Frances Kirwan

“Geometric Invariant Theory” by Mumford/Fogarty (the first edition was published in 1965, a second, enlarged edition appeared in 1982) is the standard reference on applications of invariant theory to the construction of moduli spaces. This third, revised edition has been long awaited for by the mathematical community. It is now appearing in a completely updated and enlarged version with an additional chapter on the moment map by Prof. Frances Kirwan (Oxford) and a fully updated bibliography of work in this area. The book deals firstly with actions of algebraic groups on algebraic varieties, separating orbits by invariants and construction quotient spaces; and secondly with applications of this theory to the construction of moduli spaces. It is a systematic exposition of the geometric aspects of the classical theory of polynomial invariants.

Now more that a quarter of a century old, intersection homology theory has proven to be a powerful tool in the study of the topology of singular spaces, with deep links to many other areas of mathematics, including combinatorics, differential equations, group representations, and number theory. Like its predecessor, An Introduction to Intersection Homology Theory, Second Edition introduces the power and beauty of intersection homology, explaining the main ideas and omitting, or merely sketching, the difficult proofs. It treats both the basics of the subject and a wide range of applications, providing lucid overviews of highly technical areas that make the subject accessible and prepare readers for more advanced work in the area. This second edition contains entirely new chapters introducing the theory of Witt spaces, perverse sheaves, and the combinatorial intersection cohomology of fans. Intersection homology is a large and growing subject that touches on many aspects of topology, geometry, and algebra. With its clear explanations of the main ideas, this book builds the confidence needed to tackle more specialist, technical texts and provides a framework within which to place them.

“Geometric Invariant Theory” by Mumford/Fogarty (the first edition was published in 1965, a second, enlarged edition appeared in 1982) is the standard reference on applications of invariant theory to the construction of moduli spaces. This third, revised edition has been long awaited for by the mathematical community. It is now appearing in a completely updated and enlarged version with an additional chapter on the moment map by Prof. Frances Kirwan (Oxford) and a fully updated bibliography of work in this area. The book deals firstly with actions of algebraic groups on algebraic varieties, separating orbits by invariants and construction quotient spaces; and secondly with applications of this theory to the construction of moduli spaces. It is a systematic exposition of the geometric aspects of the classical theory of polynomial invariants.