This volume deals with the K-theoretical aspects of the group rings of braid groups of the 2-sphere. The lower algebraic K-theory of the finite subgroups of these groups up to eleven strings is computed using a wide variety of tools. Many of the techniques extend to the general case, and the results reveal new K-theoretical phenomena with respect to the previous study of other families of groups. The second part of the manuscript focusses on the case of the 4-string braid group of the 2-sphere, which is shown to be hyperbolic in the sense of Gromov. This permits the computation of the infinite maximal virtually cyclic subgroups of this group and their conjugacy classes, and applying the fact that this group satisfies the Fibred Isomorphism Conjecture of Farrell and Jones, leads to an explicit calculation of its lower K-theory. Researchers and graduate students working in K-theory and surface braid groups will constitute the primary audience of the manuscript, particularly those interested in the Fibred Isomorphism Conjecture, and the computation of Nil groups and the lower algebraic K-groups of group rings. The manuscript will also provide a useful resource to researchers who wish to learn the techniques needed to calculate lower algebraic K-groups, and the bibliography brings together a large number of references in this respect.

This manuscript is devoted to classifying the isomorphism classes of the virtually cyclic subgroups of the braid groups of the 2-sphere. As well as enabling us to understand better the global structure of these groups, it marks an important step in the computation of the K-theory of their group rings. The classification itself is somewhat intricate, due to the rich structure of the finite subgroups of these braid groups, and is achieved by an in-depth analysis of their group-theoretical and topological properties, such as their centralisers, normalisers and cohomological periodicity. Another important aspect of our work is the close relationship of the braid groups with mapping class groups. This manuscript will serve as a reference for the study of braid groups of low-genus surfaces, and isaddressed to graduate students and researchers in low-dimensional, geometric and algebraic topology and in algebra. ​

The Farrell-Jones isomorphism conjecture in algebraic K-theory offers a description of the algebraic K-theory of a group using a generalized homology theory. In cases where the conjecture is known to be a theorem, it gives a powerful method for computing the lower algebraic K-theory of a group. This book contains a computation of the lower algebraic K-theory of the split three-dimensional crystallographic groups, a geometrically important class of three-dimensional crystallographic group, representing a third of the total number. The book leads the reader through all aspects of the calculation. The first chapters describe the split crystallographic groups and their classifying spaces. Later chapters assemble the techniques that are needed to apply the isomorphism theorem. The result is a useful starting point for researchers who are interested in the computational side of the Farrell-Jones isomorphism conjecture, and a contribution to the growing literature in the field.

This volume presents the proceedings of the Joint Summer Research Conference on Algebraic K-theory held at the University of Washington in Seattle. High-quality surveys are written by leading experts in the field. Included is an up-to-date account of Voevodsky's proof of the Milnor conjecture relating the Milnor K-theory of fields to Galois cohomology. The book is intended for graduate students and research mathematicians interested in $K$-theory, algebraic geometry, and number theory.

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.

A NATO Advanced Study Institute entitled "Algebraic K-theory: Connections with Geometry and Topology" was held at the Chateau Lake Louise, Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada from December 7 to December 11 of 1987. This meeting was jointly supported by NATO and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, and was sponsored in part by the Canadian Mathematical Society. This book is the volume of proceedings for that meeting. Algebraic K-theory is essentially the study of homotopy invariants arising from rings and their associated matrix groups. More importantly perhaps, the subject has become central to the study of the relationship between Topology, Algebraic Geometry and Number Theory. It draws on all of these fields as a subject in its own right, but it serves as well as an effective translator for the application of concepts from one field in another. The papers in this volume are representative of the current state of the subject. They are, for the most part, research papers which are primarily of interest to researchers in the field and to those aspiring to be such. There is a section on problems in this volume which should be of particular interest to students; it contains a discussion of the problems from Gersten's well-known list of 1973, as well as a short list of new problems.