Topology and Analysis: The Atiyah-Singer Index Formula and Gauge-Theoretic Physics (Universitext)

The Motivation. With intensified use of mathematical ideas, the methods and techniques of the various sciences and those for the solution of practical problems demand of the mathematician not only greater readi­ ness for extra-mathematical applications but also more comprehensive orientations within mathematics. In applications, it is frequently less important to draw the most far-reaching conclusions from a single mathe­ matical idea than to cover a subject or problem area tentatively by a proper "variety" of mathematical theories. To do this the mathematician must be familiar with the shared as weIl as specific features of differ­ ent mathematical approaches, and must have experience with their inter­ connections. The Atiyah-Singer Index Formula, "one of the deepest and hardest results in mathematics", "probably has wider ramifications in topology and analysis than any other single result" (F. Hirzebruch) and offers perhaps a particularly fitting example for such an introduction to "Mathematics": In spi te of i ts difficulty and immensely rich interrela­ tions, the realm of the Index Formula can be delimited, and thus its ideas and methods can be made accessible to students in their middle * semesters. In fact, the Atiyah-Singer Index Formula has become progressively "easier" and "more transparent" over the years. The discovery of deeper and more comprehensive applications (see Chapter 111. 4) brought with it, not only a vigorous exploration of its methods particularly in the many­ facetted and always new presentations of the material by M. F. The Motivation. With intensified use of mathematical ideas, the methods and techniques of the various sciences and those for the solution of practical problems demand of the mathematician not only greater readiƯ ness for extra-mathematical applications but also more comprehensive orientations within mathematics. In applications, it is frequently less important to draw the most far-reaching conclusions from a single matheƯ matical idea than to cover a subject or problem area tentatively by a proper "variety" of mathematical theories. To do this the mathematician must be familiar with the shared as weIl as specific features of differƯ ent mathematical approaches, and must have experience with their interƯ connections. The Atiyah-Singer Index Formula, "one of the deepest and hardest results in mathematics", "probably has wider ramifications in topology and analysis than any other single result" (F. Hirzebruch) and offers perhaps a particularly fitting example for such an introduction to "Mathematics": In spi te of i ts difficulty and immensely rich interrelaƯ tions, the realm of the Index Formula can be delimited, and thus its ideas and methods can be made accessible to students in their middle * semesters. In fact, the Atiyah-Singer Index Formula has become progressively "easier" and "more transparent" over the years. The discovery of deeper and more comprehensive applications (see Chapter 111. 4) brought with it, not only a vigorous exploration of its methods particularly in the manyƯ facetted and always new presentations of the material by M.F The Atiyah-Singer Index Formula is a deep and important result of mathematics which is known for its difficulty as well as for its applicability to a number of seemingly disparate subjects. This book is the first attempt to render this work more accessible to beginners in the field. It begins with the study of the neccessary topics in functional analysis and analysis on manifolds, and is as self-contained as possible. The third part presents the index formula and three proofs; the cobordism proof, the imbedding proof, and the heat equations proof. A section is included which surveys some of the many applications of the index formula, among them the theorem of Riemann-Roch-Hirzebruch. For this first English edition, a chapter on the applications of the Atiyah-Singer Index Formula to gauge theory has been added. This chapter also contains a discussion of Donaldson's theorem.