Algebraic Topology (MAST90023)

This subject studies topological spaces and continuous maps between them. It demonstrates the power of topological methods in dealing with problems involving shape and position of objects and continuous mappings, and shows how topology can be applied to many areas, including geometry, analysis, group theory and physics. The aim is to reduce questions in topology to problems in algebra by introducing algebraic invariants associated to spaces and continuous maps. Important classes of spaces studied are manifolds (locally Euclidean spaces) and CW complexes (built by gluing together cells of various dimensions). Topics include: homotopy of maps and homotopy equivalence of spaces, homotopy groups of spaces, the fundamental group, covering spaces; homology theory, including singular homology theory, the axiomatic approach of Eilenberg and Steenrod, and cellular homology.