Ergodic theory grew out of an important problem of statistical mechanics which was resolved by Birkhoff and von Neumann in the 1930s. Since that time the subject has made its way to the centre of pure mathematics, drawing on the techniques of many other areas and, in turn, influencing those areas. The author has provided in this slim volume a speedy introduction to a considerable number of topics and examples. He includes sections on the classical ergodic theorems, topological dynamics, uniform distribution, Martingales, information theory and entropy. There is a chapter on mixing and one on...

Optimization is concerned with finding the best (optimal) solution to mathematical problems that may arise in economics, engineering, the social sciences and the mathematical sciences. As is suggested by its title, this book surveys various ways of penetrating the subject. The author begins with a selection of the type of problem to which optimization can be applied and the remainder of the book develops the theory, mainly from the viewpoint of mathematical programming. To prevent the treatment becoming too abstract, subjects which may be considered ?unpractical? are not touched upon. The...

Presents analogues for operators on Banach spaces of Fredholm's solution of integral equations of the second kind.

The purpose of this book is to present the theory of general irreducible Markov chains and to point out the connection between this and the Perron-Frobenius theory of nonnegative operators. The author begins by providing some basic material designed to make the book self-contained, yet his principal aim throughout is to emphasize recent developments. The technique of embedded renewal processes, common in the study of discrete Markov chains, plays a particularly important role. The examples discussed indicate applications to such topics as queueing theory, storage theory, autoregressive...

The central theme of this book is a detailed exposition of the geometric technique of calculating syzygies. While this is an important tool in algebraic geometry, Jerzy Weyman has elected to write from the point of view of commutative algebra in order to avoid being tied to special cases from geometry. No prior knowledge of representation theory is assumed. Chapters on several applications are included, and numerous exercises will give the reader insight into how to apply this important method.

Practical Foundations of Mathematics explains the basis of mathematical reasoning both in pure mathematics itself (algebra and topology in particular) and in computer science. In addition to the formal logic, this volume examines the relationship between computer languages and "plain English" mathematical proofs. The book introduces the reader to discrete mathematics, reasoning, and categorical logic. It offers a new approach to term algebras, induction and recursion and proves in detail the equivalence of types and categories. Each idea is illustrated by wide-ranging examples, and followed...

The heart of the book is a lengthy introduction to the representation theory of finite dimensional algebras, in which the techniques of quivers with relations and almost split sequences are discussed in some detail.

This is the first of two volumes providing an introduction to modern developments in the representation theory of finite groups and associative algebras, which have transformed the subject into a study of categories of modules. Thus, Dr. Benson's unique perspective in this book incorporates homological algebra and the theory of representations of finite-dimensional algebras. This volume is primarily concerned with the exposition of the necessary background material, and the heart of the discussion is a lengthy introduction to the (Auslander-Reiten) representation theory of finite dimensional...

This is an up-to-date and comprehensive account of the theory of Levy processes. This branch of modern probability theory has been developed over recent years and has many applications in such areas as queues, mathematical finance and risk estimation. Professor Bertoin has used the powerful interplay between the probabilistic structure (independence and stationarity of the increments) and analytic tools (especially Fourier and Laplace transforms) to give a quick and concise treatment of the core theory, with the minimum of technical requirements. Special properties of subordinators are...

This book provides an introduction to quadratic forms, building from basics to the most recent results. Professor Kitaoka is well known for his work in this area, and in this book he covers many aspects of the subject, including lattice theory, Siegel's formula, and some results involving tensor products of positive definite quadratic forms. The reader should have a knowledge of algebraic number fields, making this book ideal for graduate students and researchers wishing for an insight into quadratic forms.