M382D Differential Topology

Unique: #56065
Semester: Spring 2012
Lecture: MWF 1-2, RLM 12.166

Professor: Robert Gompf, RLM 12.150
Office hours: MF11-12, W10-11. Exam week: M 5/7 1:30-2:30
Home: (512) 418-8857
E-mail: gompf@math.utexas.edu

Course description and prerequisites

syllabus (same as Differential Topology Prelim syllabus)

Text: Guillemin and Pollack, Differential Topology. Recently republished by AMS Chelsea Publishing (2010). Much of the homework will be from GP.

Homework will be collected Friday mornings at the beginning of class (or immediately if you arrive late that day). If you can't attend that day, you can slip the paper under my door before noon on the due date. Late papers will not be accepted. HW#14 will be assigned but not collected.

Your current grade data is available on Blackboard .
Midterm exam: Wed. March 7, 5-7PM, RLM 5.118. Covers material through HW#6.
Final exam as officially scheduled: Friday May 11, 9-noon, RLM 5.126. Emphasis will be on material not covered by the midterm.
Course grades will be determined by homework (30%), midterm (30%) and final exam (40%). Attendance will not be included. Plus/minus grades will be used as needed.

Approximate schedule of lectures:
Background and GP Chapter 1: 13 lectures
Abstract manifolds (not in Euclidean space) and projective spaces: 5 lectures
GP 2.1-4 (transversality and mod 2 intersection theory): 7 lectures
GP 3.1-5 (oriented intersection theory, Lefschetz theory, vector fields), flows: 10 lectures
GP 4.1-8 (differential forms and integration) 9 lectures

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