A concise introduction to the techniques used to prove the Baum-Connes conjecture. The Baum-Connes conjecture predicts that the K-homology of the reduced C DEGREES*-algebra of a group can be computed as the equivariant K-homology of the classifying space for proper actions. The approach is expository, but it contains proofs of many basic results on topological K-homology and the K-theory of C DEGREES*-algebras. It features a detailed introduction to Bredon homology for infinite groups, with applications to K-homology. It also contains a detailed discussion of naturality questions...

This volume contains research papers and survey articles written by Beno Eckmann from 1941 to 1986. The aim of the compilation is to provide a general view of the breadth of Eckmann's mathematical work. His influence was particularly strong in the development of many subfields of topology and algebra, where he repeatedly pointed out close, and often surprising, connections between them and other areas. The surveys are exemplary in terms of how they make difficult mathematical ideas easily comprehensible and accessible even to non-specialists. The topics treated here can be classified into...