Instructor.
Jon McCammond
Office hours.
TR 12:30-2:00 and by appointment in South Hall 6711
Phone number.
893-2060 (no answering machine)
E-mail.
jon.mccammond@math.ucsb.edu
My Home Page.
http://www.math.ucsb.edu/~jon.mccammond/
Course Home Page .
http://www.math.ucsb.edu/~jon.mccammond/courses/spring04/227/
Syllabus. A pdf version will be available soon
Textbooks.
Reflection groups and invariant theory,
by Richard Kane (CMS Books in Mathematics)
Metric spaces of non-positive curvature,
by Martin Bridson and Andre Haefliger (Springer)
Description. The class is designed as an introduction to
selected key topics in geometric group theory. This quarter, the
topics will be Coxeter groups, Artin groups and non-positive
curvature. The first third of the course will introduce Coxeter
groups and establish some of their main properties. The second third
will be devoted to the theory of non-positive curvature, culminating
in a proof of Moussong's result that all Coxeter groups are CAT(0)
groups. Finally, the remaining third will focus on the closely
related class of Artin groups (as a generalization of the braid
groups) and survey what is currently known about their curvature.
Grading. Your grade will primarily determined by effort (which
includes attendance and participation). I will be giving and
collecting various assignments, which I will comment on, but the only
aspect which effects your grade is whether you did the assignment and
how much effort you put into it. The purpose here is to have the
grading recede into the background so that you can concentrate on
learning the material
ADA. Students with disabilities can get assistance from the
Disabled Students Program Office (893-2668). I'm happy to work with
them and you.
Copyright Information. Please note that all written and web
materials for this course have an implied copyright. In particular,
you can xerox (or download) for your own use, but you may not
reproduce them for others.
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