Gentle introduction to fibre bundles and gauge connections

Question

To better understand papers like this for example, which makes heavy use of fibre bundles and gauge connections to represent gauge fields, I am looking for a nice introduction to this topic.

The only thing I have read so far is the corresponding chapter 15 of Roger Penrose's "Road to Reality".

I do not want to read a whole book, I am rather thinking about an appropriate introductory paper, lecture notes, or a tutorial.

Answer 1

You can find the definition of a fiber bundle and some examples on pp 376-379 of Hatcher's online book Algebraic Topology. You might also consult "Fiber Bundles," chapter 4 of Lecture Notes in Algebraic Topology, by Davis-Kirk. A fast introduction to connections and curvature can be found here. In the case of surfaces, chapter 3 of these lecture notes might be useful to you.

Answer 2

for fiber bundles,you may look into novikov's modern geometry part 2. it gives nice explanation and a good place to do learn some "real geometry"

Answer 3

For a 'physicsy' viewpoint, checkout "Geometry of Physics" by Frankel.