Erschienen in:Ergebnisse der Mathematik und ihrer Grenzgebiete, A Series of Modern Surveys in Mathematics ; 44 Ergebnisse der Mathematik und ihrer Grenzgebiete. 3. Folge / A Series of Modern Surveys in Mathematics ; 44 SpringerLink ; Bücher Springer eBook Collection ; Mathematics and Statistics
Beschreibung:
In algebraic topology some classical invariants - such as Betti numbers and Reidemeister torsion - are defined for compact spaces and finite group actions. They can be generalized using von Neumann algebras and their traces, and applied also to non-compact spaces and infinite groups. These new L2-invariants contain very interesting and novel information and can be applied to problems arising in topology, K-Theory, differential geometry, non-commutative geometry and spectral theory. It is particularly these interactions with different fields that make L2-invariants very powerful and exciting. The book presents a comprehensive introduction to this area of research, as well as its most recent results and developments. It is written in a way which enables the reader to pick out a favourite topic and to find the result she or he is interested in quickly and without being forced to go through other material