Mathematical Notes Series

An elliptic curve is a particular kind of cubic equation in two variables whose projective solutions form a group. Modular forms are analytic functions in the upper half plane with certain transformation laws and growth properties. The two subjects--elliptic curves and modular forms--come together in Eichler-Shimura theory, which constructs elliptic curves out of modular forms of a special kind. The converse, that all rational elliptic curves arise this way, is called the Taniyama-Weil Conjecture and is known to imply Fermat's Last Theorem. Elliptic curves and the modeular forms in the Eichler- Shimura theory both have associated L functions, and it is a consequence of the theory that the two kinds of L functions match. The theory covered by Anthony Knapp in this book is, therefore, a window into a broad expanse of mathematics--including class field theory, arithmetic algebraic geometry, and group representations--in which the concidence of L functions relates analysis and algebra in the most fundamental ways. Developing, with many examples, the elementary theory of elliptic curves, the book goes on to the subject of modular forms and the first connections with elliptic curves. The last two chapters concern Eichler-Shimura theory, which establishes a much deeper relationship between the two subjects. No other book in print treats the basic theory of elliptic curves with only undergraduate mathematics, and no other explains Eichler-Shimura theory in such an accessible manner.

The recent introduction of the Seiberg-Witten invariants of smooth four-manifolds has revolutionized the study of those manifolds. The invariants are gauge-theoretic in nature and are close cousins of the much-studied SU(2)-invariants defined over fifteen years ago by Donaldson. On a practical level, the new invariants have proved to be more powerful and have led to a vast generalization of earlier results. This book is an introduction to the Seiberg-Witten invariants. The work begins with a review of the classical material on Spin c structures and their associated Dirac operators. Next comes a discussion of the Seiberg-Witten equations, which is set in the context of nonlinear elliptic operators on an appropriate infinite dimensional space of configurations. It is demonstrated that the space of solutions to these equations, called the Seiberg-Witten moduli space, is finite dimensional, and its dimension is then computed. In contrast to the SU(2)-case, the Seiberg-Witten moduli spaces are shown to be compact. The Seiberg-Witten invariant is then essentially the homology class in the space of configurations represented by the Seiberg-Witten moduli space. The last chapter gives a flavor for the applications of these new invariants by computing the invariants for most Kahler surfaces and then deriving some basic toological consequences for these surfaces.

Elliptic equations of critical Sobolev growth have been the target of investigation for decades because they have proved to be of great importance in analysis, geometry, and physics. The equations studied here are of the well-known Yamabe type. They involve Schrödinger operators on the left hand side and a critical nonlinearity on the right hand side. A significant development in the study of such equations occurred in the 1980s. It was discovered that the sequence splits into a solution of the limit equation--a finite sum of bubbles--and a rest that converges strongly to zero in the Sobolev space consisting of square integrable functions whose gradient is also square integrable. This splitting is known as the integral theory for blow-up. In this book, the authors develop the pointwise theory for blow-up. They introduce new ideas and methods that lead to sharp pointwise estimates. These estimates have important applications when dealing with sharp constant problems (a case where the energy is minimal) and compactness results (a case where the energy is arbitrarily large). The authors carefully and thoroughly describe pointwise behavior when the energy is arbitrary. Intended to be as self-contained as possible, this accessible book will interest graduate students and researchers in a range of mathematical fields.

This book introduces a new class of non-associative algebras related to certain exceptional algebraic groups and their associated buildings. Richard Weiss develops a theory of these "quadrangular algebras" that opens the first purely algebraic approach to the exceptional Moufang quadrangles. These quadrangles include both those that arise as the spherical buildings associated to groups of type E6, E7, and E8 as well as the exotic quadrangles "of type F4" discovered earlier by Weiss. Based on their relationship to exceptional algebraic groups, quadrangular algebras belong in a series together with alternative and Jordan division algebras. Formally, the notion of a quadrangular algebra is derived from the notion of a pseudo-quadratic space (introduced by Jacques Tits in the study of classical groups) over a quaternion division ring. This book contains the complete classification of quadrangular algebras starting from first principles. It also shows how this classification can be made to yield the classification of exceptional Moufang quadrangles as a consequence. The book closes with a chapter on isotopes and the structure group of a quadrangular algebra. Quadrangular Algebras is intended for graduate students of mathematics as well as specialists in buildings, exceptional algebraic groups, and related algebraic structures including Jordan algebras and the algebraic theory of quadratic forms.

Diffusive motion--displacement due to the cumulative effect of irregular fluctuations--has been a fundamental concept in mathematics and physics since Einstein's work on Brownian motion. It is also relevant to understanding various aspects of quantum theory. This book explains diffusive motion and its relation to both nonrelativistic quantum theory and quantum field theory. It shows how diffusive motion concepts lead to a radical reexamination of the structure of mathematical analysis. The book's inspiration is Princeton University mathematics professor Edward Nelson's influential work in probability, functional analysis, nonstandard analysis, stochastic mechanics, and logic. The book can be used as a tutorial or reference, or read for pleasure by anyone interested in the role of mathematics in science. Because of the application of diffusive motion to quantum theory, it will interest physicists as well as mathematicians. The introductory chapter describes the interrelationships between the various themes, many of which were first brought to light by Edward Nelson. In his writing and conversation, Nelson has always emphasized and relished the human aspect of mathematical endeavor. In his intellectual world, there is no sharp boundary between the mathematical, the cultural, and the spiritual. It is fitting that the final chapter provides a mathematical perspective on musical theory, one that reveals an unexpected connection with some of the book's main themes.

This book provides a detailed exposition of William Thurston's work on surface homeomorphisms, available here for the first time in English. Based on material of Thurston presented at a seminar in Orsay from 1976 to 1977, it covers topics such as the space of measured foliations on a surface, the Thurston compactification of Teichmüller space, the Nielsen-Thurston classification of surface homeomorphisms, and dynamical properties of pseudo-Anosov diffeomorphisms. Thurston never published the complete proofs, so this text is the only resource for many aspects of the theory. Thurston was awarded the prestigious Fields Medal in 1982 as well as many other prizes and honors, and is widely regarded to be one of the major mathematical figures of our time. Today, his important and influential work on surface homeomorphisms is enjoying continued interest in areas ranging from the Poincaré conjecture to topological dynamics and low-dimensional topology. Conveying the extraordinary richness of Thurston's mathematical insight, this elegant and faithful translation from the original French will be an invaluable resource for the next generation of researchers and students.

This book provides a comprehensive and up-to-date introduction to Hodge theory—one of the central and most vibrant areas of contemporary mathematics—from leading specialists on the subject. The topics range from the basic topology of algebraic varieties to the study of variations of mixed Hodge structure and the Hodge theory of maps. Of particular interest is the study of algebraic cycles, including the Hodge and Bloch-Beilinson Conjectures. Based on lectures delivered at the 2010 Summer School on Hodge Theory at the ICTP in Trieste, Italy, the book is intended for a broad group of students and researchers. The exposition is as accessible as possible and doesn't require a deep background. At the same time, the book presents some topics at the forefront of current research. The book is divided between introductory and advanced lectures. The introductory lectures address Kähler manifolds, variations of Hodge structure, mixed Hodge structures, the Hodge theory of maps, period domains and period mappings, algebraic cycles (up to and including the Bloch-Beilinson conjecture) and Chow groups, sheaf cohomology, and a new treatment of Grothendieck’s algebraic de Rham theorem. The advanced lectures address a Hodge-theoretic perspective on Shimura varieties, the spread philosophy in the study of algebraic cycles, absolute Hodge classes (including a new, self-contained proof of Deligne’s theorem on absolute Hodge cycles), and variation of mixed Hodge structures. The contributors include Patrick Brosnan, James Carlson, Eduardo Cattani, François Charles, Mark Andrea de Cataldo, Fouad El Zein, Mark L. Green, Phillip A. Griffiths, Matt Kerr, Lê Dũng Tráng, Luca Migliorini, Jacob P. Murre, Christian Schnell, and Loring W. Tu.

John Mather's seminal works in Hamiltonian dynamics represent some of the most important contributions to our understanding of the complex balance between stable and unstable motions in classical mechanics. His novel approach—known as Aubry-Mather theory—singles out the existence of special orbits and invariant measures of the system, which possess a very rich dynamical and geometric structure. In particular, the associated invariant sets play a leading role in determining the global dynamics of the system. This book provides a comprehensive introduction to Mather’s theory, and can serve as an interdisciplinary bridge for researchers and students from different fields seeking to acquaint themselves with the topic. Starting with the mathematical background from which Mather’s theory was born, Alfonso Sorrentino first focuses on the core questions the theory aims to answer—notably the destiny of broken invariant KAM tori and the onset of chaos—and describes how it can be viewed as a natural counterpart of KAM theory. He achieves this by guiding readers through a detailed illustrative example, which also provides the basis for introducing the main ideas and concepts of the general theory. Sorrentino then describes the whole theory and its subsequent developments and applications in their full generality. Shedding new light on John Mather’s revolutionary ideas, this book is certain to become a foundational text in the modern study of Hamiltonian systems.

This book introduces the theory of complex surfaces through a comprehensive look at finite covers of the projective plane branched along line arrangements. Paula Tretkoff emphasizes those finite covers that are free quotients of the complex two-dimensional ball. Tretkoff also includes background on the classical Gauss hypergeometric function of one variable, and a chapter on the Appell two-variable F1 hypergeometric function. The material in this book began as a set of lecture notes, taken by Tretkoff, of a course given by Friedrich Hirzebruch at ETH Zürich in 1996. The lecture notes were then considerably expanded by Hirzebruch and Tretkoff over a number of years. In this book, Tretkoff has expanded those notes even further, still stressing examples offered by finite covers of line arrangements. The book is largely self-contained and foundational material is introduced and explained as needed, but not treated in full detail. References to omitted material are provided for interested readers. Aimed at graduate students and researchers, this is an accessible account of a highly informative area of complex geometry.

The second edition of Introduction to Partial Differential Equations, which originally appeared in the Princeton series Mathematical Notes, serves as a text for mathematics students at the intermediate graduate level. The goal is to acquaint readers with the fundamental classical results of partial differential equations and to guide them into some aspects of the modern theory to the point where they will be equipped to read advanced treatises and research papers. This book includes many more exercises than the first edition, offers a new chapter on pseudodifferential operators, and contains additional material throughout. The first five chapters of the book deal with classical theory: first-order equations, local existence theorems, and an extensive discussion of the fundamental differential equations of mathematical physics. The techniques of modern analysis, such as distributions and Hilbert spaces, are used wherever appropriate to illuminate these long-studied topics. The last three chapters introduce the modern theory: Sobolev spaces, elliptic boundary value problems, and pseudodifferential operators.

The interplay between analysis on Lie groups and the theory of special functions is well known. This monograph deals with the case of the Heisenberg group and the related expansions in terms of Hermite, special Hermite, and Laguerre functions. The main thrust of the book is to develop a concrete Littlewood-Paley-Stein theory for these expansions and use the theory to prove multiplier theorems. The questions of almost-everywhere and mean convergence of Bochner-Riesz means are also treated. Most of the results in this monograph appear for the first time in book form.

These notes describe a general procedure for calculating the Betti numbers of the projective quotient varieties that geometric invariant theory associates to reductive group actions on nonsingular complex projective varieties. These quotient varieties are interesting in particular because of their relevance to moduli problems in algebraic geometry. The author describes two different approaches to the problem. One is purely algebraic, while the other uses the methods of symplectic geometry and Morse theory, and involves extending classical Morse theory to certain degenerate functions.

The description for this book, Lectures on Vector Bundles over Riemann Surfaces. (MN-6), Volume 6, will be forthcoming.

These notes are based on a course of lectures given by Professor Nelson at Princeton during the spring term of 1966. The subject of Brownian motion has long been of interest in mathematical probability. In these lectures, Professor Nelson traces the history of earlier work in Brownian motion, both the mathematical theory, and the natural phenomenon with its physical interpretations. He continues through recent dynamical theories of Brownian motion, and concludes with a discussion of the relevance of these theories to quantum field theory and quantum statistical mechanics.

The object of this monograph is to give an exposition of the real-variable theory of Hardy spaces (HP spaces). This theory has attracted considerable attention in recent years because it led to a better understanding in Rn of such related topics as singular integrals, multiplier operators, maximal functions, and real-variable methods generally. Because of its fruitful development, a systematic exposition of some of the main parts of the theory is now desirable. In addition to this exposition, these notes contain a recasting of the theory in the more general setting where the underlying Rn is replaced by a homogeneous group. The justification for this wider scope comes from two sources: 1) the theory of semi-simple Lie groups and symmetric spaces, where such homogeneous groups arise naturally as "boundaries," and 2) certain classes of non-elliptic differential equations (in particular those connected with several complex variables), where the model cases occur on homogeneous groups. The example which has been most widely studied in recent years is that of the Heisenberg group.

This book starts with the elementary theory of Lie groups of matrices and arrives at the definition, elementary properties, and first applications of cohomological induction, which is a recently discovered algebraic construction of group representations. Along the way it develops the computational techniques that are so important in handling Lie groups. The book is based on a one-semester course given at the State University of New York, Stony Brook in fall, 1986 to an audience having little or no background in Lie groups but interested in seeing connections among algebra, geometry, and Lie theory. These notes develop what is needed beyond a first graduate course in algebra in order to appreciate cohomological induction and to see its first consequences. Along the way one is able to study homological algebra with a significant application in mind; consequently one sees just what results in that subject are fundamental and what results are minor.

Addressing physicists and mathematicians alike, this book discusses the finite dimensional representation theory of sl(2), both classical and quantum. Covering representations of U(sl(2)), quantum sl(2), the quantum trace and color representations, and the Turaev-Viro invariant, this work is useful to graduate students and professionals. The classic subject of representations of U(sl(2)) is equivalent to the physicists' theory of quantum angular momentum. This material is developed in an elementary way using spin-networks and the Temperley-Lieb algebra to organize computations that have posed difficulties in earlier treatments of the subject. The emphasis is on the 6j-symbols and the identities among them, especially the Biedenharn-Elliott and orthogonality identities. The chapter on the quantum group Ub-3.0 qb0(sl(2)) develops the representation theory in strict analogy with the classical case, wherein the authors interpret the Kauffman bracket and the associated quantum spin-networks algebraically. The authors then explore instances where the quantum parameter q is a root of unity, which calls for a representation theory of a decidedly different flavor. The theory in this case is developed, modulo the trace zero representations, in order to arrive at a finite theory suitable for topological applications. The Turaev-Viro invariant for 3-manifolds is defined combinatorially using the theory developed in the preceding chapters. Since the background from the classical, quantum, and quantum root of unity cases has been explained thoroughly, the definition of this invariant is completely contained and justified within the text.