The present textbook is a somewhat expanded version of the material of a three-semester course I gave in Bochum. It attempts a synthesis of geometric and analytic methods in the study of Riemannian manifolds. In the first chapter, we introduce the basic geometric concepts, like dif ferentiable manifolds, tangent spaces, vector bundles, vector fields and one parameter groups of diffeomorphisms, Lie algebras and groups and in par ticular Riemannian metrics. We also derive some elementary results about geodesics. The second chapter introduces de Rham cohomology groups and the es sential tools from elliptic PDE for treating these groups. In later chapters, we shall encounter nonlinear versions of the methods presented here. The third chapter treats the general theory of connections and curvature. In the fourth chapter, we introduce Jacobi fields, prove the Rauch com parison theorems for Jacobi fields and apply these results to geodesics. These first four chapters treat the more elementary and basic aspects of the subject. Their results will be used in the remaining, more advanced chapters that are essentially independent of each other. In the fifth chapter, we develop Morse theory and apply it to the study of geodesics. The sixth chapter treats symmetric spaces as important examples of Rie mannian manifolds in detail.

This is a comprehensive exposition of topics covered by the American Mathematical Society’s classification “Global Analysis , dealing with modern developments in calculus expressed using abstract terminology. It will be invaluable for graduate students and researchers embarking on advanced studies in mathematics and mathematical physics.This book provides a comprehensive coverage of modern global analysis and geometrical mathematical physics, dealing with topics such as; structures on manifolds, pseudogroups, Lie groupoids, and global Finsler geometry; the topology of manifolds and differentiable mappings; differential equations (including ODEs, differential systems and distributions, and spectral theory); variational theory on manifolds, with applications to physics; function spaces on manifolds; jets, natural bundles and generalizations; and non-commutative geometry. - Comprehensive coverage of modern global analysis and geometrical mathematical physics- Written by world-experts in the field- Up-to-date contents

The first of three parts comprising Volume 54, the proceedings of the Summer Research Institute on Differential Geometry, held at the University of California, Los Angeles, July 1990 (ISBN for the set is 0-8218-1493-1). Part 1 begins with a problem list by S.T. Yau, successor to his 1980 list ( Sem

This monograph treats variational problems for mappings from a surface equipped with a conformal structure into Euclidean space or a Riemannian manifold. Presents a general theory of such variational problems, proving existence and regularity theorems with particular conceptual emphasis on the geometric aspects of the theory and thorough investigation of the connections with complex analysis. Among the topics covered are: Plateau's problem, the regularity theory of solutions, a variational approach for obtaining various conformal representation theorems, a general existence theorem for harmonic mappings, and a new approach to Teichmuller theory via harmonic maps.

In the framework of the "Annee non lineaire" (the special nonlinear year) sponsored by the C.N.R.S. (the French National Center for Scien tific Research), a meeting was held in Paris in June 1988. It took place in the Conference Hall of the Ministere de la Recherche and had as an organizing theme the topic of "Variational Problems." Nonlinear analysis has been one of the leading themes in mathemat ical research for the past decade. The use of direct variational methods has been particularly successful in understanding problems arising from physics and geometry. The growth of nonlinear analysis is largely due to the wealth of ap plications from various domains of sciences and industrial applica tions. Most of the papers gathered in this volume have their origin in applications: from mechanics, the study of Hamiltonian systems, from physics, from the recent mathematical theory of liquid crystals, from geometry, relativity, etc. Clearly, no single volume could pretend to cover the whole scope of nonlinear variational problems. We have chosen to concentrate on three main aspects of these problems, organizing them roughly around the following topics: 1. Variational methods in partial differential equations in mathemat ical physics 2. Variational problems in geometry 3. Hamiltonian systems and related topics.

The third of three parts comprising Volume 54, the proceedings of the Summer Research Institute on Differential Geometry, held at the University of California, Los Angeles, July 1990 (ISBN for the set is 0-8218-1493-1). Part 3 begins with an overview by R.E. Greene of some recent trends in Riemannia