Stable Homotopy Around the Arf-Kervaire Invariant

This monograph describes important techniques of stable homotopy theory, both classical and brand new, applying them to the long-standing unsolved problem of the existence of framed manifolds with odd Arf-Kervaire invariant. Opening with an account of the necessary algebraic topology background, it proceeds in a quasi-historical manner to draw from the author s contributions over several decades. A new technique entitled upper triangular technology is introduced which enables the author to relate Adams operations to Steenrod operations and thereby to recover most of the important classical Arf-Kervaire invariant results quite simply. The final chapter briefly relates the book to the contemporary motivic stable homotopy theory of Morel-Voevodsky.