In this text, the author presents a general framework for applying the standard methods from homotopy theory to the category of smooth schemes over a reasonable base scheme $k$. He defines the homotopy category $h(\mathcal{E} k)$ of smooth $k$-schemes and shows that it plays the same role for smooth $k$-schemes as the classical homotopy category plays for differentiable varieties. It is shown that certain expected properties are satisfied, for example, concerning the algebraic$K$-theory of those schemes. In this way, advanced methods of algebraic topology become available in modern algebraic geometry.

This book is based on lectures given at a summer school on motivic homotopy theory at the Sophus Lie Centre in Nordfjordeid, Norway, in August 2002. Aimed at graduate students in algebraic topology and algebraic geometry, it contains background material from both of these fields, as well as the foundations of motivic homotopy theory. It will serve as a good introduction as well as a convenient reference for a broad group of mathematicians to this important and fascinating new subject. Vladimir Voevodsky is one of the founders of the theory and received the Fields medal for his work, and the other authors have all done important work in the subject.

This book presents a coherent account of the current status of etale homotopy theory, a topological theory introduced into abstract algebraic geometry by M. Artin and B. Mazur. Eric M. Friedlander presents many of his own applications of this theory to algebraic topology, finite Chevalley groups, and algebraic geometry. Of particular interest are the discussions concerning the Adams Conjecture, K-theories of finite fields, and Poincare duality. Because these applications have required repeated modifications of the original formulation of etale homotopy theory, the author provides a new treatment of the foundations which is more general and more precise than previous versions. One purpose of this book is to offer the basic techniques and results of etale homotopy theory to topologists and algebraic geometers who may then apply the theory in their own work. With a view to such future applications, the author has introduced a number of new constructions (function complexes, relative homology and cohomology, generalized cohomology) which have immediately proved applicable to algebraic K-theory.

Grothendieck’s beautiful theory of schemes permeates modern algebraic geometry and underlies its applications to number theory, physics, and applied mathematics. This simple account of that theory emphasizes and explains the universal geometric concepts behind the definitions. In the book, concepts are illustrated with fundamental examples, and explicit calculations show how the constructions of scheme theory are carried out in practice.

This book is a general introduction to Higher Algebraic K-groups of rings and algebraic varieties, which were first defined by Quillen at the beginning of the 70's. These K-groups happen to be useful in many different fields, including topology, algebraic geometry, algebra and number theory. The goal of this volume is to provide graduate students, teachers and researchers with basic definitions, concepts and results, and to give a sampling of current directions of research. Written by five specialists of different parts of the subject, each set of lectures reflects the particular perspective ofits author. As such, this volume can serve as a primer (if not as a technical basic textbook) for mathematicians from many different fields of interest.

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.

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