Bøger i London Mathematical Society Student Texts serien

The aim of this book is to develop the combinatorics of Young tableaux and to show them in action in the algebra of symmetric functions, representations of the symmetric and general linear groups, and the geometry of flag varieties. The first part of the book is a self-contained presentation of the basic combinatorics of Young tableaux, including the remarkable constructions of 'bumping' and 'sliding', and several interesting correspondences. In Part II these results are used to study representations with geometry on Grassmannians and flag manifolds, including their Schubert subvarieties, and the related Schubert polynomials. Much of this material has never appeared in book form.There are numerous exercises throughout, with hints or answers provided. Researchers in representation theory and algebraic geometry as well as in combinatorics will find Young Tableaux interesting and useful; students will find the intuitive presentation easy to follow.

This 2003 book investigates the interplay between algebra and geometry is a beautiful area of mathematical investigation. Advances in computing and algorithms make it possible to tackle many classical problems in a down-to-earth and concrete fashion. This opens new vistas and allows us to pose, study and solve problems previously out of reach.

The theory of quantum fields on curved spacetimes has attracted great attention since the discovery, by Stephen Hawking, of black-hole evaporation. It remains an important subject for the understanding of such contemporary topics as inflationary cosmology, quantum gravity and superstring theory. This book provides, for mathematicians, an introduction to this field of physics in a language and from a viewpoint which such a reader should find congenial. Physicists should also gain from reading this book a sound grasp of various aspects of the theory, some of which have not been particularly emphasised in the existing review literature. The topics covered include normal-mode expansions for a general elliptic operator, Fock space, the Casimir effect, the 'Klein' paradox, particle definition and particle creation in expanding universes, asymptotic expansion of Green's functions and heat kernels, and renormalisation of the stress tensor. The style is pedagogic rather than formal; some knowledge of general relativity and differential geometry is assumed, but the author does supply background material on functional analysis and quantum field theory as required. The book arose from a course taught to graduate students and could be used for self-study or for advanced courses in relativity and quantum field theory.

This textbook provides an introduction to general relativity for mathematics undergraduates or graduate physicists. After a review of Cartesian tensor notation and special relativity the concepts of Riemannian differential geometry are introducted. More emphasis is placed on an intuitive grasp of the subject and a calculational facility than on a rigorous mathematical exposition. General relativity is then presented as a relativistic theory of gravity reducing in the appropriate limits to Newtonian gravity or special relativity. The Schwarzchild solution is derived and the gravitational red-shift, time dilation and classic tests of general relativity are discussed. There is a brief account of gravitational collapse and black holes based on the extended Schwarzchild solution. Other vacuum solutions are described, motivated by their counterparts in linearised general relativity. The book ends with chapters on cosmological solutions to the field equations. There are exercises attached to each chapter, some of which extend the development given in the text.

This book is an introduction, for mathematics students, to the theories of information and codes. They are usually treated separately but, as both address the problem of communication through noisy channels (albeit from different directions), the authors have been able to exploit the connection to give a reasonably self-contained treatment, relating the probabilistic and algebraic viewpoints. The style is discursive and, as befits the subject, plenty of examples and exercises are provided. Some examples and exercises are provided. Some examples of computer codes are given to provide concrete illustrations of abstract ideas.

The prime number theorem is indisputably one of the great classical theorems of mathematics. Suitable for advanced undergraduates and beginning graduates, this textbook demonstrates how the tools of analysis can be used in number theory to attack a famous problem.

A lucid and concise account of the classification of algebraic surfaces, but expressed simply in the language of modern topology and sheaf theory. The ample number of exercises succeed both in giving the flavour of the extraordinary wealth of examples in the classical subject, and in equipping the reader with most of the techniques needed for research.

This 2004 introduction to noncommutative noetherian rings is intended to be accessible to anyone with a basic background in abstract algebra. It can be used as a second-year graduate text, or as a self-contained reference. Extensive explanatory discussion is given, and exercises are integrated throughout. Various important settings, such as group algebras, Lie algebras, and quantum groups, are sketched at the outset to describe typical problems and provide motivation. The text then develops and illustrates the standard ingredients of the theory: e.g., skew polynomial rings, rings of fractions, bimodules, Krull dimension, linked prime ideals. Recurring emphasis is placed on prime ideals, which play a central role in applications to representation theory. This edition incorporates substantial revisions, particularly in the first third of the book, where the presentation has been changed to increase accessibility and topicality. Material includes the basic types of quantum groups, which then serve as test cases for the theory developed.

This work has arisen from lecture courses given by the authors on important topics within functional analysis. The authors, who are all leading researchers, give introductions to their subjects at a level ideal for beginning graduate students, and others interested in the subject. The collection has been carefully edited so as to form a coherent and accessible introduction to current research topics. The first chapter by Professor Dales introduces the general theory of Banach algebras, which serves as a background to the remaining material. Dr Willis then studies a centrally important Banach algebra, the group algebra of a locally compact group. The remaining chapters are devoted to Banach algebras of operators on Banach spaces: Professor Eschmeier gives all the background for the exciting topic of invariant subspaces of operators, and discusses some key open problems; Dr Laursen and Professor Aiena discuss local spectral theory for operators, leading into Fredholm theory.

The final part of a three-volume set providing a modern account of the representation theory of finite dimensional associative algebras over an algebraically closed field. The subject is presented from the perspective of linear representations of quivers and homological algebra. This volume provides an introduction to the representation theory of representation-infinite tilted algebras from the point of view of the time-wild dichotomy. Also included is a collection of selected results relating to the material discussed in all three volumes. The book is primarily addressed to a graduate student starting research in the representation theory of algebras, but will also be of interest to mathematicians in other fields. Proofs are presented in complete detail, and the text includes many illustrative examples and a large number of exercises at the end of each chapter, making the book suitable for courses, seminars, and self-study.

This book is based on a course given at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It is intended to be a reasonably self-contained introduction to stochastic analytic techniques that can be used in the study of certain problems. The central theme is the theory of diffusions. In order to emphasize the intuitive aspects of probabilistic techniques, diffusion theory is presented as a natural generalization of the flow generated by a vector field. Essential to the development of this idea is the introduction of martingales and the formulation of diffusion theory in terms of martingales. The book will make valuable reading for advanced students in probability theory and analysis and will be welcomed as a concise account of the subject by research workers in these fields.

In this book, developed from courses taught at the University of London, the author aims to show the value of using topological methods in combinatorial group theory. The topological material is given in terms of the fundamental groupoid, giving results and proofs that are both stronger and simpler than the traditional ones. Several chapters deal with covering spaces and complexes, an important method, which is then applied to yield the major Schreier and Kurosh subgroup theorems. The author presents a full account of Bass-Serre theory and discusses the word problem, in particular, its unsolvability and the Higman Embedding Theorem. Included for completeness are the relevant results of computability theory.

This book, which grew out of Steven Bleiler's lecture notes from a course given by Andrew Casson at the University of Texas, is designed to serve as an introduction to the applications of hyperbolic geometry to low dimensional topology. In particular it provides a concise exposition of the work of Neilsen and Thurston on the automorphisms of surfaces. The reader requires only an understanding of basic topology and linear algebra, while the early chapters on hyperbolic geometry and geometric structures on surfaces can profitably be read by anyone with a knowledge of standard Euclidean geometry desiring to learn more abour other 'geometric structures'.

This textbook is an introduction to non-standard analysis and to its many applications. Non standard analysis (NSA) is a subject of great research interest both in its own right and as a tool for answering questions in subjects such as functional analysis, probability, mathematical physics and topology. The book arises from a conference held in July 1986 at the University of Hull which was designed to provide both an introduction to the subject through introductory lectures, and surveys of the state of research. The first part of the book is devoted to the introductory lectures and the second part consists of presentations of applications of NSA to dynamical systems, topology, automata and orderings on words, the non- linear Boltzmann equation and integration on non-standard hulls of vector lattices. One of the book's attractions is that a standard notation is used throughout so the underlying theory is easily applied in a number of different settings. Consequently this book will be ideal for graduate students and research mathematicians coming to the subject for the first time and it will provide an attractive and stimulating account of the subject.

Although it arose from purely theoretical considerations of the underlying axioms of geometry, the work of Einstein and Dirac has demonstrated that hyperbolic geometry is a fundamental aspect of modern physics. In this book, the rich geometry of the hyperbolic plane is studied in detail, leading to the focal point of the book, Poincare's polygon theorem and the relationship between hyperbolic geometries and discrete groups of isometries. Hyperbolic 3-space is also discussed, and the directions that current research in this field is taking are sketched. This will be an excellent introduction to hyperbolic geometry for students new to the subject, and for experts in other fields.

This is an introduction to logic and the axiomatization of set theory from a unique standpoint. Difficult points are presented in an engaging fashion and furthered by the aid of many exercises. Little previous knowledge of logic is required, only a background of standard undergraduate mathematics is assumed.

The area of nonlinear dispersive partial differential equations (PDEs) is a fast developing field which has become exceedingly technical in recent years. With this book, the authors provide a self-contained and accessible introduction for graduate or advanced undergraduate students in mathematics, engineering, and the physical sciences. Both classical and modern methods used in the field are described in detail, concentrating on the model cases that simplify the presentation without compromising the deep technical aspects of the theory, thus allowing students to learn the material in a short period of time. This book is appropriate both for self-study by students with a background in analysis, and for teaching a semester-long introductory graduate course in nonlinear dispersive PDEs. Copious exercises are included, and applications of the theory are also presented to connect dispersive PDEs with the more general areas of dynamical systems and mathematical physics.

The theory of semigroups of operators is a topic with great intellectual beauty and wide-ranging applications. This graduate-level introduction presents the essential elements of the theory, introducing the key notions and establishing the central theorems. A mixture of applications are included and further development directions are indicated.

Recent years have seen rapid progress in the field of approximate groups, with the emergence of a varied range of applications. Written by a leader in the field, this text for both beginning graduate students and researchers collects, for the first time in book form, the main concepts and techniques into a single, self-contained introduction.

This advanced volume of lecture notes presents an open problem at the frontier of research into operator algebra theory, based on the author's university lecture courses and written in a widely accessible style for researchers and Ph.D. students with little experience in the area.

Noncommutative geometry combines themes from algebra, analysis and geometry and has many applications to physics. This book focuses on cyclic theory, containing background not found in published papers. It is intended for Ph.D. students in analysis and geometry, and researchers using K-theory, cyclic theory, differential geometry and index theory.

This textbook is affordable and clearly illustrated, and is intended for advanced undergraduate or beginning graduate students with some previous experience of rings and fields. Alongside standard algebraic notions such as generators of modules and the ascending chain condition, the book develops in detail the geometric view of a commutative ring as the ring of functions on a space.

This book is an introduction to twistor theory and modern geometrical approaches to space-time structure at the graduate or advanced undergraduate level. The choice of material presented has evolved from graduate lectures given in London and Oxford and the authors have aimed to retain the informal tone of those lectures. The book will provide graduate students with an introduction to the literature of twistor theory, presupposing some knowledge of special relativity and differential geometry. It would also be of use for a short course on space-time structure independently of twistor theory. The physicist could be introduced gently to some of the mathematics which has proved useful in these areas, and the mathematician could be shown where sheaf cohomology and complex manifold theory can be used in physics.

This book presents a modern, geometric approach to group theory. An accessible and engaging approach to the subject, with many exercises and figures to develop geometric intuition. Ideal for advanced undergraduates, it will also interest graduate students and researchers as a gentle introduction to geometric group theory.

Although graph theory, design theory, and coding theory had their origins in various areas of applied mathematics, today they are to be found under the umbrella of discrete mathematics. Here the authors have considerably reworked and expanded their earlier successful books on graphs, codes and designs, into an invaluable textbook. They do not seek to consider each of these three topics individually, but rather to stress the many and varied connections between them. The discrete mathematics needed is developed in the text, making this book accessible to any student with a background of undergraduate algebra. Many exercises and useful hints are included througout, and a large number of references are given.

This book is an introduction to an important area of mathematics and mathematical physics. It is accessible to university students, but leads to topics of current research in the theory of harmonic maps. It is the first book on this subject at this level.

Potential theory is the broad area of mathematical analysis encompassing such topics as harmonic and subharmonic functions, the Dirichlet problem, harmonic measure, Green's functions, potentials and capacity. This is an introduction to the subject suitable for beginning graduate students, concentrating on the important case of two dimensions. This permits a simpler treatment than other books, yet is still sufficient for a wide range of applications to complex analysis; these include Picard's theorem, the Phragmen-Lindelof principle, the Koebe one-quarter mapping theorem and a sharp quantitative form of Runge's theorem. In addition there is a chapter on connections with functional analysis and dynamical systems, which shows how the theory can be applied to other parts of mathematics, and gives a flavour of some recent research. Exercises are provided throughout, enabling the book to be used with advanced courses on complex analysis or potential theory.

The study of (special cases of) elliptic curves goes back to Diophantos and Fermat, and today it is still one of the liveliest centres of research in number theory. This book, which is addressed to beginning graduate students, introduces basic theory from a contemporary viewpoint but with an eye to the historical background. The central portion deals with curves over the rationals: the Mordell-Weil finite basis theorem, points of finite order (Nagell-Lutz) etc. The treatment is structured by the local-global standpoint and culminates in the description of the Tate-Shafarevich group as the obstruction to a Hasse principle. In an introductory section the Hasse principle for conics is discussed. The book closes with sections on the theory over finite fields (the 'Riemann hypothesis for function fields') and recently developed uses of elliptic curves for factoring large integers. Prerequisites are kept to a minimum; an acquaintance with the fundamentals of Galois theory is assumed, but no knowledge either of algebraic number theory or algebraic geometry is needed. The p-adic numbers are introduced from scratch, as is the little that is needed on Galois cohomology. Many examples and exercises are included for the reader. For those new to elliptic curves, whether they are graduate students or specialists from other fields, this will be a fine introductory text.

The theory of D-modules is a rich area of study combining ideas from algebra and differential equations, and it has significant applications to diverse areas such as singularity theory and representation theory. This book introduces D-modules and their applications avoiding all unnecessary over-sophistication. It is aimed at beginning graduate students and the approach taken is algebraic, concentrating on the role of the Weyl algebra. Very few prerequisites are assumed, and the book is virtually self-contained. Exercises are included at the end of each chapter and the reader is given ample references to the more advanced literature. This is an excellent introduction to D-modules for all who are new to this area.