Spherical, hyperbolic, and other projective geometries: convexity, duality, transitions (Q2418621)

This is an overview about differential geometric aspects of diverse non-Euclidean geometries, including spherical, hyperbolic, Euclidean, Minkowski, and de Sitter geometry and their duals. Starting with a vector space and a possibly degenerate quadratic form, the general theory over the corresponding projective space is laid out. Only then, the intricacies of diverse sub-geometries are treated. The aim is not encyclopedic comprehensiveness but conveying important ideas, often at hand of prototypical geometries. An important aspect throughout is the passage from regular model spaces (spherical, hyperbolic) to degenerate cases (Euclidean, Minkowski) via suitable limiting processes (``geometric transition''). \par The individual sections and subsections cover topics like convexity and duality, Levi-Civita connections and volume forms, infinitesimal Pogorelov maps, including their interpretation in terms of infinitesimal flexibility, and the differential geometry of surfaces in non-Euclidean 3-spaces. \par With few exceptions, no claim of originality is made. Indeed, one will be able to provide references (possibly rather old and often not in English language) for most statements. The main virtue of this text rather lies in its unified treatment of numerous classical results in modern language and notation, a carefully selected list of references with emphasis on more recent and accessible literature, and its striving for readability with emphasis on explanation and motivation. This makes it a valuable introduction to non-Euclidean differential geometry. For the entire collection see [Zbl 1412.51001].