Table of Contents

1. Introduction; 2. The alternating algebra; 3. De Rham cohomology; 4. Chain complexes and their cohomology; 5. The Mayer-Vietoris sequence; 6. Homotopy; 7. Applications of De Rham cohomology; 8. Smooth manifolds; 9. Differential forms on smooth manifolds; 10. Integration on manifolds; 11. Degree, linking numbers and index of vector fields; 12. The Poincare-Hopf theorem; 13. Poincare duality; 14. The complex projective space CPn; 15. Fiber bundles and vector bundles; 16. Operations on vector bundles and their sections; 17. Connections and curvature; 18. Characteristic classes of complex vector bundles; 19. The Euler class; 20. Cohomology of projective and Grassmanian bundles; 21. Thom isomorphism and the general Gauss-Bonnet formula.

Promotional Information

An introductory textbook on cohomology and curvature with emphasis on applications.

Reviews

'... a self-contained exposition.' L'Enseignement Mathematique 'This is a very fine book. It treats de Rham cohomology in an intellectually rigourous yet accessible manner which makes it ideal for a beginning graduate student. Moreover, it gets beyond the minimal agenda that many authors have set ... A welcome addition.' Mathematika ' ... a very polished completely self-contained introduction to the theory of differential forms ... the book is very well-written ... I recommend the book as an excellent first reading about curvature, cohomology and algebraic topology to anyone interested in these themes from students to active researchers, and especially to those who deliver lectures concerning the mentioned fields.' Acta. Sci. Math. 'The book is written in a precise and clear language, it combines well topics from differential geometry, differential topology and global analysis.' European Mathematical Society