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Topological and bivariant K-theory. (English) Zbl 1139.19001

Oberwolfach Seminars 36. Basel: Birkhäuser (ISBN 978-3-7643-8398-5/pbk). xi, 262 p. (2007).
Publisher’s summary: “Topological \(K\)-theory is one of the most important invariants for noncommutative algebras equipped with a suitable topology. Bott periodicity, homotopy invariance, and various long exact sequences distinguish it from algebraic \(K\)-theory. This book describes a bivariant \(K\)-theory for bornological algebras, which provides a vast generalization of topological \(K\)-theory. In addition, it details other approaches to bivariant \(K\)-theories for operator algebras. The book studies a number of applications, including \(K\)-theory of crossed products, the Baum-Connes assembly map, twisted \(K\)-theory with some if its applications, and some variants of the Atiyah-Singer index theorem.”
The book is some review of new trends in the subjects, but it seems to be difficult for beginners: the review of the BDF theory (Chapter 8) and its classical applications to the spectral theory, to the group \(C^*\)-algebras and to the theory of pseudodifferential operators, before the cyclic theories appeared is not enough clarified; Chapter 11 is too short. Maybe the reader could not imagine the importance of the operator \(K\)-theories in the classical applications and in the new application like \(T\)-duality and mirror symmetry in physics.

MSC:

19-02 Research exposition (monographs, survey articles) pertaining to \(K\)-theory
46L80 \(K\)-theory and operator algebras (including cyclic theory)
46L85 Noncommutative topology
58J20 Index theory and related fixed-point theorems on manifolds
81T75 Noncommutative geometry methods in quantum field theory
19Cxx Steinberg groups and \(K_2\)
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