COURSEWORK AND SYLLABI FOR THE PH.D.

AND
INTEGRATED PH.D. PROGRAMS IN MATHEMATICS AT IMSC

All courses in mathematics carry 8 credits except for the seminar course which
carries 4 credits and the research methodology course which is a pass/fail course
with no credits earned.
The Ph.D. program requires a total of 9 courses including the seminar course
and the research methodology course (for a total of 60 credits).
The I.Ph.D. program requires 13 courses including the seminar course and the
research methodology course along with a 28 credit master’s thesis (for a total of
120 credits).
The courses are chosen from among the courses listed below along with other
courses offered from time to time either at IMSc or at other institutes with which
HBNI has an MoU such as CMI. Topics courses in mathematics may be repeated
for credit and will be shown on the transcript with suffixes such as I, II, III etc.

1. Algebra I - 8 credits
Group theory
• Group actions: Orbits, stabilisers, transitivity
• Lagrange, Cauchy, Sylow theorems in the language of group actions
• Direct and semidirect products
• symmetric and alternating groups
Matrices, determinants and linear maps
• Linear maps and matrices, dual = transpose
• determinants
• Equality of row, column and determinantal rank over a commutative ring
Representations of a single endomorphism
• Minimal and characteristic polynomials, eigenvalues and eigenvectors
• Rational and Jordan canonical forms
• S-N decomposition
Bilinear forms and spectral theorems
• Preliminaries and quadratic maps
• Symmetric forms, orthogonal basis, Sylvester’s theorem
• Hermitian forms, polarization, Cauchy-Schwarz inequality
• Spectral theorems, polar decomposition
Basic category theory
• Categories and functors
• Universal properties
• Sums, products and limits
Rings and modules over a PID
• Finitely generated abelian groups
• PID ⇒ UFD, R UFD ⇒ R[X] UFD, Gauss’ lemma
1
2 COURSEWORK AND SYLLABI IN MATHEMATICS AT IMSC

• Irreducibility criteria
• Modules over a PID
Tensor products
• Of vector spaces, modules over a ring, basic properties
• connection with Hom, of algebras
• tensor, symmetric and exterior algebras and connection with the determi-
nant

2. Algebra II - 8 credits
Group theory
• simple, solvable and nilpotent groups
• Jordan-Holder theorem
Galois theory
• Finite extensions, algebraic extensions, algebraic closure
• Splitting fields and normal extensions
• separable extensions
• Finite fields
• Inseparable extensions
• Galois extensions
• Examples and applications
• Cyclotomic fields
• Independence of characters, norm and trace
• Cyclic extensions
• Solvable and radical extensions

Instructor’s choice from among the following suggested topics or others.

Semisimplicity
• Schur’s lemma and semisimple modules
• Jacobson density theorem, DCT
• Structure of semisimple rings
• Structure of simple rings
Representations of finite groups
• Maschke’s theorem
• Characters
• Class functions
• Orthogonality relations
Commutative algebra and Dedekind domains
• Prime, maximal ideals, Zariski topology, CRT
• Localization and its properties
• Integral extensions
• Dedekind domains - characterizations
• Unique factorisation - failure and restoration
 COURSEWORK AND SYLLABI IN MATHEMATICS AT IMSC 3

3. Analysis I - 8 credits
Measure Theory
• Measurable spaces, Caratheodory’s theorem and construction of measures,
Lebesgue measure, Riesz representation theorem for compact metric spaces
• Measurable mappings, various convergence concepts like almost sure, con-
vergence in measure.
• Integration, MCT, DCT.
• Product measures, Fubini’s theorem.
• Radon-Nikodym theorem, Lebesgue decomposition theorem.
• Lp spaces: Basic theory, Holder’s inequality, Minkowsky inequality, com-
pleteness, their duality.
• (*) Analysis on Rn ; convolutions; approximate identity; approximation the-
orems; Fourier transform; Fourier inversion formula; Plancherel theorem.

Note: Topics marked with asterisk are optional.

4. Analysis II - 8 credits
Elementary functional analysis
• Topological vector spaces; Banach spaces; Hilbert spaces.
• bounded linear transformation;linear functionals and dual spaces.
• Hahn Banach theorem and it’s geometric meaning.
• Category theoem and it’s applications like open mapping theorem, uniform
boundedness principle, closed graph theorem.
• Weak and Weak-* topologies, Banach-Alaoglu’s theorem.

Instructor’s choice from among the following suggested topics or others.

Distribution Theory
• The spaces D(Ω), E(Ω), for Ω open in IRn .
• S(Rn ) and their duals, convolution, Fourier transform.
• Paley-Wiener theorems; fundamental solutions of constant coefficient par-
tial differential operators.
Banach Algebras and Spectral Theory
• Banach algebras, spectrum of a Banach algebra element, Holomorphic func-
tional calculus, Gelfand theory of commutative Banach algebras.
• Hilbert space operators, C ∗ -algebras of operators, commutative C ∗ -algebras.
• Spectral theorem for bounded self-adjoint and normal operators. formula-
tion).
• Spectral theorem for compact operators,(*) application to Peter-Weyl the-
orem.

Note: Topics marked with asterisk are optional.

4 COURSEWORK AND SYLLABI IN MATHEMATICS AT IMSC

5. Topology I - 8 credits
Point-set topology
• Quotient topology including the construction of standard topological spaces
such as surfaces and real and complex projective spaces as quotient spaces
• The notion of attachment of a cell to a topological space
• Group actions and orbit spaces
• Topologies on function spaces
• Baire category theorem
• Arzelà-Ascoli theorem
Fundamental groups and covering spaces
• Fundamental groups, covering spaces and their relationship
• Free groups, free products of groups
• Seifert-van Kampen theorem - examples and applications
Introduction to homology
• Definition of homology groups
• Homotopy invariance of homology groups
• The first homology group as the abelianization of the fundamental group
• Review of homological algebra necessary to introduce the Mayer-Vietoris
sequence
• Mayer-Vietoris sequence and its applications in computing homology groups
of surfaces, complex projective spaces, real projective spaces etc.
Applications of fundamental groups and homology groups
Instructors choice among the following topics or other topics at this level.
• Jordan curve theorem
• Winding number of a closed curve
• Brouwer’s fixed point theorem
• Fundamental theorem of algebra
• Nielsen-Schreier theorem

6. Topology II - 8 credits
Instructors choice among the following topics. It is suggested that one topic
from the first two and basic notions of differential topology be covered in addition
to some of the advanced topics.

Homology theory
• Quick review of homology theory
• Relative homology and the associated long exact sequence
• Excision theorem and its applications
• Characterisation of homology theory by the Eilenberg-Steenrod axioms
• Homology with coefficients
Cohomology theory and introduction to homotopy groups
• Basic notions of cohomology
• Universal coefficient theorem
• Künneth formula
• Cup product and the cohomology ring, Borsuk-Ulam theorem
 COURSEWORK AND SYLLABI IN MATHEMATICS AT IMSC 5

Basic notions of differential topology

• Differentiable manifolds, tangent bundle, vector fields, flows
• Differential forms and de Rham cohomology
• Integration on manifolds
• Stokes theorem
• Poincaré duality using differential forms.
Advanced topics
• Higher homotopy groups and the Hurewicz theorem
• H-spaces, suspensions, fibre bundles
• Cap product and various forms of duality with integral coefficients
• Bott periodicity theorem
• Topics in differential geometry such as:
– Smooth vector bundles
– Notions of connection, curvature and parallel transport
– Definition of Riemannian manifold
– Gauss-Bonnet formula
– Notion of geodesic and Hopf-Rinow theorem
• Obstruction theory and introduction to characteristic classes:
• Topics in Morse theory such as:
– Definition and genericity of Morse functions
– Lemma of Morse
– Cell structure associated to a Morse function and Morse homology
– Morse-Smale-Witten complex

7. Complex Analysis - 8 credits

• Analytic function, Cauchy-Riemann equations, power series, exponential
and logarithmic function
• Cauchy theorem on a disc, Integral formula, power series and Laurent series
expansion Product development, Weierstrass theorem, Homotopy version
of Cauchy’s theorem, Liouville’s theorem, residue theorem, Argument prin-
ciple
• Maximum modulus principle, Schwarz lemma, Phragmen-Lindelof method
• Conformal mapping, Mobius transformation, Automorphisms of the disc
and upper half plane, Riemann mapping theorem
• Harmonic functions, Dirichlet problem, Mean value property
• Analytic continuation, Monodromy theorem
• (optional) Introduction to Hyperbolic geometry
• (optional) Elliptic functions, Gamma and Zeta functions

8. Credit seminar - 4 credits

The topic of the seminar will be chosen by the student in consultation with an
assigned faculty member. The student will read recent research papers as assigned
by the faculty member, and present the results in a formal seminar.
6 COURSEWORK AND SYLLABI IN MATHEMATICS AT IMSC

9. Research Methodology - Pass/Fail

An introduction to the methods and techniques of academic research through a
project and presentations - both oral and written.

The following courses are advanced level research courses whose content will be
decided by the instructor based on current research and the requirements of the
individual students.

10. Topics in analytic number theory - 8 credits

Course content varies according to instructor’s choice.

11. Topics in algebraic number theory - 8 credits

Course content varies according to instructor’s choice.

12. Topics in commutative algebra - 8 credits

Course content varies according to instructor’s choice.

13. Topics in modular forms - 8 credits

Course content varies according to instructor’s choice.

14. Topics in elliptic curves - 8 credits

Course content varies according to instructor’s choice.

15. Topics in algebraic curves - 8 credits

Course content varies according to instructor’s choice.

16. Topics in diophantine geometry - 8 credits

Course content varies according to instructor’s choice.

17. Topics in transcendental number theory - 8 credits

Course content varies according to instructor’s choice.

18. Topics in algebraic groups - 8 credits

Course content varies according to instructor’s choice.

19. Topics in infinite dimensional Lie algebras - 8 credits

Course content varies according to instructor’s choice.

20. Topics in functional analysis - 8 credits

Course content varies according to instructor’s choice.

21. Topics in non-commutative geometry - 8 credits

Course content varies according to instructor’s choice.
 COURSEWORK AND SYLLABI IN MATHEMATICS AT IMSC 7

22. Topics in Lie groups - 8 credits

Course content varies according to instructor’s choice.

23. Topics in algebraic geometry - 8 credits

Course content varies according to instructor’s choice.

24. Topics in differential geometry - 8 credits

Course content varies according to instructor’s choice.

25. Topics in partial differential equations - 8 credits

Course content varies according to instructor’s choice.

26. Topics in mathematical physics - 8 credits

Course content varies according to instructor’s choice.

27. Topics in algebra - 8 credits

Course content varies according to instructor’s choice.

28. Topics in operator algebras - 8 credits

Course content varies according to instructor’s choice.

29. Topics in representation theory - 8 credits

Course content varies according to instructor’s choice.

30. Topics in algebraic combinatorics - 8 credits

Course content varies according to instructor’s choice.

31. Topics in topology - 8 credits

Course content varies according to instructor’s choice.

32. Topics in symplectic geometry - 8 credits

Course content varies according to instructor’s choice.

33. Programming for mathematicians - 8 credits

Course content varies according to instructor’s choice.