This work consists of two sections on the moduli spaces of vector bundles. The first part tackles the classification of vector bundles on algebraic curves. The author also discusses the construction and elementary properties of the moduli spaces of stable bundles. In particular Le Potier constructs HilbertSHGrothendieck schemes of vector bundles, and treats Mumford's geometric invariant theory. The second part centers on the structure of the moduli space of semistable sheaves on the projective plane. The author sketches existence conditions for sheaves of given rank, and Chern class and construction ideas in the general context of projective algebraic surfaces. Professor Le Potier provides a treatment of vector bundles that will be welcomed by experienced algebraic geometers and novices alike.

The description for this book, Lectures on Vector Bundles over Riemann Surfaces. (MN-6), Volume 6, will be forthcoming.

These lecture notes are intended as an introduction to the methods of classification of holomorphic vector bundles over projective algebraic manifolds X. To be as concrete as possible we have mostly restricted ourselves to the case X = Fn. According to Serre (GAGA) the classification of holomorphic vector bundles is equivalent to the classification of algebraic vector bundles. Here we have used almost exclusively the language of analytic geometry. The book is intended for students who have a basic knowledge of analytic and (or) algebraic geometry. Some funda mental results from these fields are summarized at the beginning. One of the authors gave a survey in the Seminaire Bourbaki 1978 on the current state of the classification of holomorphic vector bundles overFn. This lecture then served as the basis for a course of lectures in Gottingen in the Winter Semester 78/79. The present work is an extended and up-dated exposition of that course. Because of the introductory nature of this book we have had to leave out some difficult topics such as the restriction theorem of Barth. As compensation we have appended to each sec tion a paragraph in which historical remarks are made, further results indicated and unsolved problems presented. The book is divided into two chapters. Each chapter is subdivided into several sections which in turn are made up of a number of paragraphs. Each section is preceeded by a short description of iv its contents.

Holomorphic vector bundles have become objects of interest not only to algebraic and differential geometers and complex analysts but also to low dimensional topologists and mathematical physicists working on gauge theory. This book, which grew out of the author's lectures and seminars in Berkeley and Japan, is written for researchers and graduate students in these various fields of mathematics. Originally published in 1987. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

A novel feature of the book is its integrated approach to algebraic surface theory and the study of vector bundle theory on both curves and surfaces. While the two subjects remain separate through the first few chapters, they become much more tightly interconnected as the book progresses. Thus vector bundles over curves are studied to understand ruled surfaces, and then reappear in the proof of Bogomolov's inequality for stable bundles, which is itself applied to study canonical embeddings of surfaces via Reider's method. Similarly, ruled and elliptic surfaces are discussed in detail, before the geometry of vector bundles over such surfaces is analysed. Many of the results on vector bundles appear for the first time in book form, backed by many examples, both of surfaces and vector bundles, and over 100 exercises forming an integral part of the text. Aimed at graduates with a thorough first-year course in algebraic geometry, as well as more advanced students and researchers in the areas of algebraic geometry, gauge theory, or 4-manifold topology, many of the results on vector bundles will also be of interest to physicists studying string theory.

Coverage includes foundational material as well as current research, authored by top specialists within their fields.

These lecture notes are intended as an introduction to the methods of classi?cation of holomorphic vector bundles over projective algebraic manifolds X. To be as concrete as possible we have mostly restricted ourselves to the case X = P . According to Serre (GAGA) the class- n cation of holomorphic vector bundles is equivalent to the classi?cation of algebraic vector bundles. Here we have used almost exclusively the language of analytic geometry. The book is intended for students who have a basic knowledge of analytic and (or) algebraic geometry. Some fundamental results from these ?elds are summarized at the beginning. One of the authors gave a survey in the S ́eminaire Bourbaki 1978 on the current state of the classi?cation of holomorphic vector bundles over P . This lecture then served as the basis for a course of lectures n in G ̈ottingen in the Winter Semester 78/79. The present work is an extended and up-dated exposition of that course. Because of the - troductory nature of this book we have had to leave out some di?cult topics such as the restriction theorem of Barth. As compensation we have appended to each section a paragraph in which historical remarks are made, further results indicated and unsolved problems presented. The book is divided into two chapters. Each chapter is subdivided into several sections which in turn are made up of a number of pa- graphs. Each section is preceded by a short description of its contents.

These notes are based on the course of lectures I gave at Harvard in the fall of 1964. They constitute a self-contained account of vector bundles and K-theory assuming only the rudiments of point-set topology and linear algebra. One of the features of the treatment is that no use is made of ordinary homology or cohomology theory. In fact, rational cohomology is defined in terms of K-theory.The theory is taken as far as the solution of the Hopf invariant problem and a start is mode on the J-homomorphism. In addition to the lecture notes proper, two papers of mine published since 1964 have been reproduced at the end. The first, dealing with operations, is a natural supplement to the material in Chapter III. It provides an alternative approach to operations which is less slick but more fundamental than the Grothendieck method of Chapter III, and it relates operations and filtration. Actually, the lectures deal with compact spaces, not cell-complexes, and so the skeleton-filtration does not figure in the notes. The second paper provides a new approach to K-theory and so fills an obvious gap in the lecture notes.

This book is a collection of survey articles by the main speakers at the 1993 Durham symposium on vector bundles in algebraic geometry.

The amount of algebraic topology a graduate student specializing in topology must learn can be intimidating. Moreover, by their second year of graduate studies, students must make the transition from understanding simple proofs line-by-line to understanding the overall structure of proofs of difficult theorems. To help students make this transition, the material in this book is presented in an increasingly sophisticated manner. It is intended to bridge the gap between algebraic and geometric topology, both by providing the algebraic tools that a geometric topologist needs and by concentrating on those areas of algebraic topology that are geometrically motivated. Prerequisites for using this book include basic set-theoretic topology, the definition of CW-complexes, some knowledge of the fundamental group/covering space theory, and the construction of singular homology. Most of this material is briefly reviewed at the beginning of the book. The topics discussed by the authors include typical material for first- and second-year graduate courses. The core of the exposition consists of chapters on homotopy groups and on spectral sequences. There is also material that would interest students of geometric topology (homology with local coefficients and obstruction theory) and algebraic topology (spectra and generalized homology), as well as preparation for more advanced topics such as algebraic $K$-theory and the s-cobordism theorem. A unique feature of the book is the inclusion, at the end of each chapter, of several projects that require students to present proofs of substantial theorems and to write notes accompanying their explanations. Working on these projects allows students to grapple with the “big picture”, teaches them how to give mathematical lectures, and prepares them for participating in research seminars. The book is designed as a textbook for graduate students studying algebraic and geometric topology and homotopy theory. It will also be useful for students from other fields such as differential geometry, algebraic geometry, and homological algebra. The exposition in the text is clear; special cases are presented over complex general statements.