The most important invariant of a topological space is its fundamental group. When this is trivial, the resulting homotopy theory is well researched and familiar. In the general case, however, homotopy theory over nontrivial fundamental groups is much more problematic and far less well understood. Syzygies and Homotopy Theory explores the problem of nonsimply connected homotopy in the first nontrivial cases and presents, for the first time, a systematic rehabilitation of Hilbert's method of syzygies in the context of non-simply connected homotopy theory. The first part of the book is theoretical, formulated to allow a general finitely presented group as a fundamental group. The innovation here is to regard syzygies as stable modules rather than minimal modules. Inevitably this forces a reconsideration of the problems of noncancellation; these are confronted in the second, practical, part of the book. In particular, the second part of the book considers how the theory works out in detail for the specific examples Fn ́F where Fn is a free group of rank n and F is finite. Another innovation is to parametrize the first syzygy in terms of the more familiar class of stably free modules. Furthermore, detailed description of these stably free modules is effected by a suitable modification of the method of Milnor squares. The theory developed within this book has potential applications in various branches of algebra, including homological algebra, ring theory and K-theory. Syzygies and Homotopy Theory will be of interest to researchers and also to graduate students with a background in algebra and algebraic topology.

The talks given at the Arolla Conference on Algebraic Topology covered a broad spectrum of current research in homotopy theory, offering participants the possibility to sample and relish selected morsels of homotopy theory, much as a participant in a wine tasting partakes of a variety of fine wines. True to the spirit of the conference, the proceedings included in this volume present a savory sampler of homotopical delicacies. Readers will find within these pages a compilation of articles describing current research in the area, including classical stable and unstable homotopy theory, configuration spaces, group cohomology, K-theory, localization, p-compact groups, and simplicial theory.

The central theme of this book is an exposition of the geometric technique of calculating syzygies. It is written from a point of view of commutative algebra, and without assuming any knowledge of representation theory the calculation of syzygies of determinantal varieties is explained. The starting point is a definition of Schur functors, and these are discussed from both an algebraic and geometric point of view. Then a chapter on various versions of Bott's Theorem leads on to a careful explanation of the technique itself, based on a description of the direct image of a Koszul complex. Applications to determinantal varieties follow, plus there are also chapters on applications of the technique to rank varieties for symmetric and skew symmetric tensors of arbitrary degree, closures of conjugacy classes of nilpotent matrices, discriminants and resultants. Numerous exercises are included to give the reader insight into how to apply this important method.

The D(2) problem is a fundamental problem in low dimensional topology. In broad terms, it asks when a three-dimensional space can be continuously deformed into a two-dimensional space without changing the essential algebraic properties of the spaces involved.The problem is parametrized by the fundamental group of the spaces involved; that is, each group G has its own D(2) problem whose difficulty varies considerably with the individual nature of G.This book solves the D(2) problem for a large, possibly infinite, number of finite metacyclic groups G(p, q). Prior to this the author had solved the D(2) problem for the groups G(p, 2). However, for q > 2, the only previously known solutions were for the groups G(7, 3), G(5, 4) and G(7, 6), all done by difficult direct calculation by two of the author's students, Jonathan Remez (2011) and Jason Vittis (2019).The method employed is heavily algebraic and involves precise analysis of the integral representation theory of G(p, q). Some noteworthy features are a new cancellation theory of modules (Chapters 10 and 11) and a simplified treatment (Chapters 5 and 12) of the author's theory of Swan homomorphisms.

This book is based on talks presented at the Summer School on Interactions between Homotopy theory and Algebra held at the University of Chicago in the summer of 2004. The goal of this book is to create a resource for background and for current directions of research related to deep connections between homotopy theory and algebra, including algebraic geometry, commutative algebra, and representation theory. The articles in this book are aimed at the audience of beginning researchers with varied mathematical backgrounds and have been written with both the quality of exposition and the accessibility to novices in mind.

This book leads readers from a basic foundation to an advanced level understanding of geometry in advanced pure mathematics. Chapter by chapter, readers will be led from a foundation level understanding to advanced level understanding. This is the perfect text for graduate or PhD mathematical-science students looking for support in algebraic geometry, geometric group theory, modular group, holomorphic dynamics and hyperbolic geometry, syzygies and minimal resolutions, and minimal surfaces.Geometry in Advanced Pure Mathematics is the fourth volume of the LTCC Advanced Mathematics Series. This series is the first to provide advanced introductions to mathematical science topics to advanced students of mathematics. Edited by the three joint heads of the London Taught Course Centre for PhD Students in the Mathematical Sciences (LTCC), each book supports readers in broadening their mathematical knowledge outside of their immediate research disciplines while also covering specialized key areas.

This volume records the lectures given at a conference to celebrate Professor Ioan James' 60th birthday.