Bücher der Reihe Universitext

This textbook provides a concise, visual introduction to Hopf algebras and their application to knot theory, most notably the construction of solutions of the Yang¿Baxter equations.Starting with a reformulation of the definition of a group in terms of structural maps as motivation for the definition of a Hopf algebra, the book introduces the related algebraic notions: algebras, coalgebras, bialgebras, convolution algebras, modules, comodules. Next, Drinfel¿d¿s quantum double construction is achieved through the important notion of the restricted (or finite) dual of a Hopf algebra, which allows one to work purely algebraically, without completions. As a result, in applications to knot theory, to any Hopf algebra with invertible antipode one can associate a universal invariant of long knots. These constructions are elucidated in detailed analyses of a few examples of Hopf algebras. The presentation of the material is mostly based on multilinear algebra, with all definitions carefully formulated and proofs self-contained. The general theory is illustrated with concrete examples, and many technicalities are handled with the help of visual aids, namely string diagrams. As a result, most of this text is accessible with minimal prerequisites and can serve as the basis of introductory courses to beginning graduate students.

This textbook provides a first introduction to category theory, a powerful framework and tool for understanding mathematical structures. Designed for students with no previous knowledge of the subject, this book offers a gentle approach to mastering its fundamental principles.Unlike traditional category theory books, which can often be overwhelming for beginners, this book has been carefully crafted to offer a clear and concise introduction to the subject. It covers all the essential topics, including categories, functors, natural transformations, duality, equivalence, (co)limits, and adjunctions. Abundant fully-worked examples guide readers in understanding the core concepts, while complete proofs and instructive exercises reinforce comprehension and promote self-study. The author also provides background material and references, making the book suitable for those with a basic understanding of groups, rings, modules, topological spaces, and set theory.Based on the author's course at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, the book is perfectly suited for classroom use in a first introductory course in category theory. Its clear and concise style, coupled with its detailed coverage of key concepts, makes it equally suited for self-study.

This book provides an introduction to the broad topic of the calculus of variations. It addresses the most natural questions on variational problems and the mathematical complexities they present.Beginning with the scientific modeling that motivates the subject, the book then tackles mathematical questions such as the existence and uniqueness of solutions, their characterization in terms of partial differential equations, and their regularity. It includes both classical and recent results on one-dimensional variational problems, as well as the adaptation to the multi-dimensional case. Here, convexity plays an important role in establishing semi-continuity results and connections with techniques from optimization, and convex duality is even used to produce regularity results. This is then followed by the more classical Hölder regularity theory for elliptic PDEs and some geometric variational problems on sets, including the isoperimetric inequality andthe Steiner tree problem. The book concludes with a chapter on the limits of sequences of variational problems, expressed in terms of ¿-convergence.While primarily designed for master's-level and advanced courses, this textbook, based on its author's instructional experience, also offers original insights that may be of interest to PhD students and researchers. A foundational understanding of measure theory and functional analysis is required, but all the essential concepts are reiterated throughout the book using special memo-boxes.

This text covers a first course in bilinear maps and tensor products intending to bring the reader from the beginning of functional analysis to the frontiers of exploration with tensor products. Tensor products, particularly in infinite-dimensional normed spaces, are heavily based on bilinear maps. The author brings these topics together by using bilinear maps as an auxiliary, yet fundamental, tool for accomplishing a consistent, useful, and straightforward theory of tensor products. The author¿s usual clear, friendly, and meticulously prepared exposition presents the material in ways that are designed to make grasping concepts easier and simpler. The approach to the subject is uniquely presented from an operator theoretic view. An introductory course in functional analysis is assumed. In order to keep the prerequisites as modest as possible, there are two introductory chapters, one on linear spaces (Chapter 1) and another on normed spaces (Chapter 5), summarizing the background material required for a thorough understanding. The reader who has worked through this text will be well prepared to approach more advanced texts and additional literature on the subject.The book brings the theory of tensor products on Banach spaces to the edges of Grothendieck's theory, and changes the target towards tensor products of bounded linear operators. Both Hilbert-space and Banach-space operator theory are considered and compared from the point of view of tensor products. This is done from the first principles of functional analysis up to current research topics, with complete and detailed proofs. The first four chapters deal with the algebraic theory of linear spaces, providing various representations of the algebraic tensor product defined in an axiomatic way. Chapters 5 and 6 give the necessary background concerning normed spaces and bounded bilinear mappings. Chapter 7 is devoted to the study of reasonable crossnorms on tensor product spaces, discussing in detail the important extreme realizations of injective and projective tensor products. In Chapter 8 uniform crossnorms are introduced in which the tensor products of operators are bounded; special attention is paid to the finitely generated situation. The concluding Chapter 9 is devoted to the study of the Hilbert space setting and the spectral properties of the tensor products of operators. Each chapter ends with a section containing ¿Additional Propositions" and suggested readings for further studies.