No label defined (Q4040562)

This textbook belongs to the remarkable series ``Lectures on geometry'' created by the famous mathematician M. Postnikov, professor of Moscow University. All the volumes in the series are written with great methodical mastery; while reading them, a beginner can study fundamental facts in detail and, at the same time, acquires a good impression of the modern situation in geometry. [For other volumes see Zbl 0477.51002 (Vol. I), Zbl 0486.51001 (Vol. II), Zbl 0639.53001 (Vol. III).] Also a specialist may enjoy reading these textbooks. The main topic of this volume is the theory of connection in vector bundles, but many other pieces of geometry are touched too. The first lectures are devoted to the theory of coverings. Then principal and vector bundles are constructed and the theory of connections is considered up to the theorem of Ambrose-Singer and physical applications (instantons). Simultaneously the necessary facts from the theory of Lie groups are proved. At the end the K-functor and Hopf's invariant are studied. Interesting examples and exercises supplement the text.