In this paper the authors start with the construction of the symplectic field theory (SFT). As a general theory of symplectic invariants, SFT has been outlined in Introduction to symplectic field theory (2000), by Y. Eliashberg, A. Givental and H. Hofer who have predicted its formal properties. The actual construction of SFT is a hard analytical problem which will be overcome be means of the polyfold theory due to the present authors. The current paper addresses a significant amount of the arising issues and the general theory will be completed in part II of this paper. To illustrate the polyfold theory the authors use the results of the present paper to describe an alternative construction of the Gromov-Witten invariants for general compact symplectic manifolds.

This book pioneers a nonlinear Fredholm theory in a general class of spaces called polyfolds. The theory generalizes certain aspects of nonlinear analysis and differential geometry, and combines them with a pinch of category theory to incorporate local symmetries. On the differential geometrical side, the book introduces a large class of `smooth’ spaces and bundles which can have locally varying dimensions (finite or infinite-dimensional). These bundles come with an important class of sections, which display properties reminiscent of classical nonlinear Fredholm theory and allow for implicit function theorems. Within this nonlinear analysis framework, a versatile transversality and perturbation theory is developed to also cover equivariant settings. The theory presented in this book was initiated by the authors between 2007-2010, motivated by nonlinear moduli problems in symplectic geometry. Such problems are usually described locally as nonlinear elliptic systems, and they have to be studied up to a notion of isomorphism. This introduces symmetries, since such a system can be isomorphic to itself in different ways. Bubbling-off phenomena are common and have to be completely understood to produce algebraic invariants. This requires a transversality theory for bubbling-off phenomena in the presence of symmetries. Very often, even in concrete applications, geometric perturbations are not general enough to achieve transversality, and abstract perturbations have to be considered. The theory is already being successfully applied to its intended applications in symplectic geometry, and should find applications to many other areas where partial differential equations, geometry and functional analysis meet. Written by its originators, Polyfold and Fredholm Theory is an authoritative and comprehensive treatise of polyfold theory. It will prove invaluable for researchers studying nonlinear elliptic problems arising in geometric contexts.

This book contains a series of chapters by leading researchers and practitioners on community engagement approaches in the field of counterterrorism and counterinsurgency. It presents existing and emerging community engagement models in various parts of the world which could serve as effective models for governments keen to work with community leaders to manage and reduce the terrorist threat. The book emphasizes the strength of communities as central to government approaches in countering violent extremism.

The method of using the moduli space of pseudo-holomorphic curves on a symplectic manifold was introduced by Mikhail Gromov in 1985. From the appearance of Gromov's original paper until today this approach has been the most important tool in global symplectic geometry. To produce numerical invariants of these manifolds using this method requires constructing a fundamental cycle associated with moduli spaces. This volume brings together three approaches to constructing the “virtual” fundamental cycle for the moduli space of pseudo-holomorphic curves. All approaches are based on the idea of local Kuranishi charts for the moduli space. Workers in the field will get a comprehensive understanding of the details of these constructions and the assumptions under which they can be made. These techniques and results will be essential in further applications of this approach to producing invariants of symplectic manifolds.

We show that the local system of orientations on the moduli space of J-holomorphic maps from a bordered Riemann surface is isomorphic to the pull-back of a local system defined on the product of the Lagrangian and its free loop space. The latter is defined using only the first and second Stiefel-Whitney classes of the Lagrangian. In the presence of an anti-symplectic involution, whose fixed locus is a relatively spin Lagrangian, we define open Gromov-Witten type invariants in genus zero.

The main goal of this book is to establish the fundamental theorems of the subject in full and rigourous detail. In particular, the book contains complete proofs of Gromov's compactness theorem for spheres, of the gluing theorem for spheres, and of the associatively of quantum multiplication in the semipositive case. The book can also serve as an introduction to current work in symplectic topology.

The package of Gromov’s pseudo-holomorphic curves is a major tool in global symplectic geometry and its applications, including mirror symmetry and Hamiltonian dynamics. The Kuranishi structure was introduced by two of the authors of the present volume in the mid-1990s to apply this machinery on general symplectic manifolds without assuming any specific restrictions. It was further amplified by this book’s authors in their monograph Lagrangian Intersection Floer Theory and in many other publications of theirs and others. Answering popular demand, the authors now present the current book, in which they provide a detailed, self-contained explanation of the theory of Kuranishi structures. Part I discusses the theory on a single space equipped with Kuranishi structure, called a K-space, and its relevant basic package. First, the definition of a K-space and maps to the standard manifold are provided. Definitions are given for fiber products, differential forms, partitions of unity, and the notion of CF-perturbations on the K-space. Then, using CF-perturbations, the authors define the integration on K-space and the push-forward of differential forms, and generalize Stokes' formula and Fubini's theorem in this framework. Also, “virtual fundamental class” is defined, and its cobordism invariance is proved. Part II discusses the (compatible) system of K-spaces and the process of going from “geometry” to “homological algebra”. Thorough explanations of the extension of given perturbations on the boundary to the interior are presented. Also explained is the process of taking the “homotopy limit” needed to handle a system of infinitely many moduli spaces. Having in mind the future application of these chain level constructions beyond those already known, an axiomatic approach is taken by listing the properties of the system of the relevant moduli spaces and then a self-contained account of the construction of the associated algebraic structures is given. This axiomatic approach makes the exposition contained here independent of previously published construction of relevant structures.