A survey of Wall's finiteness obstruction
Abstract
Description
Wall's finiteness obstruction is an algebraic K-theory invariant which decides if a finitely dominated space is homotopy equivalent to a finite CW complex. The object of this survey is to describe the invariant (which was first formulated in 1965) and some of its many applications to the surgery classification of manifolds.
LATEX 16 pages, uses XYPIC diagram package, and 3 .PS figures inserted by EPSF. This paper will be published in early 2001 in Volume 2 of "Surveys on Surgery Theory", Annals of Mathematics Studies, Princeton University Press (check their website http://pup.princeton.edu for final publication details)
LATEX 16 pages, uses XYPIC diagram package, and 3 .PS figures inserted by EPSF. This paper will be published in early 2001 in Volume 2 of "Surveys on Surgery Theory", Annals of Mathematics Studies, Princeton University Press (check their website http://pup.princeton.edu for final publication details)