Differentiable Manifolds

Lecture notes for a term-long course on differentiable manifolds. The main reference is, as is usual, Smooth Manifolds by Lee, which contains everything and more for a first, second, and maybe even a third course on manifolds! I also used an incredible set of handwritten notes which are available online, from Kevin Wortman, at the University of Utah.

As for prerequisites, I believe that this course should (in theory) be accessible to any Masters student who has a basic undergraduate maths background.

Course Schedule

1. Introduction to Manifolds

Basic definitions, examples, and the concept of a manifold. Coordinate charts, atlases, and differentiable structures.

2. Moving between Manifolds

Maps, tangent vectors, smooth functions, and derivatives of smooth maps.

3. Tangent Spaces

Tangent vectors, cotangent vectors, one-forms, and vector bundles.

4. Tangent Bundles

Tangent bundles, cotangent bundles, and partitions of unity.

5. Types of Maps

Submersions, immersions, embeddings, submanifolds, and Sard’s theorem.

6. Key Theorems

Inverse & implicit function theorems, rank theorem, Whitney embedding, and regular value theorem.

7. A Brief Look at Lie Groups

Vector fields, Lie brackets, flows, Lie groups as manifolds, and the exponential map.

8. Integration

Integral curves, flows, and the pushforward of vector fields.

9. Differential Forms

Exterior algebra, differential forms, wedge product, and Stokes’ theorem.

10. Tensors

Tensors, exterior forms, wedge product, and pullbacks of exterior forms.

11. Linking to Algebraic Topology I

Exterior differentiation, Lie derivatives, and De Rham cohomology.

12. Linking to Algebraic Topology II

Cohomology, Poincaré duality, Mayer–Vietoris sequence, orientations, integration on manifolds.

13. Manifolds with Boundary

Cobordism, boundary operator, and degree of a smooth map.

14. Riemannian Geometry I

Riemannian metrics and Riemannian submanifolds.

15. Riemannian Geometry II

Geodesics, curvature, Gauss–Bonnet theorem, isometries, and volume forms.

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