesser human minds. Amongst the former, Riemannian and complex structures stand out for their beauty and wealth. A major portion of this book is therefore devoted to these two structures. Chapter I describes a general theory of automorphisms of geometric structures with emphasis on the question of when the automorphism group can be given a Lie group structure. Basic theorems in this regard are presented in §§ 3, 4 and 5. The concept of G-structure or that of pseudo-group structure enables us to treat most of the interesting geo metric structures in a unified manner. In § 8, we sketch the relationship between the two concepts. Chapter I is so arranged that the reader who is primarily interested in Riemannian, complex, conformal and projective structures can skip §§ 5, 6, 7 and 8. This chapter is partly based on lec tures I gave in Tokyo and Berkeley in 1965.