There are still many arithmetic mysteries surrounding the values of the Riemann zeta function at the odd positive integers greater than one. For example, the matter of their irrationality, let alone transcendence, remains largely unknown. However, by extending ideas of Garland, Borel proved that these values are related to the higher K-theory of the ring of integers. Shortly afterwards, Bloch and Kato proposed a Tamagawa number-type conjecture for these values, and showed that it would follow from a result in motivic cohomology which was unknown at the time. This vital result from motivic...

The aim of this book is to give a systematic exposition of results in some important cases where p-adic families and p-adic L-functions are studied. We first look at p-adic families in the following cases: general linear groups, symplectic groups and definite unitary groups. We also look at applications of this theory to modularity lifting problems. We finally consider p-adic L-functions for GL(2), the p-adic adjoint L-functions and some cases of higher GL(n).