A.L. Onishchik - Böcker

The book by Gorbatsevich, Onishchik and Vinberg is the firstin a series of volumes devoted to the theory of Lie groupsand Lie algebras.The first part of the book deals with the foundations of thetheory based on the classical global approach of Chevalleyfollowed by an exposition of the alternative approach viathe universal algebra and the Campbell-Hausdorff formula. Italso contains a survey of certain generalizations of Liegroups.The second more advanced part treats the topic of Lietransformation groups covering e.g. properties of orbits andstabilizers, homogeneous fibre bundles, Frobenius duality,groups ofautomorphisms of geometric structures, Liealgebras of vector fields and theexistence of slices. Thework of the last decades including the most recentresearch results is covered.The book contains numerous examples and describesconnections with topology, differential geometry, analysisand applications. It will be of great interest to graduatestudents and researchers in mathematics and theoreticalphysics.

The first part of this book on Discrete Subgroups of Lie Groups is written by E.B. Vinberg, V.V. Gorbatsevich, and O.V. Shvartsman. Various types of discrete subgroups of Lie groups arise in the theory of functions of complex variables, arithmetic, geometry, and crystallography. Since the foundation of their general theory in the 50-60s of this century, considerable and in many respects exhaustive results were obtained. This development is reflected in this survey. Both semisimple and general Lie groups are considered. Part II on Cohomologies of Lie Groups and Algebras is written by B.L. Feigin and D. B.Fuchs. It contains different definitions of cohomologies of Lie groups and (both finite-dimensional and some infinite-dimensional) Lie algebras, the main methods of their calculation, and the results of these calculations. The book can be useful as a reference and research guide to graduate students and researchers in different areas of mathematics and theoretical physics.

From the reviews: "..., the book must be of great help for a researcher who already has some idea of Lie theory, wants to employ it in his everyday research and/or teaching, and needs a source for customary reference on the subject. From my viewpoint, the volume is perfectly fit to serve as such a source, ...On the whole, it is quite a pleasure, after making yourself comfortable in that favourite office armchair of yours, just to keep the volume gently in your hands and browse it slowly and thoughtfully; and after all, what more on Earth can one expect of any book?" The New Zealand Mathematical Society Newsletter"...Both parts are very nicely written and can be strongly recommended. " European Mathematical Society