Bücher von Steven H. Weintraub

This is a textbook on Galois theory. Galois theory has a well-deserved re- tation as one of the most beautiful subjects in mathematics. I was seduced by its beauty into writing this book. I hope you will be seduced by its beauty in reading it. This book begins at the beginning. Indeed (and perhaps a little unusually for a mathematics text), it begins with an informal introductory chapter, Ch- ter 1. In this chapter we give a number of examples in Galois theory, even before our terms have been properly de?ned. (Needless to say, even though we proceed informally here, everything we say is absolutely correct.) These examples are sort of an airport beacon, shining a clear light at our destination as we navigate a course through the mathematical skies to get there. Then we start with our proper development of the subject, in Chapter 2. We assume no prior knowledge of ?eld theory on the part of the reader. We develop ?eld theory, with our goal being the Fundamental Theorem of Galois Theory (the FTGT). On the way, we consider extension ?elds, and deal with the notions of normal, separable, and Galois extensions. Then, in the penul- mate section of this chapter, we reach our main goal, the FTGT.

This book is designed as a text for a first-year graduate algebra course. As necessary background we would consider a good undergraduate linear algebra course. An undergraduate abstract algebra course, while helpful, is not necessary (and so an adventurous undergraduate might learn some algebra from this book). Perhaps the principal distinguishing feature of this book is its point of view. Many textbooks tend to be encyclopedic. We have tried to write one that is thematic, with a consistent point of view. The theme, as indicated by our title, is that of modules (though our intention has not been to write a textbook purely on module theory). We begin with some group and ring theory, to set the stage, and then, in the heart of the book, develop module theory. Having developed it, we present some of its applications: canonical forms for linear transformations, bilinear forms, and group representations. Why modules? The answer is that they are a basic unifying concept in mathematics. The reader is probably already familiar with the basic role that vector spaces play in mathematics, and modules are a generaliza- tion of vector spaces. (To be precise, modules are to rings as vector spaces are to fields.