Algebraic Topology: An Introduction

ALGEBRAIC TOPOLOGY: An Introduction starts with the combinatorial definition of simplicial (co) homology and its main properties (including duality for homology manifolds). Then the geometrical facet of (co) homology via bordism theory is sketched and it is shown that the corresponding theory for pseudomanifolds coincides with the homology obtained from the singular chain complex. The classical applications of (co) homology theory are included. Degree and fixed-point theory are presented with their extensions to infinite dimensional spaces. The book also contains a geometric approach to the Hurewicz theorem relating homology and homotopy. The last chapter exploits the algebraic invariants introduced in the book to give in detail the homotopical classification of the three-dimensional lens spaces. Each chapter concludes with a generous list of exercises and problems; many of them contain hints for their solution. Some groups of problems introduce a topic not included in the basic core of the book.