Octonions, Jordan Algebras and Exceptional Groups

The 1963 Göttingen notes of T. A. Springer are well-known in the field but have been unavailable for some time. This book is a translation of those notes, completely updated and revised. The part of the book dealing with the algebraic structures is on a fairly elementary level, presupposing basic results from algebra. In the group-theoretical part use is made of some results from the theory of linear algebraic groups. The book will be useful to mathematicians interested in octonion algebras and Albert algebras, or in exceptional groups. It is suitable for use in a graduate course in algebra. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1. Composition Algebras.- 2. The Automorphism Group of an Octonion Algebra.- 3. Triality.- 4. Twisted Composition Algebras.- 5. J-algebras and Albert Algebras.- 6. Proper J-algebras and Twisted Composition Algebras.- 7. Exceptional Groups.- 8. Cohomological Invariants.