The problem that we are concerned with is the existence and construction of embeddings of a given G-CW complex (G-manifold) in another G-CW complex (G-manifold) having a prescribed homotopy type and a prescribed family of isotropy subgroups.

An advanced treatment of surgery theory for graduate students and researchers Surgery theory, a subfield of geometric topology, is the study of the classifications of manifolds. A Course on Surgery Theory offers a modern look at this important mathematical discipline and some of its applications. In this book, Stanley Chang and Shmuel Weinberger explain some of the triumphs of surgery theory during the past three decades, from both an algebraic and geometric point of view. They also provide an extensive treatment of basic ideas, main theorems, active applications, and recent literature. The authors methodically cover all aspects of surgery theory, connecting it to other relevant areas of mathematics, including geometry, homotopy theory, analysis, and algebra. Later chapters are self-contained, so readers can study them directly based on topic interest. Of significant use to high-dimensional topologists and researchers in noncommutative geometry and algebraic K-theory, A Course on Surgery Theory serves as an important resource for the mathematics community.

In this work we develop an equivariant Sullivan-Wall surgery exact sequence in the category of smooth and locally linear actions of finite groups which satisfy the gap hypothesis. We then apply this machinery to various problems of classifying group actions on manifolds.

Presents an understanding of the sorts of problems one studies in group actions and the methods used to study such problems. This book features articles based upon lectures at the 1983 AMS-IMS-SIAM Joint Summer Research Conference, Group Actions on Manifolds, held at the University of Colorado.

Algebraic topology is a basic part of modern mathematics, and some knowledge of this area is indispensable for any advanced work relating to geometry, including topology itself, differential geometry, algebraic geometry, and Lie groups. This book provides a detailed treatment of algebraic topology both for teachers of the subject and for advanced graduate students in mathematics either specializing in this area or continuing on to other fields. J. Peter May's approach reflects the enormous internal developments within algebraic topology over the past several decades, most of which are largely unknown to mathematicians in other fields. But he also retains the classical presentations of various topics where appropriate. Most chapters end with problems that further explore and refine the concepts presented. The final four chapters provide sketches of substantial areas of algebraic topology that are normally omitted from introductory texts, and the book concludes with a list of suggested readings for those interested in delving further into the field.

This volume presents the proceedings of the Tel Aviv International Topology Conference held during the Special Topology Program at Tel Aviv University. The book is dedicated to Professor Mel Rothenberg on the occasion of his 65th birthday. His contributions to topology are well known-from the early work on triangulations to numerous papers on transformation groups and on geometric and analytic aspects of torsion theory. Current research related to those contributions are reported in this book. Coverage is included on the following topics: vanishing theorems for the Dirac operator, the theory of Reidemeister torsion (including infinite dimensional flat bundles), Nobikov-Shubin invariants of manifolds, topology of group actions, Lusternik-Schnirelman theory for closed 1-forms, finite type invariants of links and 3-manifolds, equivariant cobordisms, equivariant orientations and Thom isomorphisms, and more.

This book provides the theory for stratified spaces, along with important examples and applications, that is analogous to the surgery theory for manifolds. In the first expository account of this field, Weinberger provides topologists with a new way of looking at the classification theory of singular spaces with his original results. Divided into three parts, the book begins with an overview of modern high-dimensional manifold theory. Rather than including complete proofs of all theorems, Weinberger demonstrates key constructions, gives convenient formulations, and shows the usefulness of the technology. Part II offers the parallel theory for stratified spaces. Here, the topological category is most completely developed using the methods of "controlled topology." Many examples illustrating the topological invariance and noninvariance of obstructions and characteristic classes are provided. Applications for embeddings and immersions of manifolds, for the geometry of group actions, for algebraic varieties, and for rigidity theorems are found in Part III. This volume will be of interest to topologists, as well as mathematicians in other fields such as differential geometry, operator theory, and algebraic geometry.