Analytic K-Homology

Book excerpt: Analytic K-homology draws together ideas from algebraic topology, functional analysis and geometry. It is a tool - a means of conveying information among these three subjects - and it has been used with specacular success to discover remarkable theorems across a wide span of mathematics. The purpose of this book is to acquaint the reader with the essential ideas of analytic K-homology and develop some of its applications. It includes a detailed introduction to the necessary functional analysis, followed by an exploration of the connections between K-homology and operator theory, coarse geometry, index theory, and assembly maps, including a detailed treatment of the Atiyah-Singer Index Theorem. Beginning with the rudiments of C* - algebra theory, the book will lead the reader to some central notions of contemporary research in geometric functional analysis. Much of the material included here has never previously appeared in book form.