Collected Papers of K.-T. Chen [Paperback]

Kuo-Tsai Chen (1923-1987) is best known to the mathematics communityfor his work on iterated integrals and power series connections inconjunction with his research on the cohomology of loop spaces. Hiswork is intimately related to the theory of minimal models asdeveloped by Dennis Sullivan, whose own work was in part inspired bythe research of Chen.An outstanding and original mathematician, Chen's work falls naturallyinto three periods: his early work on group theory and links in thethree sphere; his subsequent work on formal differential equations,which gradually developed into his most powerful and important work;and his work on iterated integrals and homotopy theory, which occupiedhim for the last twenty years of his life. The goal of Chen'siterated integrals program, which is a de Rham theory for path spaces,was to study the interaction of topology and analysis through pathintegration.The present volume is a comprehensive collection of Chen'smathematical publications preceded by an article, The Life and Workof Kuo-Tsai Chen, placing his work and research interests into theirproper context and demonstrating the power and scope of hisinfluence.Kuo-Tsai Chen (1923-1987) is best known to the mathematics community for his work on iterated integrals and power series connections in conjunction with his research on the cohomology of loop spaces. His work is intimately related to the theory of minimal models as developed by Dennis Sullivan, whose own work was in part inspired by the research of Chen.An outstanding and original mathematician, Chen's work falls naturally into three periods: his early work on group theory and links in the three sphere; his subsequent work on formal differential equations, which gradually developed into his most powerful and important work; and his work on iterated integrals and homotopy theory, which occupied him for the last twenty years of his life. The goal of Chen's iterated integrals program, which is a de Rham theory for path lÓ%