Up until recently, Riemannian geometry and basic topology were not included, even by departments or faculties of mathematics, as compulsory subjects in a university-level mathematical education. The standard courses in the classical differential geometry of curves and surfaces which were given instead (and still are given in some places) have come gradually to be viewed as anachronisms. However, there has been hitherto no unanimous agreement as to exactly how such courses should be brought up to date, that is to say, which parts of modern geometry should be regarded as absolutely essential to a modern mathematical education, and what might be the appropriate level of abstractness of their exposition. The task of designing a modernized course in geometry was begun in 1971 in the mechanics division of the Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics of Moscow State University. The subject-matter and level of abstractness of its exposition were dictated by the view that, in addition to the geometry of curves and surfaces, the following topics are certainly useful in the various areas of application of mathematics (especially in elasticity and relativity, to name but two), and are therefore essential: the theory of tensors (including covariant differentiation of them); Riemannian curvature; geodesics and the calculus of variations (including the conservation laws and Hamiltonian formalism); the particular case of skew-symmetric tensors (i. e.

This introduction to modern geometry differs from other books in the field due to its emphasis on applications and its discussion of special relativity as a major example of a non-Euclidean geometry. Additionally, it covers the two important areas of non-Euclidean geometry, spherical geometry and projective geometry, as well as emphasising transformations, and conics and planetary orbits. Much emphasis is placed on applications throughout the book, which motivate the topics, and many additional applications are given in the exercises. It makes an excellent introduction for those who need to know how geometry is used in addition to its formal theory.

The standard university-level text for decades, this volume offers exercises in construction problems, harmonic division, circle and triangle geometry, and other areas. 1952 edition, revised and enlarged by the author.

Elegant exposition of postulation geometry of planes offers rigorous, lucid treatment of coordination of affine and projective planes, set theory, propositional calculus, affine planes with Desargues and Pappus properties, more. 1961 edition.

Engaging, accessible, and extensively illustrated, this brief, but solid introduction to modern geometry describes geometry as it is understood and used by contemporary mathematicians and theoretical scientists. Basically non-Euclidean in approach, it relates geometry to familiar ideas from analytic geometry, staying firmly in the Cartesian plane. It uses the principle geometric concept of congruence or geometric transformation--introducing and using the Erlanger Program explicitly throughout. It features significant modern applications of geometry--e.g., the geometry of relativity, symmetry, art and crystallography, finite geometry and computation. Covers a full range of topics from plane geometry, projective geometry, solid geometry, discrete geometry, and axiom systems. For anyone interested in an introduction to geometry used by contemporary mathematicians and theoretical scientists.

This book offers a unique opportunity to understand the essence of one of the great thinkers of western civilization. A guided reading of Euclid's Elements leads to a critical discussion and rigorous modern treatment of Euclid's geometry and its more recent descendants, with complete proofs. Topics include the introduction of coordinates, the theory of area, history of the parallel postulate, the various non-Euclidean geometries, and the regular and semi-regular polyhedra.

Presents the basics of Riemannian geometry in its modern form as geometry of differentiable manifolds and the important structures on them. This book shows that Riemannian geometry has a great influence to several fundamental areas of modern mathematics and its applications.

Algebraic geometry has benefited enormously from the powerful general machinery developed in the latter half of the twentieth century. The cost has been that much of the research of previous generations is in a language unintelligible to modern workers, in particular, the rich legacy of classical algebraic geometry, such as plane algebraic curves of low degree, special algebraic surfaces, theta functions, Cremona transformations, the theory of apolarity and the geometry of lines in projective spaces. The author's contemporary approach makes this legacy accessible to modern algebraic geometers and to others who are interested in applying classical results. The vast bibliography of over 600 references is complemented by an array of exercises that extend or exemplify results given in the book.

manifolds, transformation groups, and Lie algebras, as well as the basic concepts of visual topology. It was also agreed that the course should be given in as simple and concrete a language as possible, and that wherever practic able the terminology should be that used by physicists. Thus it was along these lines that the archetypal course was taught. It was given more permanent form as duplicated lecture notes published under the auspices of Moscow State University as: Differential Geometry, Parts I and II, by S. P. Novikov, Division of Mechanics, Moscow State University, 1972. Subsequently various parts of the course were altered, and new topics added. This supplementary material was published (also in duplicated form) as Differential Geometry, Part III, by S. P. Novikov and A. T. Fomenko, Division of Mechanics, Moscow State University, 1974. The present book is the outcome of a reworking, re-ordering, and ex tensive elaboration of the above-mentioned lecture notes. It is the authors' view that it will serve as a basic text from which the essentials for a course in modern geometry may be easily extracted. To S. P. Novikov are due the original conception and the overall plan of the book. The work of organizing the material contained in the duplicated lecture notes in accordance with this plan was carried out by B. A. Dubrovin.

Both classical geometry and modern differential geometry have been active subjects of research throughout the 20th century and lie at the heart of many recent advances in mathematics and physics. The underlying motivating concept for the present book is that it offers readers the elements of a modern geometric culture by means of a whole series of visually appealing unsolved (or recently solved) problems that require the creation of concepts and tools of varying abstraction. Starting with such natural, classical objects as lines, planes, circles, spheres, polygons, polyhedra, curves, surfaces, convex sets, etc., crucial ideas and above all abstract concepts needed for attaining the results are elucidated. These are conceptual notions, each built "above" the preceding and permitting an increase in abstraction, represented metaphorically by Jacob's ladder with its rungs: the 'ladder' in the Old Testament, that angels ascended and descended... In all this, the aim of the book is to demonstrate to readers the unceasingly renewed spirit of geometry and that even so-called "elementary" geometry is very much alive and at the very heart of the work of numerous contemporary mathematicians. It is also shown that there are innumerable paths yet to be explored and concepts to be created. The book is visually rich and inviting, so that readers may open it at random places and find much pleasure throughout according their own intuitions and inclinations. Marcel Berger is t he author of numerous successful books on geometry, this book once again is addressed to all students and teachers of mathematics with an affinity for geometry.