This volume contains the proceedings of the Workshop on Homotopy Theory of Function Spaces and Related Topics, which was held at the Mathematisches Forschungsinstitut Oberwolfach, in Germany, from April 5-11, 2009. This volume contains fourteen original research articles covering a broad range of topics that include: localization and rational homotopy theory, evaluation subgroups, free loop spaces, Whitehead products, spaces of algebraic maps, gauge groups, loop groups, operads, and string topology. In addition to reporting on various topics in the area, this volume is supposed to facilitate the exchange of ideas within Homotopy Theory of Function Spaces, and promote cross-fertilization between Homotopy Theory of Function Spaces and other areas. With these latter aims in mind, this volume includes a survey article which, with its extensive bibliography, should help bring researchers and graduate students up to speed on activity in this field as well as a problems list, which is an expanded and edited version of problems discussed in sessions held at the conference. The problems list is intended to suggest directions for future work.

North-Holland Mathematics Studies, 15: Localization of Nilpotent Groups and Spaces focuses on the application of localization methods to nilpotent groups and spaces. The book first discusses the localization of nilpotent groups, including localization theory of nilpotent groups, properties of localization in N, further properties of localization, actions of a nilpotent group on an abelian group, and generalized Serre classes of groups. The book then examines homotopy types, as well as mixing of homotopy types, localizing H-spaces, main (pullback) theorem, quasifinite nilpotent spaces, localization of nilpotent complexes, and nilpotent spaces. The manuscript takes a look at the applications of localization theory, including genus and H-spaces, finite H-spaces, and non-cancellation phenomena. The publication is a vital source of data for mathematicians and researchers interested in the localization of nilpotent groups and spaces.

In this monograph we give an exposition of some recent development in homotopy theory. It relates to advances in periodicity in homotopy localization and in cellular spaces. The notion of homotopy localization is treated quite generally and encompasses all the known idempotent homotopy functors. It is applied to K-theory localizations, to Morava-theories, to Hopkins-Smith theory of types. The method of homotopy colimits is used heavily. It is written with an advanced graduate student in topology and research homotopy theorist in mind.