Preface

The study of manifolds, including their properties and applications, is a fundamental part of modern physics as well as other domains such as group theory and topology. This book includes five chapters that discuss the mathematics of manifolds and some foundational issues related to physics, as manifolds have many applications to problems in physics.

This book has been assembled out of the hard work of an international group of invited authors. It is a pleasure to thank them for their efforts and scientific contributions. I am grateful to acknowledge with many thanks the staff at IntechOpen, especially Ana Javor for her assistance throughout the publication process.

> **Paul Bracken**  Professor, Department of Mathematics, University of Texas, Edinburg, TX, USA

Section 1

Manifolds - Perspectives

**1**

Section 1
