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Milnor Number
In mathematics, and particularly singularity theory, the Milnor number, named after John Milnor, is an invariant of a function germ. If ''f'' is a complex-valued holomorphic function germ then the Milnor number of ''f'', denoted ''μ''(''f''), is either a nonnegative integer, or is infinite. It can be considered both a geometric invariant and an algebraic invariant. This is why it plays an important role in algebraic geometry and singularity theory. Algebraic definition Consider a holomorphic complex function germ : f : (\mathbb^n,0) \to (\mathbb,0) \ and denote by \mathcal_n the ring of all function germs (\mathbb^n,0) \to (\mathbb,0). Every level of a function is a complex hypersurface in \mathbb^n, therefore we will call f a hypersurface singularity. Assume it is an isolated singularity: in case of holomorphic mappings we say that a hypersurface singularity f is singular at 0 \in \mathbb^n if its gradient \nabla f is zero at 0 , a singular point is isolated if it is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Singularity Theory
In mathematics, singularity theory studies spaces that are almost manifolds, but not quite. A string can serve as an example of a one-dimensional manifold, if one neglects its thickness. A singularity can be made by balling it up, dropping it on the floor, and flattening it. In some places the flat string will cross itself in an approximate "X" shape. The points on the floor where it does this are one kind of singularity, the double point: one bit of the floor corresponds to more than one bit of string. Perhaps the string will also touch itself without crossing, like an underlined "U". This is another kind of singularity. Unlike the double point, it is not ''stable'', in the sense that a small push will lift the bottom of the "U" away from the "underline". Vladimir Arnold defines the main goal of singularity theory as describing how objects depend on parameters, particularly in cases where the properties undergo sudden change under a small variation of the parameters. These ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Milnor Map
In mathematics, Milnor maps are named in honor of John Milnor, who introduced them to topology and algebraic geometry in his book ''Singular Points of Complex Hypersurfaces'' (Princeton University Press, 1968) and earlier lectures. The most studied Milnor maps are actually fibrations, and the phrase Milnor fibration is more commonly encountered in the mathematical literature. These were introduced to study isolated singularities by constructing numerical invariants related to the topology of a smooth deformation of the singular space. Definition Let f(z_0,\dots,z_n) be a non-constant polynomial function of n+1 complex variables z_0,\dots,z_n where the vanishing locus of :f(z)\ \text\ \frac(z) is only at the origin, meaning the associated variety X = V(f) is not smooth at the origin. Then, for K = X \cap S^_ (a sphere inside \mathbb^ of radius \varepsilon > 0) the Milnor fibrationpg 68 associated to f is defined as the map :\phi\colon (S_\varepsilon^\setminus K) \to S^1\ \text \ x ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deformation Theory
In mathematics, deformation theory is the study of infinitesimal conditions associated with varying a solution ''P'' of a problem to slightly different solutions ''P''ε, where ε is a small number, or a vector of small quantities. The infinitesimal conditions are the result of applying the approach of differential calculus to solving a problem with constraints. The name is an analogy to non-rigid structures that deform slightly to accommodate external forces. Some characteristic phenomena are: the derivation of first-order equations by treating the ε quantities as having negligible squares; the possibility of ''isolated solutions'', in that varying a solution may not be possible, ''or'' does not bring anything new; and the question of whether the infinitesimal constraints actually 'integrate', so that their solution does provide small variations. In some form these considerations have a history of centuries in mathematics, but also in physics and engineering. For example, in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Birkhäuser
Birkhäuser was a Swiss publisher founded in 1879 by Emil Birkhäuser. It was acquired by Springer Science+Business Media in 1985. Today it is an imprint used by two companies in unrelated fields: * Springer continues to publish science (particularly: history of science, geosciences, computer science) and mathematics books and journals under the Birkhäuser imprint (with a leaf logo) sometimes called Birkhäuser Science. * Birkhäuser Verlag – an architecture and design publishing company was (re)created in 2010 when Springer sold its design and architecture segment to ACTAR. The resulting Spanish-Swiss company was then called ActarBirkhäuser. After a bankruptcy, in 2012 Birkhäuser Verlag was sold again, this time to De Gruyter. Additionally, the Reinach-based printer Birkhäuser+GBC operates independently of the above, being now owned by ''Basler Zeitung''. History The original Swiss publishers program focused on regional literature. In the 1920s the sons of Emil Birkhà ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Morse Theory
In mathematics, specifically in differential topology, Morse theory enables one to analyze the topology of a manifold by studying differentiable functions on that manifold. According to the basic insights of Marston Morse, a typical differentiable function on a manifold will reflect the topology quite directly. Morse theory allows one to find CW structures and handle decompositions on manifolds and to obtain substantial information about their homology. Before Morse, Arthur Cayley and James Clerk Maxwell had developed some of the ideas of Morse theory in the context of topography. Morse originally applied his theory to geodesics ( critical points of the energy functional on the space of paths). These techniques were used in Raoul Bott's proof of his periodicity theorem. The analogue of Morse theory for complex manifolds is Picard–Lefschetz theory. Basic concepts To illustrate, consider a mountainous landscape surface M (more generally, a manifold). If f is the function M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Infinitesimally
In mathematics, an infinitesimal number is a quantity that is closer to zero than any standard real number, but that is not zero. The word ''infinitesimal'' comes from a 17th-century Modern Latin coinage ''infinitesimus'', which originally referred to the " infinity- th" item in a sequence. Infinitesimals do not exist in the standard real number system, but they do exist in other number systems, such as the surreal number system and the hyperreal number system, which can be thought of as the real numbers augmented with both infinitesimal and infinite quantities; the augmentations are the reciprocals of one another. Infinitesimal numbers were introduced in the development of calculus, in which the derivative was first conceived as a ratio of two infinitesimal quantities. This definition was not rigorously formalized. As calculus developed further, infinitesimals were replaced by limits, which can be calculated using the standard real numbers. Infinitesimals regained popular ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Determinant
In mathematics, the determinant is a scalar value that is a function of the entries of a square matrix. It characterizes some properties of the matrix and the linear map represented by the matrix. In particular, the determinant is nonzero if and only if the matrix is invertible and the linear map represented by the matrix is an isomorphism. The determinant of a product of matrices is the product of their determinants (the preceding property is a corollary of this one). The determinant of a matrix is denoted , , or . The determinant of a matrix is :\begin a & b\\c & d \end=ad-bc, and the determinant of a matrix is : \begin a & b & c \\ d & e & f \\ g & h & i \end= aei + bfg + cdh - ceg - bdi - afh. The determinant of a matrix can be defined in several equivalent ways. Leibniz formula expresses the determinant as a sum of signed products of matrix entries such that each summand is the product of different entries, and the number of these summands is n!, the factorial of (t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hessian Matrix
In mathematics, the Hessian matrix or Hessian is a square matrix of second-order partial derivatives of a scalar-valued function, or scalar field. It describes the local curvature of a function of many variables. The Hessian matrix was developed in the 19th century by the German mathematician Ludwig Otto Hesse and later named after him. Hesse originally used the term "functional determinants". Definitions and properties Suppose f : \R^n \to \R is a function taking as input a vector \mathbf \in \R^n and outputting a scalar f(\mathbf) \in \R. If all second-order partial derivatives of f exist, then the Hessian matrix \mathbf of f is a square n \times n matrix, usually defined and arranged as follows: \mathbf H_f= \begin \dfrac & \dfrac & \cdots & \dfrac \\ .2ex \dfrac & \dfrac & \cdots & \dfrac \\ .2ex \vdots & \vdots & \ddots & \vdots \\ .2ex \dfrac & \dfrac & \cdots & \dfrac \end, or, by stating an equation for the coefficients using indices i and j, (\mathbf H_f)_ = \fra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Perturbation Theory
In mathematics and applied mathematics, perturbation theory comprises methods for finding an approximate solution to a problem, by starting from the exact solution of a related, simpler problem. A critical feature of the technique is a middle step that breaks the problem into "solvable" and "perturbative" parts. In perturbation theory, the solution is expressed as a power series in a small parameter The first term is the known solution to the solvable problem. Successive terms in the series at higher powers of \varepsilon usually become smaller. An approximate 'perturbation solution' is obtained by truncating the series, usually by keeping only the first two terms, the solution to the known problem and the 'first order' perturbation correction. Perturbation theory is used in a wide range of fields, and reaches its most sophisticated and advanced forms in quantum field theory. Perturbation theory (quantum mechanics) describes the use of this method in quantum mechanics. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Degree Of A Continuous Mapping
In topology, the degree of a continuous mapping between two compact oriented manifolds of the same dimension is a number that represents the number of times that the domain manifold wraps around the range manifold under the mapping. The degree is always an integer, but may be positive or negative depending on the orientations. The degree of a map was first defined by Brouwer, who showed that the degree is homotopy invariant (invariant among homotopies), and used it to prove the Brouwer fixed point theorem. In modern mathematics, the degree of a map plays an important role in topology and geometry. In physics, the degree of a continuous map (for instance a map from space to some order parameter set) is one example of a topological quantum number. Definitions of the degree From ''S''''n'' to ''S''''n'' The simplest and most important case is the degree of a continuous map from the n-sphere S^n to itself (in the case n=1, this is called the winding number): Let f\colon S^n\t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rose (topology)
In mathematics, a rose (also known as a bouquet of ''n'' circles) is a topological space obtained by gluing together a collection of circles along a single point. The circles of the rose are called petals. Roses are important in algebraic topology, where they are closely related to free groups. Definition A rose is a wedge sum of circles. That is, the rose is the quotient space ''C''/''S'', where ''C'' is a disjoint union of circles and ''S'' a set consisting of one point from each circle. As a cell complex, a rose has a single vertex, and one edge for each circle. This makes it a simple example of a topological graph. A rose with ''n'' petals can also be obtained by identifying ''n'' points on a single circle. The rose with two petals is known as the figure eight. Relation to free groups The fundamental group of a rose is free, with one generator for each petal. The universal cover is an infinite tree, which can be identified with the Cayley graph of the free g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Homology (mathematics)
In mathematics, homology is a general way of associating a sequence of algebraic objects, such as abelian groups or modules, with other mathematical objects such as topological spaces. Homology groups were originally defined in algebraic topology. Similar constructions are available in a wide variety of other contexts, such as abstract algebra, groups, Lie algebras, Galois theory, and algebraic geometry. The original motivation for defining homology groups was the observation that two shapes can be distinguished by examining their holes. For instance, a circle is not a disk because the circle has a hole through it while the disk is solid, and the ordinary sphere is not a circle because the sphere encloses a two-dimensional hole while the circle encloses a one-dimensional hole. However, because a hole is "not there", it is not immediately obvious how to define a hole or how to distinguish different kinds of holes. Homology was originally a rigorous mathematical method for defi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
