Lie Groups: A Problem Oriented Introduction via Matrix Groups

This textbook is a complete introduction to Lie groups for undergraduate students. The only prerequisites are multi-variable calculus and linear algebra. The emphasis is placed on the algebraic ideas, with just enough analysis to define the tangent space and the differential and to make sense of the exponential map. This textbook works on the principle that students learn best when they are actively engaged. To this end nearly 200 problems are included in the text, ranging from the routine to the challenging level. Every chapter has a section called 'Putting the pieces together' in which all definitions and results are collected for reference and further reading is suggested.

Harriet Pollatsek was a mathematics major at the University of Michigan and stayed on for her Ph.D. She is currently the Julia and Sarah Ann Adams Professor of Mathematics at Mount Holyoke College, where she has been since 1970.

She has been awarded the Mount Holyoke College Teaching Award and the Association for Women in Mathematics' Louis Hay Award for contributions to mathematics education.