Homology theory is a powerful algebraic tool that is at the centre of current research in topology and its applications. This accessible textbook will appeal to mathematics students interested in the application of algebra to geometrical problems, specifically the study of surfaces (sphere, torus, Mobius band, Klein bottle). In this introduction to simplicial homology - the most easily digested version of homology theory - the author studies interesting geometrical problems, such as the structure of two-dimensional surfaces and the embedding of graphs in surfaces, using the minimum of algebraic machinery and including a version of Lefschetz duality. Assuming very little mathematical knowledge, the book provides a complete account of the algebra needed (abelian groups and presentations), and the development of the material is always carefully explained with proofs given in full detail. Numerous examples and exercises are also included, making this an ideal text for undergraduate courses
Homology theory is a powerful algebraic tool that is at the centre of current research in topology and its applications. This accessible textbook will appeal to mathematics students interested in the application of algebra to geometrical problems, specifically the study of surfaces (sphere, torus, Mobius band, Klein bottle). In this introduction to simplicial homology - the most easily digested version of homology theory - the author studies interesting geometrical problems, such as the structure of two-dimensional surfaces and the embedding of graphs in surfaces, using the minimum of algebraic machinery and including a version of Lefschetz duality. Assuming very little mathematical knowledge, the book provides a complete account of the algebra needed (abelian groups and presentations), and the development of the material is always carefully explained with proofs given in full detail. Numerous examples and exercises are also included, making this an ideal text for undergraduate courses
Numbers are part of our everyday experience and their properties have fascinated mankind since ancient times. Deciding whether a number is prime and if not, what its factors are, are both fundamental problems. In recent years analysis and solution of these problems have assumed commercial significance since large primes are an essential feature of secure methods of information transmission. The purely mathematical fascination that led to the development of methods for primality testing has been supplemented by the need to test within reasonable timescales, and computational methods have entered at all levels of number theory. In this book, Peter Giblin describes, in the context of an introduction to the theory of numbers, some of the more elementary methods for factorization and primality testing; that is, methods independent of a knowledge of other areas of mathematics. Indeed everything is developed from scratch so the mathematical prerequisites are minimal. An essential feature of
This monograph considers a basic problem in the computer analysis of natural images, which are images of scenes involving multiple objects that are obtained by a camera lens or a viewer’s eye. The goa
Flora of the Pacific Northwest, first published in 1973, became an instant classic for its innovative style of providing species descriptions in the identification keys, and for its comprehensive illu
