Bøger i Modern Birkhauser Classics serien

From the original hard cover edition:In the modern age of almost universal computer usage, practically every individual in a technologically developed society has routine access to the most up-to-date cryptographic technology that exists, the so-called RSA public-key cryptosystem. A major component of this system is the factorization of large numbers into their primes. Thus an ancient number-theory concept now plays a crucial role in communication among millions of people who may have little or no knowledge of even elementary mathematics. Hans Riesel's highly successful first edition of this book has now been enlarged and updated with the goal of satisfying the needs of researchers, students, practitioners of cryptography, and non-scientific readers with a mathematical inclination. It includes important advances in computational prime number theory and in factorization as well as re-computed and enlarged tables, accompanied by new tables reflecting current research by both the author and his coworkers and by independent researchers. The book treats four fundamental problems: the number of primes below a given limit, the approximate number of primes, the recognition of primes and the factorization of large numbers. The author provides explicit algorithms and computer programs, and has attempted to discuss as many of the classically important results as possible, as well as the most recent discoveries. The programs include are written in PASCAL to allow readers to translate the programs into the language of their own computers. The independent structure of each chapter of the book makes it highly readable for a wide variety of mathematicians, students of applied number theory, and others interested in both study and research in number theory and cryptography.

The soliton, a solitary wave impulse preserving its shape and strikingly similar to a particle, is one of the most fascinating and beautiful phenomena in the physics of nonlinear waves.  In this classic book, the concept of the soliton is traced from the beginning of the last century to modern times, with recent applications in biology, oceanography, solid state physics, electronics, elementary particle physics, and cosmology.The Versatile Soliton is an appropriate title indeed. There is much new historical information in the book...The book is written in a lively language and the physics presented in a clear, pedagogical style. Most of the chapters require only knowledge of fairly elementary mathematics and the main ideas of soliton physics are well explained without mathematics at all...Yet it contains valuable information and offers a historical review of soliton physics that cannot be found elsewhere.  -CentaurusIn summary, this book is a good elementary treatment of solitons and the related history of physics and mathematics, even for readers with little knowledge of advanced mathematics. For readers with the latter knowledge, it is still a good introduction to the physical ideas required for the understanding of solitons prior to the study of more mathematical treatments from other sources.  -Mathematical ReviewsThis engaging book is an excellent introduction into the wonderful world of soliton mechanics.   -Zentralblatt MathNo doubt, everyone can get new information from the book. First, the book is strongly recommended to young researchers. In a certain sense, the book is unique and definitely will find a niche among numerous textbooks on solitons.   -Physicala

All modem introductions to complex analysis follow, more or less explicitly, the pattern laid down in Whittaker and Watson [75]. In "e;part I'' we find the foundational material, the basic definitions and theorems. In "e;part II"e; we find the examples and applications. Slowly we begin to understand why we read part I. Historically this is an anachronism. Pedagogically it is a disaster. Part II in fact predates part I, so clearly it can be taught first. Why should the student have to wade through hundreds of pages before finding out what the subject is good for? In teaching complex analysis this way, we risk more than just boredom. Beginning with a series of unmotivated definitions gives a misleading impression of complex analy- sis in particular and of mathematics in general. The classical theory of analytic functions did not arise from the idle speculation of bored mathematicians on the possible conse- quences of an arbitrary set of definitions; it was the natural, even inevitable, consequence of the practical need to answer questions about specific examples. In standard texts, after hundreds of pages of theorems about generic analytic functions with only the rational and trigonometric functions as examples, students inevitably begin to believe that the purpose of complex analysis is to produce more such theorems. We require introductory com- plex analysis courses of our undergraduates and graduates because it is useful both within mathematics and beyond.

The purpose of the present book is to offer an up-to-date account of the theory of viscosity solutions of first order partial differential equations of Hamilton-Jacobi type and its applications to optimal deterministic control and differential games. The theory of viscosity solutions, initiated in the early 80's by the papers of M.G. Crandall and P.L. Lions [CL81, CL83], M.G. Crandall, L.C. Evans and P.L. Lions [CEL84] and P.L. Lions' influential monograph [L82], provides an - tremely convenient PDE framework for dealing with the lack of smoothness of the value functions arising in dynamic optimization problems. The leading theme of this book is a description of the implementation of the viscosity solutions approach to a number of significant model problems in op- real deterministic control and differential games. We have tried to emphasize the advantages offered by this approach in establishing the well-posedness of the c- responding Hamilton-Jacobi equations and to point out its role (when combined with various techniques from optimal control theory and nonsmooth analysis) in the important issue of feedback synthesis.

This volume contains the first two out of four chapters which are intended to survey a large part of the theory of theta functions. These notes grew out of a series of lectures given at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in the period October, 1978, to March, 1979, on which notes were taken and excellently written up by C. Musili and M. Nori. I subsequently lectured at greater length on the contents of Chapter III at Harvard in the fall of 1979 and at a Summer School in Montreal in August, 1980, and again notes were very capably put together by E. Previato and M. Stillman, respectively. Both the Tata Institute and the University of Montreal publish lecture note series in which I had promised to place write-ups of my lectures there. However, as the project grew, it became clear that it was better to tie all these results together, rearranging and consolidating the material, and to make them available from one place. I am very grateful to the Tata Institute and the University of Montreal for permission to do this, and to Birkhauser-Boston for publishing the final result. The first 2 chapters study theta functions strictly from the viewpoint of classical analysis. In particular, in Chapter I, my goal was to explain in the simplest cases why the theta functions attracted attention.

Number Theory or arithmetic, as some prefer to call it, is the oldest, purest, liveliest, most elementary yet sophisticated field of mathematics. It is no coincidence that the fundamental science of numbers has come to be known as the "e;Queen of Mathematics."e; Indeed some of the most complex conventions of the mathematical mind have evolved from the study of basic problems of number theory.Andr Weil, one of the outstanding contributors to number theory, has written an historical exposition of this subject; his study examines texts that span roughly thirty-six centuries of arithmetical work - from an Old Babylonian tablet, datable to the time of Hammurapi to Legendre's Essai sur la Thorie des Nombres (1798). Motivated by a desire to present the substance of his field to the educated reader, Weil employs an historical approach in the analysis of problems and evolving methods of number theory and their significance within mathematics. In the course of his study Weil accompanies the reader into the workshops of four major authors of modern number theory (Fermat, Euler, Lagrange and Legendre) and there he conducts a detailed and critical examination of their work. Enriched by a broad coverage of intellectual history, Number Theory represents a major contribution to the understanding of our cultural heritage.

This book introduces the study of knots, providing insights into recent applications in DNA research and graph theory. It sets forth fundamental facts such as knot diagrams, braid representations, Seifert surfaces, tangles, and Alexander polynomials. Numerous diagrams and exercises help readers understand and apply the theory.

The true history of physics can only be read in the life stories of those who made its progress possible. Matvei Bronstein was one of those for whom the vast territory of theoretical physics was as familiar as his own home: he worked in cosmology, nuclear physics, gravitation, semiconductors, atmospheric physics, quantum electrodynamics, astro- physics and the relativistic quantum theory. Everyone who knew him was struck by his wide knowledge, far beyond the limits of his trade. This partly explains why his life was closely intertwined with the social, historical and scientific context of his time. One might doubt that during his short life Bronstein could have made truly weighty contributions to science and have become, in a sense, a symbol of his time. Unlike mathematicians and poets, physicists reach the peak of their careers after the age of thirty. His thirty years of life, however, proved enough to secure him a place in the Greater Soviet Encyclopedia. In 1967, in describing the first generation of physicists educated after the 1917 revolution, Igor Tamm referred to Bronstein as "e;an exceptionally brilliant and promising"e; theoretician [268].

A generalized etale cohomology theory is a theory which is represented by a presheaf of spectra on an etale site for an algebraic variety, in analogy with the way an ordinary spectrum represents a cohomology theory for spaces. Examples include etale cohomology and etale K-theory. This book gives new and complete proofs of both Thomason's descent theorem for Bott periodic K-theory and the Nisnevich descent theorem. In doing so, it exposes most of the major ideas of the homotopy theory of presheaves of spectra, and generalized etale homology theories in particular. The treatment includes, for the purpose of adequately dealing with cup product structures, a development of stable homotopy theory for n-fold spectra, which is then promoted to the level of presheaves of n-fold spectra. This book should be of interest to all researchers working in fields related to algebraic K-theory. The techniques presented here are essentially combinatorial, and hence algebraic. An extensive background in traditional stable homotopy theory is not assumed. ------ Reviews (...) in developing the techniques of the subject, introduces the reader to the stable homotopy category of simplicial presheaves. (...) This book provides the user with the first complete account which is sensitive enough to be compatible with the sort of closed model category necessary in K-theory applications (...). As an application of the techniques the author gives proofs of the descent theorems of R. W. Thomason and Y. A. Nisnevich. (...) The book concludes with a discussion of the Lichtenbaum-Quillen conjecture (an approximation to Thomason's theorem without Bott periodicity). The recent proof of this conjecture, by V. Voevodsky, (...) makes this volume compulsory reading for all who want to be au fait with current trends in algebraic K-theory!- Zentralblatt MATH The presentation of these topics is highly original. The book will be very useful for any researcher interested in subjects related to algebraic K-theory.- Matematica

First released in 1991, this book surveys problems of nonintersection of random walks and the self-avoiding walk. Covers discrete harmonic measure; probability that independent random walks do not intersect and properties of walks without self-intersections.

This book shows how the abstract methods of analytic semigroups and evolution equations in Banach spaces can be applied to the study of parabolic problems. It presents known theorems from a novel perspective and teaches how to exploit basic techniques.

This elegantly written text includes a wealth of exercises for students as it weaves classical probability theory into the quantum framework. It deepens our understanding of classical and quantum views on the dynamics of systems subject to the laws of chance.

This text covers differentiable manifolds, global calculus, differential geometry, and related topics constituting a core of information for the first or second year graduate student preparing for advanced courses and seminars in differential topology and geometry.

Deals with the theory of function spaces of type Bspq and Fspq. This book analyzes the theory of function spaces in Rn and in domains, applications to (exotic) pseudo-differential operators, and function spaces on Riemannian manifolds.

This work presents a modern approach to a remarkable algebraic technique. It should be of interest to both the mathematical historian and the working specialist in commutative algebra, number theory and algebraic geometry.

The conjugate operator method is a powerful recently developed technique for studying spectral properties of self-adjoint operators. One of the purposes of this volume is to present a refinement of the original method due to Mourre leading to essentially optimal results in situations as varied as ordinary differential operators, pseudo-differential operators and N-body Schrodinger hamiltonians. Another topic is a new algebraic framework for the N-body problem allowing a simple and systematic treatment of large classes of many-channel hamiltonians. The monograph will be of interest to research mathematicians and mathematical physicists. The authors have made efforts to produce an essentially self-contained text, which makes it accessible to advanced students. Thus about one third of the book is devoted to the development of tools from functional analysis, in particular real interpolation theory for Banach spaces and functional calculus and Besov spaces associated with multi-parameter C0-groups. Certainly this monograph (containing a bibliography of 170 items) is a well-written contribution to this field which is suitable to stimulate further evolution of the theory. (Mathematical Reviews)

In a coherent, exhaustive and progressive way, this book presents the tools for studying local bifurcations of limit cycles in families of planar vector fields. A systematic introduction is given to such methods as division of an analytic family of functions in its ideal of coefficients, and asymptotic expansion of non-differentiable return maps and desingularisation. The exposition moves from classical analytic geometric methods applied to regular limit periodic sets to more recent tools for singular limit sets.The methods can be applied to theoretical problems such as Hilbert's 16th problem, but also for the purpose of establishing bifurcation diagrams of specific families as well as explicit computations.- - -The book as a whole is a well-balanced exposition that can be recommended to all those who want to gain a thorough understanding and proficiency in the recently developed methods. The book, reflecting the current state of the art, can also be used for teaching special courses. (Mathematical Reviews)

This book is devoted to the relation between two different concepts of integrability: the complete integrability of complex analytical Hamiltonian systems and the integrability of complex analytical linear differential equations. For linear differential equations, integrability is made precise within the framework of differential Galois theory. The connection of these two integrability notions is given by the variational equation (i.e. linearized equation) along a particular integral curve of the Hamiltonian system. The underlying heuristic idea, which motivated the main results presented in this monograph, is that a necessary condition for the integrability of a Hamiltonian system is the integrability of the variational equation along any of its particular integral curves. This idea led to the algebraic non-integrability criteria for Hamiltonian systems. These criteria can be considered as generalizations of classical non-integrability results by Poincare and Liapunov, as well as more recent results by Ziglin and Yoshida. Thus, by means of the differential Galois theory it is not only possible to understand all these approaches in a unified way but also to improve them. Several important applications are also included: homogeneous potentials, Bianchi IX cosmological model, three-body problem, Henon-Heiles system, etc.The book is based on the original joint research of the author with J.M. Peris, J.P. Ramis and C. Simo, but an effort was made to present these achievements in their logical order rather than their historical one. The necessary background on differential Galois theory and Hamiltonian systems is included, and several new problems and conjectures which open new lines of research are proposed.

This book deals with the constructive Weierstrassian approach to the theory of function spaces and various applications. The first chapter is devoted to a detailed study of quarkonial (subatomic) decompositions of functions and distributions on euclidean spaces, domains, manifolds and fractals. This approach combines the advantages of atomic and wavelet representations. It paves the way to sharp inequalities and embeddings in function spaces, spectral theory of fractal elliptic operators, and a regularity theory of some semi-linear equations. The book is self-contained, although some parts may be considered as a continuation of the author's book Fractals and Spectra. It is directed to mathematicians and (theoretical) physicists interested in the topics indicated and, in particular, how they are interrelated. - - - The book under review can be regarded as a continuation of [his book on "e;Fractals and spectra"e;, 1997] (...) There are many sections named: comments, preparations, motivations, discussions and so on. These parts of the book seem to be very interesting and valuable. They help the reader to deal with the main course. (Mathematical Reviews)

The primary objective of this monograph is to develop an elementary and se- containedapproachtothemathematicaltheoryofaviscousincompressible?uid n in a domain ? of the Euclidean spaceR , described by the equations of Navier- Stokes. The book is mainly directed to students familiar with basic functional analytic tools in Hilbert and Banach spaces. However, for readers' convenience, in the ?rst two chapters we collect, without proof some fundamental properties of Sobolev spaces, distributions, operators, etc. Another important objective is to formulate the theory for a completely general domain ?. In particular, the theory applies to arbitrary unbounded, non-smooth domains. For this reason, in the nonlinear case, we have to restrict ourselves to space dimensions n=2,3 that are also most signi?cant from the physical point of view. For mathematical generality, we will develop the l- earized theory for all n? 2. Although the functional-analytic approach developed here is, in principle, known to specialists, its systematic treatment is not available, and even the diverseaspectsavailablearespreadoutintheliterature.However,theliterature is very wide, and I did not even try to include a full list of related papers, also because this could be confusing for the student. In this regard, I would like to apologize for not quoting all the works that, directly or indirectly, have inspired this monograph.

This book deals with evolutionary systems whose equation of state can be formulated as a linear Volterra equation in a Banach space. The main feature of the kernels involved is that they consist of unbounded linear operators. The aim is a coherent presentation of the state of art of the theory including detailed proofs and its applications to problems from mathematical physics, such as viscoelasticity, heat conduction, and electrodynamics with memory. The importance of evolutionary integral equations which form a larger class than do evolution equations stems from such applications and therefore special emphasis is placed on these. A number of models are derived and, by means of the developed theory, discussed thoroughly. An annotated bibliography containing 450 entries increases the book's value as an incisive reference text. ---This excellent book presents a general approach to linear evolutionary systems, with an emphasis on infinite-dimensional systems with time delays, such as those occurring in linear viscoelasticity with or without thermal effects. It gives a very natural and mature extension of the usual semigroup approach to a more general class of infinite-dimensional evolutionary systems. This is the first appearance in the form of a monograph of this recently developed theory. A substantial part of the results are due to the author, or are even new. ( It is not a book that one reads in a few days. Rather, it should be considered as an investment with lasting value. (Zentralblatt MATH)In this book, the author, who has been at the forefront of research on these problems for the last decade, has collected, and in many places extended, the known theory for these equations. In addition, he has provided a framework that allows one to relate and evaluate diverse results in the literature. (Mathematical Reviews)This book constitutes a highly valuable addition to the existing literature on the theory of Volterra (evolutionary) integral equations and their applications in physics and engineering. ( and for the first time the stress is on the infinite-dimensional case. (SIAM Reviews)

In a detailed and comprehensive introduction to the theory of plane algebraic curves, the authors examine this classical area of mathematics that both figured prominently in ancient Greek studies and remains a source of inspiration and a topic of research to this day. Arising from notes for a course given at the University of Bonn in Germany, "e;Plane Algebraic Curves"e; reflects the authorsE concern for the student audience through its emphasis on motivation, development of imagination, and understanding of basic ideas. As classical objects, curves may be viewed from many angles. This text also provides a foundation for the comprehension and exploration of modern work on singularities. --- In the first chapter one finds many special curves with very attractive geometric presentations the wealth of illustrations is a distinctive characteristic of this book and an introduction to projective geometry (over the complex numbers). In the second chapter one finds a very simple proof of Bezout's theorem and a detailed discussion of cubics. The heart of this book and how else could it be with the first author is the chapter on the resolution of singularities (always over the complex numbers). (...) Especially remarkable is the outlook to further work on the topics discussed, with numerous references to the literature. Many examples round off this successful representation of a classical and yet still very much alive subject. (Mathematical Reviews)

This book presents topics in module theory and ring theory: some, such as Goldie dimension and semiperfect rings are now considered classical and others more specialized, such as dual Goldie dimension, semilocal endomorphism rings, serial rings and modules.

Combining algebraic groups and number theory, this volume gathers material from the representation theory of this group for the first time, doing so for both local (Archimedean and non-Archimedean) cases as well as for the global number field case.

This volume develops methods for proving the non-vanishing of certain L-functions at points in the critical strip. It begins at a very basic level and continues to develop, providing readers with a theoretical foundation that allows them to understand the latest discoveries in the field.

Although much of classical ergodic theory is concerned with single transformations and one-parameter flows, the subject inherits from statistical mechanics not only its name, but also an obligation to analyze spatially extended systems with multidimensional symmetry groups. However, the wealth of concrete and natural examples which has contributed so much to the appeal and development of classical dynamics, is noticeably absent in this more general theory. The purpose of this book is to help remedy this scarcity of explicit examples by introducing a class of continuous Zd-actions diverse enough to exhibit many of the new phenomena encountered in the transition from Z to Zd, but which nevertheless lends itself to systematic study: the Zd-actions by automorphisms of compact, abelian groups. One aspect of these actions, not surprising in itself but quite striking in its extent and depth nonetheless, is the connection with commutative algebra and arithmetical algebraic geometry. The algebraic framework resulting from this connection allows the construction of examples with a variety of specified dynamical properties, and by combining algebraic and dynamical tools one obtains a quite detailed understanding of this class of Zd-actions.

Generalized Polygons is the first book to cover, in a coherent manner, the theory of polygons from scratch. In particular, it fills elementary gaps in the literature and gives an up-to-date account of current research in this area, including most proofs, which are often unified and streamlined in comparison to the versions generally known. Generalized Polygons will be welcomed both by the student seeking an introduction to the subject as well as the researcher who will value the work as a reference. In particular, it will be of great value for specialists working in the field of generalized polygons (which are, incidentally, the rank 2 Tits-buildings) or in fields directly related to Tits-buildings, incidence geometry and finite geometry. The approach taken in the book is of geometric nature, but algebraic results are included and proven (in a geometric way!). A noteworthy feature is that the book unifies and generalizes notions, definitions and results that exist for quadrangles, hexagons, octagons - in the literature very often considered separately - to polygons. Many alternative viewpoints given in the book heighten the sense of beauty of the subject and help to provide further insight into the matter.