Writing Small Omegas: Elie Cartan's Contributions to the Theory of Continuous Groups 1894-1926

by Alberto Cogliati

Overview

Writing Small Omegas: Elie Cartan's Contributions to the Theory of Continuous Groups 1894-1926 provides a general account of Lie’s theory of finite continuous groups, critically examining Cartan’s doctoral attempts to rigorously classify simple Lie algebras, including the use of many unpublished letters. It evaluates pioneering attempts to generalize Lie's classical ideas to the infinite-dimensional case in the works of Lie, Engel, Medolaghi and Vessiot. Within this context, Cartan’s groundbreaking contributions in continuous group theory, particularly in his characteristic and unique recourse to exterior differential calculus, are introduced and discussed at length.

The work concludes by discussing Cartan’s contributions to the structural theory of infinite continuous groups, his method of moving frames, and the genesis of his geometrical theory of Lie groups.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780128142448
Publisher:	Elsevier Science
Publication date:	10/24/2017
Series:	Studies in the History of Mathematical Inquiry
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Alberto Cogliati, currently Assistant Professor at the Department of Mathematics ‘F. Enriques’ of the Università degli Studi di Milano. He received his PhD in March 2012 discussing Cartan’s structural approach to the theory of continuous groups of transformations. His main research interest is the history of 19th-20th mathematics, especially differential geometry, the history of Lie groups and the theory of connections.

Table of Contents

1. Lie on the backstage2. Cartan’s doctoral dissertation3. Infinite Continuous Groups 1883-19024. Exterior Differential Systems5. Cartan’s Theory (1902-1909)6. The method of moving frames7. The geometry of continuous groups8. Conclusion

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

Presents Élie Cartan’s seminal contributions to the theory of continuous groups, including the origins of his celebrated method of moving frames

Editorial Reviews

"This is necessarily a very heavily mathematical book, which nevertheless manages to balance the need for such detail with an awareness of the historical context - great effort appears to have been taken, for example, to ensure that Cartan’s mathematics is interpreted on his terms, rather than in a modern way. The referencing throughout is sufficiently detailed to enable the reader to follow up on any points of interest, and a comprehensive index makes the book easy to navigate. This is an extremely valuable contribution to the study of the history of modern mathematics." —Zentralblatt Math

From the Publisher