A Guide to the Classification Theorem for Compact Surfaces
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 First edition | |
| Author | Jean Gallier, Dianna Xu |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Series | Geometry and Computing |
| Genre | Mathematics |
| Publisher | Springer-Verlag |
Publication date | 2013 |
| ISBN | 978-3-642-34363-6 |
A Guide to the Classification Theorem for Compact Surfaces is a textbook in topology, on the classification of two-dimensional surfaces. It was written by Jean Gallier and Dianna Xu, and published in 2013 by Springer-Verlag as volume 9 of their Geometry and Computing series (doi:10.1007/978-3-642-34364-3, ISBN 978-3-642-34363-6). The Basic Library List Committee of the Mathematical Association of America has recommended its inclusion in undergraduate mathematics libraries.[1]
The classification of surfaces (more formally, compact two-dimensional manifolds without boundary) can be stated very simply, as it depends only on the Euler characteristic and orientability of the surface. An orientable surface of this type must be topologically equivalent (homeomorphic) to a sphere, torus, or more general handlebody, classified by its number of handles. A non-orientable surface must be equivalent to a projective plane, Klein bottle, or more general surface characterized by an analogous number, its number of cross-caps. For compact surfaces with boundary, the only extra information needed is the number of boundary components.[1] This result is presented informally at the start of the book, as the first of its six chapters. The rest of the book presents a more rigorous formulation of the problem, a presentation of the topological tools needed to prove the result, and a formal proof of the classification.[2][3]
Other topics in topology discussed as part of this presentation include simplicial complexes, fundamental groups, simplicial homology and singular homology, and the Poincaré conjecture. Appendices include additional material on embeddings and self-intersecting mappings of surfaces into three-dimensional space such as the Roman surface, the structure of finitely generated abelian groups, general topology, the history of the classification theorem, and the Hauptvermutung (the theorem that every surface can be triangulated).[2]
