Introduction to homotopy theory (Q5894213)

The book under review is an excellent addition to the beginning graduate level offerings in homotopy theory. A distinguishing feature is a thematic focus on Eckmann-Hilton duality. In homotopy theory, the idea of duality provides a useful dictionary in which notions like homotopy groups, fibrations and H-spaces are paired with their duals: cohomology, cofibrations and co-H-spaces. The correspondence is rarely categorical and the dual of an easy theorem may be hard to prove or just false. Thus the idea of duality provides both an important heuristic for the field and a rich source of problems. The author uses Eckmann-Hilton duality as an organizing principle for the exposition. The reader is presumed to have knowledge of introductory algebraic topology. Homology, cohomology and the fundamental group are covered in the appendices. Beyond this, the book is self-contained. The methods of proof are consistently ``geometric'' in nature; the Serre spectral sequence is mentioned but not constructed or used. This choice limits the extent of computations (e.g., the identity \(\pi_{n+1}(S^n) = \mathbb{Z}/2\) for \(n \geq 3\) is proven in an appendix). On the positive side, the book maintains an even level of depth and difficulty throughout. The reader interested in spectral sequences and other advanced topics such as the Hilton-Milnor theorem, the James construction and the Steenrod operations will be well positioned to study these in the standard places. Chapter 1 introduces basic notions of homotopy, CW complexes and the homotopy lifting and extension problem. Chapter 2 then takes up some central examples of duality. Homotopy sets of multiplications and co-multiplications are introduced in a categorical setting along with the notions of homotopy commutativity and associativity and their duals. The special cases of loops and suspensions give rise to the homotopy groups of a space and a first example of the peculiar nature of duality in homotopy theory. The proof that the fundamental group of an H-space is abelian is a formal argument while the dual result, that the fundamental group of a co-H-space is free, requires some intricate group theory. The construction of the Eilenberg-Mac Lane spaces \(K(G, n)\) and their duals, the Moore spaces \(M(G, n)\), lead to the definitions of (homotopical) cohomology groups \(H^n(X; \pi) = [ X, K(G, n)]\) and homotopy groups with coefficients in an abelian group \(\pi_n(X; G) = [M(G, n), X]\) for \(n \geq 2.\) Subsequent chapters continue the theme of studying notions alongside their duals. Fibrations and cofibrations are introduced in Chapter 3 and their (co)-exact sequences with (co)-actions in Chapter 4. In Chapter 5, a variety of applications are deduced including universal coefficient theorems for the groups \(H^n(X; G)\) and \(\pi_n(X; G)\), the Freudenthal suspension theorem as well as some calculations of homotopy groups of Moore spaces, Lie groups and homogeneous spaces. The action of the fundamental group on homotopy sets is carefully detailed in preparation for the proof of the Hurewicz theorem and the construction of Postnikov towers. Chapter 6 introduces homotopy pushouts and pullbacks and contains proofs of the Hurewicz theorem, Serre's theorem on the cohomology exact sequence of a fibration and the Blakers-Massey theorem. In Chapter 7, the decompositions of spaces with respect to homotopy (Postnikov systems) and homology are constructed and compared. Chapter 8 introduces the problem of determining the homotopy set \([X, Y]\) for given spaces \(X\) and \(Y\) and, in particular, the nilpotence of this group when \(Y\) is an H-space. For the latter, L.S. category is defined and the basic identity \(\mathrm{nil}[X, Y] \leq \mathrm{cat}(X)\) is proven for \(Y\) a grouplike space. Finally, Chapter 9 gives a nice introduction to obstruction theory in the framework of homology and homotopy decompositions. Each chapter includes copious, well-chosen exercises. In conclusion, this book offers an attractive option for a course or self-study fitting a niche between the introductory texts of Munkres, Massey and Thatcher and the comprehensive treatments of homotopy theory by Spanier and Whitehead. With its focus on Eckmann-Hilton duality, the book represents a welcome adaptation of the classic lecture notes of \textit{P. J. Hilton} [Homotopy theory and duality. London: Thomas Nelson and Sons, Ltd. (1967; Zbl 0155.50801)] into a full-purpose textbook.