Geometry, Topology and Physics

This book provides an introduction to the ideas and techniques of differential geometry and topology. It starts with a brief survey of quantum field theory, gauge theory, general relativity, vector spaces, and topology. Using many illustrations, exercises, and problems, the author demonstrates more elaborate concepts of topology and geometry, including fiber bundles, characteristic classes, and index theorems. New to this second edition is the proof of the index theorem in terms of supersymmetric quantum mechanics. The final two chapters examine anomalies in gauge field theories and the analysis of Polakov's bosonic string theory from the geometrical point of view.