The 1998-1999 programme year of the Japan-U.S. Mathematics Institute at the Johns Hopkins University, USA was devoted to minimal surfaces, geometric analysis, and symplectic geometry. The programme culminated in a week-long workshop and conference to discuss developments. This volume is a collection of articles written by the speakers. It presents extended or modified versions of the lectures delivered at the meeting. Each article provides a vivid account of contemporary research, with the information given ranging from introductory level to the most up-to-date results. Of special interest is a long survey article by K. Fukaya on applications of Floer homology to mirror symmetry. Also discussed are developments on the geometry of constant mean curvature one surfaces in hyperbolic 3-spaces of finite total curvature. The range of topics covered in the volume provides direction for further research in these rapidly developing areas. The book should be suitable for graduate students and researchers interested in differential and symplectic geometry.

These notes describe a general procedure for calculating the Betti numbers of the projective quotient varieties that geometric invariant theory associates to reductive group actions on nonsingular complex projective varieties. These quotient varieties are interesting in particular because of their relevance to moduli problems in algebraic geometry. The author describes two different approaches to the problem. One is purely algebraic, while the other uses the methods of symplectic geometry and Morse theory, and involves extending classical Morse theory to certain degenerate functions.

The goal of these notes is to provide a fast introduction to symplectic geometry for graduate students with some knowledge of differential geometry, de Rham theory and classical Lie groups. This text addresses symplectomorphisms, local forms, contact manifolds, compatible almost complex structures, Kaehler manifolds, hamiltonian mechanics, moment maps, symplectic reduction and symplectic toric manifolds. It contains guided problems, called homework, designed to complement the exposition or extend the reader's understanding. There are by now excellent references on symplectic geometry, a subset of which is in the bibliography of this book. However, the most efficient introduction to a subject is often a short elementary treatment, and these notes attempt to serve that purpose. This text provides a taste of areas of current research and will prepare the reader to explore recent papers and extensive books on symplectic geometry where the pace is much faster. For this reprint numerous corrections and clarifications have been made, and the layout has been improved.

The primary goal of this 2003 book is to give a brief introduction to the main ideas of algebraic and geometric invariant theory. It assumes only a minimal background in algebraic geometry, algebra and representation theory. Topics covered include the symbolic method for computation of invariants on the space of homogeneous forms, the problem of finite-generatedness of the algebra of invariants, the theory of covariants and constructions of categorical and geometric quotients. Throughout, the emphasis is on concrete examples which originate in classical algebraic geometry. Based on lectures given at University of Michigan, Harvard University and Seoul National University, the book is written in an accessible style and contains many examples and exercises. A novel feature of the book is a discussion of possible linearizations of actions and the variation of quotients under the change of linearization. Also includes the construction of toric varieties as torus quotients of affine spaces.

This monograph could be used for a graduate course on symplectic geometry as well as for independent study. The monograph starts with an introduction of symplectic vector spaces, followed by symplectic manifolds and then Hamiltonian group actions and the Darboux theorem. After discussing moment maps and orbits of the coadjoint action, symplectic quotients are studied. The convexity theorem and toric manifolds come next and we give a comprehensive treatment of Equivariant cohomology. The monograph also contains detailed treatment of the Duistermaat-Heckman Theorem, geometric quantization, and flat connections on 2-manifolds. Finally, there is an appendix which provides background material on Lie groups. A course on differential topology is an essential prerequisite for this course. Some of the later material will be more accessible to readers who have had a basic course on algebraic topology. For some of the later chapters, it would be helpful to have some background on representation theory and complex geometry.

Recent developments are covered Contains over 100 figures and 250 exercises Includes complete proofs

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.