Bücher der Reihe Cambridge Studies in Advanced Mathematics

Finite Group Theory develops the foundations of the theory of finite groups with an emphasis on the finite simple groups. It can serve as a text for advanced undergraduates or graduate students in mathematics and as a basic reference for research mathematicians.

Here, Ian Porteous has reworked his previous book on this subject, Topological Geometry, and has expanded and added material to bring the theory of Clifford algebras to the fore. This treatment of the theory of Clifford algebras will be welcomed for its clarity and detail.

The main body of this text is a rich assortment of methods and ideas from algebraic geometry prompted by classical mechanics. The book is based on courses for graduate students given by the author at Strasbourg University but the wealth of original ideas will make it appeal to researchers also.

Professor Pinsky gives a self-contained account of the theory of positive harmonic functions for second order elliptic operators, using an integrated probabilistic and analytic approach. A useful reference for the specialist, and an excellent guide for the graduate student.

This classic graduate textbook offers a clear exposition of modern probability theory and of the interplay between the properties of metric spaces and probability measures. The comprehensive historical notes have been further amplified for this edition, and a number of new exercises have been added, together with hints for solution.

Understanding Galois representations is one of the central goals of number theory. Around 1990, Fontaine devised a strategy to compare such p-adic Galois representations to seemingly much simpler objects of (semi)linear algebra, the so-called etale (phi, gamma)-modules. This book is the first to provide a detailed and self-contained introduction to this theory. The close connection between the absolute Galois groups of local number fields and local function fields in positive characteristic is established using the recent theory of perfectoid fields and the tilting correspondence. The author works in the general framework of Lubin-Tate extensions of local number fields, and provides an introduction to Lubin-Tate formal groups and to the formalism of ramified Witt vectors. This book will allow graduate students to acquire the necessary basis for solving a research problem in this area, while also offering researchers many of the basic results in one convenient location.

K3 surfaces are central objects in modern algebraic geometry. This book examines this important class of Calabi-Yau manifolds from various perspectives in eighteen self-contained chapters. It starts with the basics and guides the reader to recent breakthroughs, such as the proof of the Tate conjecture for K3 surfaces and structural results on Chow groups. Powerful general techniques are introduced to study the many facets of K3 surfaces, including arithmetic, homological, and differential geometric aspects. In this context, the book covers Hodge structures, moduli spaces, periods, derived categories, birational techniques, Chow rings, and deformation theory. Famous open conjectures, for example the conjectures of Calabi, Weil, and Artin-Tate, are discussed in general and for K3 surfaces in particular, and each chapter ends with questions and open problems. Based on lectures at the advanced graduate level, this book is suitable for courses and as a reference for researchers.

This graduate-level text provides a thorough grounding in the representation theory of finite groups over fields and rings. The book provides a balanced and comprehensive account of the subject, detailing the methods needed to analyze representations that arise in many areas of mathematics. Key topics include the construction and use of character tables, the role of induction and restriction, projective and simple modules for group algebras, indecomposable representations, Brauer characters, and block theory. This classroom-tested text provides motivation through a large number of worked examples, with exercises at the end of each chapter that test the reader's knowledge, provide further examples and practice, and include results not proven in the text. Prerequisites include a graduate course in abstract algebra, and familiarity with the properties of groups, rings, field extensions, and linear algebra.

A rigorous but accessible introduction to the mathematical theory of the three-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations, this book provides self-contained proofs of some of the most significant results in the area, many of which can only be found in research papers. Highlights include the existence of global-in-time Leray-Hopf weak solutions and the local existence of strong solutions; the conditional local regularity results of Serrin and others; and the partial regularity results of Caffarelli, Kohn, and Nirenberg. Appendices provide background material and proofs of some 'standard results' that are hard to find in the literature. A substantial number of exercises are included, with full solutions given at the end of the book. As the only introductory text on the topic to treat all of the mainstream results in detail, this book is an ideal text for a graduate course of one or two semesters. It is also a useful resource for anyone working in mathematical fluid dynamics.

In this second edition of the now classic text, the already extensive treatment given in the first edition has been heavily revised by the author. The addition of two new sections, numerous new results and 150 references means that this represents a comprehensive account of random graph theory. The theory (founded by Erdos and Renyi in the late fifties) aims to estimate the number of graphs of a given degree that exhibit certain properties. It not only has numerous combinatorial applications, but also serves as a model for the probabilistic treatment of more complicated random structures. This book, written by an acknowledged expert in the field, can be used by mathematicians, computer scientists and electrical engineers, as well as people working in biomathematics. It is self-contained, and with numerous exercises in each chapter, is ideal for advanced courses or self study.

This book describes the construction and the properties of CW-complexes. These spaces are important because firstly they are the correct framework for homotopy theory, and secondly most spaces that arise in pure mathematics are of this type. The authors discuss the foundations and also developments, for example, the theory of finite CW-complexes, CW-complexes in relation to the theory of fibrations, and Milnor's work on spaces of the type of CW-complexes. They establish very clearly the relationship between CW-complexes and the theory of simplicial complexes, which is developed in great detail. Exercises are provided throughout the book; some are straightforward, others extend the text in a non-trivial way. For the latter; further reference is given for their solution. Each chapter ends with a section sketching the historical development. An appendix gives basic results from topology, homology and homotopy theory. These features will aid graduate students, who can use the work as a course text. As a contemporary reference work it will be essential reading for the more specialized workers in algebraic topology and homotopy theory.

In the last two decades Cohen-Macaulay rings and modules have been central topics in commutative algebra. This book meets the need for a thorough, self-contained introduction to the homological and combinatorial aspects of the theory of Cohen-Macaulay rings, Gorenstein rings, local cohomology, and canonical modules. A separate chapter is devoted to Hilbert functions (including Macaulay's theorem) and numerical invariants derived from them. The authors emphasize the study of explicit, specific rings, making the presentation as concrete as possible. So the general theory is applied to Stanley-Reisner rings, semigroup rings, determinantal rings, and rings of invariants. Their connections with combinatorics are highlighted, e.g. Stanley's upper bound theorem or Ehrhart's reciprocity law for rational polytopes. The final chapters are devoted to Hochster's theorem on big Cohen-Macaulay modules and its applications, including Peskine-Szpiro's intersection theorem, the Evans-Griffith syzygy theorem, bounds for Bass numbers, and tight closure. Throughout each chapter the authors have supplied many examples and exercises which, combined with the expository style, will make the book very useful for graduate courses in algebra. As the only modern, broad account of the subject it will be essential reading for researchers in commutative algebra.

In addition to being an interesting and profound subject in its own right, commutative ring theory is important as a foundation for algebraic geometry and complex analytical geometry. Matsumura covers the basic material, including dimension theory, depth, Cohen-Macaulay rings, Gorenstein rings, Krull rings and valuation rings. More advanced topics such as Ratliff's theorems on chains of prime ideals are also explored. The work is essentially self-contained, the only prerequisite being a sound knowledge of modern algebra, yet the reader is taken to the frontiers of the subject. Exercises are provided at the end of each section and solutions or hints to some of them are given at the end of the book.

Bernard Helffer's graduate-level introduction to the basic tools in spectral analysis is illustrated by numerous examples from the Schrodinger operator theory and various branches of physics: statistical mechanics, superconductivity, fluid mechanics and kinetic theory. The later chapters also introduce non self-adjoint operator theory with an emphasis on the role of the pseudospectra. The author's focus on applications, along with exercises and examples, enables readers to connect theory with practice so that they develop a good understanding of how the abstract spectral theory can be applied. The final chapter provides various problems that have been the subject of active research in recent years and will challenge the reader's understanding of the material covered.

Richard Stanley's two-volume basic introduction to enumerative combinatorics has become the standard guide to the topic for students and experts alike. This thoroughly revised second edition of Volume 1 includes ten new sections and more than 300 new exercises, most with solutions, reflecting numerous new developments since the publication of the first edition in 1986. The author brings the coverage up to date and includes a wide variety of additional applications and examples, as well as updated and expanded chapter bibliographies. Many of the less difficult new exercises have no solutions so that they can more easily be assigned to students. The material on P-partitions has been rearranged and generalized; the treatment of permutation statistics has been greatly enlarged; and there are also new sections on q-analogues of permutations, hyperplane arrangements, the cd-index, promotion and evacuation and differential posets.

The subject of special functions is often presented as a collection of disparate results, rarely organized in a coherent way. This book emphasizes general principles that unify and demarcate the subjects of study. The authors' main goals are to provide clear motivation, efficient proofs, and original references for all of the principal results. The book covers standard material, but also much more. It shows how much of the subject can be traced back to two equations - the hypergeometric equation and confluent hypergeometric equation - and it details the ways in which these equations are canonical and special. There is extended coverage of orthogonal polynomials, including connections to approximation theory, continued fractions, and the moment problem, as well as an introduction to new asymptotic methods. There are also chapters on Meijer G-functions and elliptic functions. The final chapter introduces Painleve transcendents, which have been termed the 'special functions of the twenty-first century'.

Reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces have developed into an important tool in many areas, especially statistics and machine learning, and they play a valuable role in complex analysis, probability, group representation theory, and the theory of integral operators. This unique text offers a unified overview of the topic, providing detailed examples of applications, as well as covering the fundamental underlying theory, including chapters on interpolation and approximation, Cholesky and Schur operations on kernels, and vector-valued spaces. Self-contained and accessibly written, with exercises at the end of each chapter, this unrivalled treatment of the topic serves as an ideal introduction for graduate students across mathematics, computer science, and engineering, as well as a useful reference for researchers working in functional analysis or its applications.

This gentle introduction to logic and model theory is based on a systematic use of three important games in logic: the semantic game; the Ehrenfeucht-Fraisse game; and the model existence game. The third game has not been isolated in the literature before but it underlies the concepts of Beth tableaux and consistency properties. Jouko Vaananen shows that these games are closely related and in turn govern the three interrelated concepts of logic: truth, elementary equivalence and proof. All three methods are developed not only for first order logic but also for infinitary logic and generalized quantifiers. Along the way, the author also proves completeness theorems for many logics, including the cofinality quantifier logic of Shelah, a fully compact extension of first order logic. With over 500 exercises this book is ideal for graduate courses, covering the basic material as well as more advanced applications.

Diophantine number theory is an active area that has seen tremendous growth over the past century, and in this theory unit equations play a central role. This comprehensive treatment is the first volume devoted to these equations. The authors gather together all the most important results and look at many different aspects, including effective results on unit equations over number fields, estimates on the number of solutions, analogues for function fields and effective results for unit equations over finitely generated domains. They also present a variety of applications. Introductory chapters provide the necessary background in algebraic number theory and function field theory, as well as an account of the required tools from Diophantine approximation and transcendence theory. This makes the book suitable for young researchers as well as experts who are looking for an up-to-date overview of the field.

Rough path analysis provides a fresh perspective on Ito's important theory of stochastic differential equations. Key theorems of modern stochastic analysis (existence and limit theorems for stochastic flows, Freidlin-Wentzell theory, the Stroock-Varadhan support description) can be obtained with dramatic simplifications. Classical approximation results and their limitations (Wong-Zakai, McShane's counterexample) receive 'obvious' rough path explanations. Evidence is building that rough paths will play an important role in the future analysis of stochastic partial differential equations and the authors include some first results in this direction. They also emphasize interactions with other parts of mathematics, including Caratheodory geometry, Dirichlet forms and Malliavin calculus. Based on successful courses at the graduate level, this up-to-date introduction presents the theory of rough paths and its applications to stochastic analysis. Examples, explanations and exercises make the book accessible to graduate students and researchers from a variety of fields.

The representation theory of finite groups has seen rapid growth in recent years with the development of efficient algorithms and computer algebra systems. This is the first book to provide an introduction to the ordinary and modular representation theory of finite groups with special emphasis on the computational aspects of the subject. Evolving from courses taught at Aachen University, this well-paced text is ideal for graduate-level study. The authors provide over 200 exercises, both theoretical and computational, and include worked examples using the computer algebra system GAP. These make the abstract theory tangible and engage students in real hands-on work. GAP is freely available from www.gap-system.org and readers can download source code and solutions to selected exercises from the book's web page.

Cox rings are significant global invariants of algebraic varieties, naturally generalizing homogeneous coordinate rings of projective spaces. This book provides a largely self-contained introduction to Cox rings, with a particular focus on concrete aspects of the theory. Besides the rigorous presentation of the basic concepts, other central topics include the case of finitely generated Cox rings and its relation to toric geometry; various classes of varieties with group actions; the surface case; and applications in arithmetic problems, in particular Manin's conjecture. The introductory chapters require only basic knowledge in algebraic geometry. The more advanced chapters also touch on algebraic groups, surface theory, and arithmetic geometry. Each chapter ends with exercises and problems. These comprise mini-tutorials and examples complementing the text, guided exercises for topics not discussed in the text, and, finally, several open problems of varying difficulty.

The representation theory of the symmetric groups is a classical topic that, since the pioneering work of Frobenius, Schur and Young, has grown into a huge body of theory, with many important connections to other areas of mathematics and physics. This self-contained book provides a detailed introduction to the subject, covering classical topics such as the Littlewood-Richardson rule and the Schur-Weyl duality. Importantly the authors also present many recent advances in the area, including Lassalle's character formulas, the theory of partition algebras, and an exhaustive exposition of the approach developed by A. M. Vershik and A. Okounkov. A wealth of examples and exercises makes this an ideal textbook for graduate students. It will also serve as a useful reference for more experienced researchers across a range of areas, including algebra, computer science, statistical mechanics and theoretical physics.

Over the last century quantum field theory has made a significant impact on the formulation and solution of mathematical problems and inspired powerful advances in pure mathematics. However, most accounts are written by physicists, and mathematicians struggle to find clear definitions and statements of the concepts involved. This graduate-level introduction presents the basic ideas and tools from quantum field theory to a mathematical audience. Topics include classical and quantum mechanics, classical field theory, quantization of classical fields, perturbative quantum field theory, renormalization, and the standard model. The material is also accessible to physicists seeking a better understanding of the mathematical background, providing the necessary tools from differential geometry on such topics as connections and gauge fields, vector and spinor bundles, symmetries and group representations.

Ever since the concepts of Galois groups in algebra and fundamental groups in topology emerged during the nineteenth century, mathematicians have known of the strong analogies between the two concepts. This book presents the connection starting at an elementary level, showing how the judicious use of algebraic geometry gives access to the powerful interplay between algebra and topology that underpins much modern research in geometry and number theory. Assuming as little technical background as possible, the book starts with basic algebraic and topological concepts, but already presented from the modern viewpoint advocated by Grothendieck. This enables a systematic yet accessible development of the theories of fundamental groups of algebraic curves, fundamental groups of schemes, and Tannakian fundamental groups. The connection between fundamental groups and linear differential equations is also developed at increasing levels of generality. Key applications and recent results, for example on the inverse Galois problem, are given throughout.

Originating with the pioneering works of P. Fatou and G. Julia, the subject of complex dynamics has seen great advances in recent years. Complex dynamical systems often exhibit rich, chaotic behavior, which yields attractive computer generated pictures, for example the Mandelbrot and Julia sets, which have done much to renew interest in the subject. This self-contained book discusses the major mathematical tools necessary for the study of complex dynamics at an advanced level. Complete proofs of some of the major tools are presented; some, such as the Bers-Royden theorem on holomorphic motions, appear for the very first time in book format. An appendix considers Riemann surfaces and Teichmuller theory. Detailing the very latest research, the book will appeal to graduate students and researchers working in dynamical systems and related fields. Carefully chosen exercises aid understanding and provide a glimpse of further developments in real and complex one-dimensional dynamics.

Line up a deck of 52 cards on a table. Randomly choose two cards and switch them. How many switches are needed in order to mix up the deck? Starting from a few concrete problems such as random walks on the discrete circle and the finite ultrametric space this book develops the necessary tools for the asymptotic analysis of these processes. This detailed study culminates with the case-by-case analysis of the cut-off phenomenon discovered by Persi Diaconis. This self-contained text is ideal for graduate students and researchers working in the areas of representation theory, group theory, harmonic analysis and Markov chains. Its topics range from the basic theory needed for students new to this area, to advanced topics such as the theory of Green's algebras, the complete analysis of the random matchings, and the representation theory of the symmetric group.

This text on contact topology is a comprehensive introduction to the subject, including recent striking applications in geometric and differential topology: Eliashberg's proof of Cerf's theorem via the classification of tight contact structures on the 3-sphere, and the Kronheimer-Mrowka proof of property P for knots via symplectic fillings of contact 3-manifolds. Starting with the basic differential topology of contact manifolds, all aspects of 3-dimensional contact manifolds are treated in this book. One notable feature is a detailed exposition of Eliashberg's classification of overtwisted contact structures. Later chapters also deal with higher-dimensional contact topology. Here the focus is on contact surgery, but other constructions of contact manifolds are described, such as open books or fibre connected sums. This book serves both as a self-contained introduction to the subject for advanced graduate students and as a reference for researchers.

Written by a master of the subject, this text will be appreciated by students and experts for the way it develops the classical theory of functions of a complex variable in a clear and straightforward manner. In general, the approach taken here emphasises geometrical aspects of the theory in order to avoid some of the topological pitfalls associated with this subject. Thus, Cauchy's integral formula is first proved in a topologically simple case from which the author deduces the basic properties of holomorphic functions. Starting from the basics, students are led on to the study of conformal mappings, Riemann's mapping theorem, analytic functions on a Riemann surface, and ultimately the Riemann-Roch and Abel theorems. Profusely illustrated, and with plenty of examples, and problems (solutions to many of which are included), this book should be a stimulating text for advanced courses in complex analysis.

The landscape of homological algebra has evolved over the last half-century into a fundamental tool for the working mathematician. This book provides a unified account of homological algebra as it exists today. The historical connection with topology, regular local rings, and semi-simple Lie algebras are also described. This book is suitable for second or third year graduate students. The first half of the book takes as its subject the canonical topics in homological algebra: derived functors, Tor and Ext, projective dimensions and spectral sequences. Homology of group and Lie algebras illustrate these topics. Intermingled are less canonical topics, such as the derived inverse limit functor lim1, local cohomology, Galois cohomology, and affine Lie algebras. The last part of the book covers less traditional topics that are a vital part of the modern homological toolkit: simplicial methods, Hochschild and cyclic homology, derived categories and total derived functors. By making these tools more accessible, the book helps to break down the technological barrier between experts and casual users of homological algebra.