Ebook: Morse Homology

1.1 Background The subject of this book is Morse homology as a combination of relative Morse theory and Conley's continuation principle. The latter will be useda s an instrument to express the homology encoded in a Morse complex associated to a fixed Morse function independent of this function. Originally, this type of Morse-theoretical tool was developed by Andreas Floer in order to find a proof of the famous Arnold conjecture, whereas classical Morse theory turned out to fail in the infinite-dimensional setting. In this framework, the homological variant of Morse theory is also known as Floer homology. This kind of homology theory is the central topic of this book. But first, it seems worthwhile to outline the standard Morse theory. 1.1.1 Classical Morse Theory The fact that Morse theory can be formulated in a homological way is by no means a new idea. The reader is referred to the excellent survey paper by Raoul Bott [Bol.

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This book presents a link between modern analysis and topology. Based upon classical Morse theory it develops the finite dimensional analogue of Floer homology which, in the recent years, has come to play a significant role in geometry. Morse homology naturally arises from the gradient dynamical system associated with a Morse function. The underlying chain complex, already considered by Thom, Smale, Milnor and Witten, analogously forms the basic ingredient of Floer's homology theory. This concept of relative Morse theory in combination with Conley's continuation principle lends itself to an axiomatic homology functor. The present approach consistenly employs analytic methods in strict analogy with the construction of Floers homology groups. That is a calculus for certain nonlinear Fredholm operators on Banach manifolds which here are curve spaces and within which the solution sets form the focal moduli spaces. The book offers a systematic and comprehensive presentation of the analysis of these moduli spaces. All theorems within this analytic schedule comprising Fredholm theory, regularity and compactness results, gluing and orientation analysis, together with their proofs and pre-requisite material, are examined here in detail. This exposition thus brings a methodological insight into present-day analysis.

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This book presents a link between modern analysis and topology. Based upon classical Morse theory it develops the finite dimensional analogue of Floer homology which, in the recent years, has come to play a significant role in geometry. Morse homology naturally arises from the gradient dynamical system associated with a Morse function. The underlying chain complex, already considered by Thom, Smale, Milnor and Witten, analogously forms the basic ingredient of Floer's homology theory. This concept of relative Morse theory in combination with Conley's continuation principle lends itself to an axiomatic homology functor. The present approach consistenly employs analytic methods in strict analogy with the construction of Floers homology groups. That is a calculus for certain nonlinear Fredholm operators on Banach manifolds which here are curve spaces and within which the solution sets form the focal moduli spaces. The book offers a systematic and comprehensive presentation of the analysis of these moduli spaces. All theorems within this analytic schedule comprising Fredholm theory, regularity and compactness results, gluing and orientation analysis, together with their proofs and pre-requisite material, are examined here in detail. This exposition thus brings a methodological insight into present-day analysis.

Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-ix
Introduction....Pages 1-19
The Trajectory Spaces....Pages 21-101
Orientation....Pages 103-132
Morse Homology Theory....Pages 133-198
Extensions....Pages 199-206
Back Matter....Pages 207-236

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This book presents a link between modern analysis and topology. Based upon classical Morse theory it develops the finite dimensional analogue of Floer homology which, in the recent years, has come to play a significant role in geometry. Morse homology naturally arises from the gradient dynamical system associated with a Morse function. The underlying chain complex, already considered by Thom, Smale, Milnor and Witten, analogously forms the basic ingredient of Floer's homology theory. This concept of relative Morse theory in combination with Conley's continuation principle lends itself to an axiomatic homology functor. The present approach consistenly employs analytic methods in strict analogy with the construction of Floers homology groups. That is a calculus for certain nonlinear Fredholm operators on Banach manifolds which here are curve spaces and within which the solution sets form the focal moduli spaces. The book offers a systematic and comprehensive presentation of the analysis of these moduli spaces. All theorems within this analytic schedule comprising Fredholm theory, regularity and compactness results, gluing and orientation analysis, together with their proofs and pre-requisite material, are examined here in detail. This exposition thus brings a methodological insight into present-day analysis.

Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-ix
Introduction....Pages 1-19
The Trajectory Spaces....Pages 21-101
Orientation....Pages 103-132
Morse Homology Theory....Pages 133-198
Extensions....Pages 199-206
Back Matter....Pages 207-236
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