Lectures on the Topology of 3-Manifolds by Nikolai Saveliev - 9783110250350

Lectures on the Topology of 3-ManifoldsAn Introduction to the Casson Invariant\nAuthor(s): Nikolai Saveliev\nFormat: Hardback\nPublisher: De Gruyter, Germany\nImprint: De Gruyter\nISBN-13: 9783110250350, 978-3110250350\nSynopsis\nProgress in low-dimensional topology has been very quick in the last three decades, leading to the solutions of many difficult problems. Among the earlier highlights of this period was Casson's ?-invariant that was instrumental in proving the vanishing of the Rohlin invariant of homotopy 3-spheres. The proof of the three-dimensional Poincar conjecture has rendered this application moot but hardly made Casson's contribution less relevant: in fact, a lot of modern day topology, including a multitude of Floer homology theories, can be traced back to his ?-invariant.\n\n The principal goal of this book, now in its second revised edition, remains providing an introduction to the low-dimensional topology and Casson's theory; it also reaches out, when appropriate, .