Representation Theory: A First Course

William Fulton; Joe Harris

ISBN 10: 0387974954 / ISBN 13: 9780387974958

Published by Springer-Verlag, 1991

About this Item

Corners slightly scuffed. Clean, tight copy otherwise.

Seller Inventory # 1135509

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Representation Theory: A First Course
• Publisher: Springer-Verlag
• Publication Date: 1991
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0387974954
• ISBN 13: 9780387974958
• Binding: softcover
• Condition: very good
• Dust Jacket Condition: no jacket
• Seller catalogs:
  • Mathematics

About this title

Synopsis

The primary goal of these lectures is to introduce a beginner to the finite­ dimensional representations of Lie groups and Lie algebras. Since this goal is shared by quite a few other books, we should explain in this Preface how our approach differs, although the potential reader can probably see this better by a quick browse through the book. Representation theory is simple to define: it is the study of the ways in which a given group may act on vector spaces. It is almost certainly unique, however, among such clearly delineated subjects, in the breadth of its interest to mathematicians. This is not surprising: group actions are ubiquitous in 20th century mathematics, and where the object on which a group acts is not a vector space, we have learned to replace it by one that is {e. g. , a cohomology group, tangent space, etc. }. As a consequence, many mathematicians other than specialists in the field {or even those who think they might want to be} come in contact with the subject in various ways. It is for such people that this text is designed. To put it another way, we intend this as a book for beginners to learn from and not as a reference. This idea essentially determines the choice of material covered here. As simple as is the definition of representation theory given above, it fragments considerably when we try to get more specific.

Review

"...displays a novel approach to its subject matter... genuinely informative... skillfully worked and interspersed with novel observations" -- BULLETIN OF THE IRISH MATHEMATICAL SOCIETY

"...this textbook is an outstanding example of didactic mastery, and it serves the purpose of the series ‘Readings in Mathematics’ in a perfect manner." -- ZENTRALBLATT MATH