Algebraic geometry has benefited enormously from the powerful general machinery developed in the latter half of the twentieth century. The cost has been that much of the research of previous generations is in a language unintelligible to modern workers, in particular, the rich legacy of classical algebraic geometry, such as plane algebraic curves of low degree, special algebraic surfaces, theta functions, Cremona transformations, the theory of apolarity and the geometry of lines in projective spaces. The author's contemporary approach makes this legacy accessible to modern algebraic geometers and to others who are interested in applying classical results. The vast bibliography of over 600 references is complemented by an array of exercises that extend or exemplify results given in the book.

This Lecture Notes volume is the fruit of two research-level summer schools jointly organized by the GTEM node at Lille University and the team of Galatasaray University (Istanbul): "Geometry and Arithmetic of Moduli Spaces of Coverings (2008)" and "Geometry and Arithmetic around Galois Theory (2009)". The volume focuses on geometric methods in Galois theory. The choice of the editors is to provide a complete and comprehensive account of modern points of view on Galois theory and related moduli problems, using stacks, gerbes and groupoids. It contains lecture notes on etale fundamental group and fundamental group scheme, and moduli stacks of curves and covers. Research articles complete the collection.

Matroid theory is a vibrant area of research that provides a unified way to understand graph theory, linear algebra and combinatorics via finite geometry. This book provides the first comprehensive introduction to the field which will appeal to undergraduate students and to any mathematician interested in the geometric approach to matroids. Written in a friendly, fun-to-read style and developed from the authors' own undergraduate courses, the book is ideal for students. Beginning with a basic introduction to matroids, the book quickly familiarizes the reader with the breadth of the subject, and specific examples are used to illustrate the theory and to help students see matroids as more than just generalizations of graphs. Over 300 exercises are included, with many hints and solutions so students can test their understanding of the materials covered. The authors have also included several projects and open-ended research problems for independent study.

In the more than 100 years since the fundamental group was first introduced by Henri Poincare it has evolved to play an important role in different areas of mathematics. Originally conceived as part of algebraic topology, this essential concept and its analogies have found numerous applications in mathematics that are still being investigated today, and which are explored in this volume, the result of a meeting at Heidelberg University that brought together mathematicians who use or study fundamental groups in their work with an eye towards applications in arithmetic. The book acknowledges the varied incarnations of the fundamental group: pro-finite, -adic, p-adic, pro-algebraic and motivic. It explores a wealth of topics that range from anabelian geometry (in particular the section conjecture), the -adic polylogarithm, gonality questions of modular curves, vector bundles in connection with monodromy, and relative pro-algebraic completions, to a motivic version of Minhyong Kim's non-abelian Chabauty method and p-adic integration after Coleman. The editor has also included the abstracts of all the talks given at the Heidelberg meeting, as well as the notes on Coleman integration and on Grothendieck's fundamental group with a view towards anabelian geometry taken from a series of introductory lectures given by Amnon Besser and Tamas Szamuely, respectively."

In recognition of professor Shiing-Shen Chern's long and distinguished service to mathematics and to the University of California, the geometers at Berkeley held an International Symposium in Global Analysis and Global Geometry in his honor in June 1979. The output of this Symposium was published in a series of three separate volumes, comprising approximately a third of Professor Chern's total publications up to 1979. Later, a fourth volume was published, focusing on papers written during the Eighties. This third volume comprises selected papers written between 1965 and 1979.

Lectori salutem! The kind reader opens the book that its authors would have liked to read it themselves, but it was not written yet. Then, their only choice was to write this book, to fill a gap in the mathematicalliterature. The idea of convexity has appeared in the human mind since the antiquity and its fertility has led to a huge diversity of notions and of applications. A student intending a thoroughgoing study of convexity has the sensation of swimming into an ocean. It is due to two reasons: the first one is the great number of properties and applications of the classical convexity and second one is the great number of generalisations for various purposes. As a consequence, a tendency of writing huge books guiding the reader in convexity appeared during the last twenty years (for example, the books of P. M. Gruber and J. M. Willis (1993) and R. J. Webster (1994)). Another last years' tendency is to order, from some point of view, as many convexity notions as possible (for example, the book of I. Singer (1997)). These approaches to the domain of convexity follow the previous point of view of axiomatizing it (A. Ghika (1955), W. Prenowitz (1961), D. Voiculescu (1967), V. W. Bryant and R. J. Webster (1969)). Following this last tendency, our book proposes to the reader two classifications of convexity properties for sets, both of them starting from the internal mechanism of defining them.

This is the Proceedings of the ICM 2010 Satellite Conference on "Buildings, Finite Geometries and Groups" organized at the Indian Statistical Institute, Bangalore, during August 29 - 31, 2010. This is a collection of articles by some of the currently very active research workers in several areas related to finite simple groups, Chevalley groups and their generalizations: theory of buildings, finite incidence geometries, modular representations, Lie theory, etc. These articles reflect the current major trends in research in the geometric and combinatorial aspects of the study of these groups.

The unique perspective the authors bring in their articles on the current developments and the major problems in their area is expected to be very useful to research mathematicians, graduate students and potential new entrants to these areas.

The 1992/3 academic year at the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute was devoted to complex algebraic geometry. This 1996 volume collects survey articles that arose from this event, which took place at a time when algebraic geometry was undergoing a major change. To put it succinctly, algebraic geometry has opened up to ideas and connections from other fields that have traditionally been far away. The editors of the volume, Herbert Clemens and Janos Kollar, chaired the organizing committee. Activities were centered around themes, one per month, under the guidance of experts in each area. There were also four short workshops, which attracted many participants and helped considerably in communicating the new directions in algebraic geometry to a large audience. This book gives a good idea of the intellectual content of the special year and of the workshops.

Algebraic geometry is one of the most diverse fields of research in mathematics. It has had an incredible evolution over the past century, with new subfields constantly branching off and spectacular progress in certain directions, and at the same time, with many fundamental unsolved problems still to be tackled. In the spring of 2009 the first main workshop of the MSRI algebraic geometry program served as an introductory panorama of current progress in the field, addressed to both beginners and experts. This volume reflects that spirit, offering expository overviews of the state of the art in many areas of algebraic geometry. Prerequisites are kept to a minimum, making the book accessible to a broad range of mathematicians. Many chapters present approaches to long-standing open problems by means of modern techniques currently under development and contain questions and conjectures to help spur future research.

Experience gained during a ten-year long involvement in modelling, program ming and application in nonlinear optimization helped me to arrive at the conclusion that in the interest of having successful applications and efficient software production, knowing the structure of the problem to be solved is in dispensable. This is the reason why I have chosen the field in question as the sphere of my research. Since in applications, mainly from among the nonconvex optimization models, the differentiable ones proved to be the most efficient in modelling, especially in solving them with computers, I started to deal with the structure of smooth optimization problems. The book, which is a result of more than a decade of research, can be equally useful for researchers and stu dents showing interest in the domain, since the elementary notions necessary for understanding the book constitute a part of the university curriculum. I in tended dealing with the key questions of optimization theory, which endeavour, obviously, cannot bear all the marks of completeness. What I consider the most crucial point is the uniform, differential geometric treatment of various questions, which provides the reader with opportunities for learning the structure in the wide range, within optimization problems. I am grateful to my family for affording me tranquil, productive circumstances. I express my gratitude to F."

The impact and influence of J.-P. Serres work have been notable ever since his doctoral thesis on homotopy groups. The abundance of findings and deep insights found in his research and survey papers ranging from topology, several complex variables, and algebraic geometry to number theory, group theory, commutative algebra and modular forms, continues to provide inspiring reading for mathematicians working in these areas, in their research and their teaching.

Characteristic of Serres publications are the many open questions he formulates pointing to further directions for research. In four volumes of Collected Papers he has provided comments on and corrections to most articles, and described the current status of the open questions with reference to later findings.

In this softcover edition of volume IV, two recently published articles have been added, one on the life and works of Andre Weil, the other one on Finite Subgroups of Lie Groups.

"From the reviews: "

"This is the fourth volume of J-P. Serre's "Collected Papers" covering the period 1985-1998. Items, numbered 133-173, contain "the essence'' of his work from that period and are devoted to number theory, algebraic geometry, and group theory. Half of them are articles and another half are summaries of his courses in those years and letters. Most courses have never been previously published, nor proofs of the announced results. The letters reproduced, however (in particular to K. Ribet and M.-F. Vigneras), provide indications of some of those proofs. Also included is an interview with J-P. Serre from 1986, revealing his views on mathematics (with the stress upon its integrity) and his own mathematical activity. The volume ends with Notes which complete the text by reporting recent progress and occasionally correct it.

"Zentralblatt MATH"

"

Global optimization is one of the fastest developing fields in mathematical optimization. In fact, an increasing number of remarkably efficient deterministic algorithms have been proposed in the last ten years for solving several classes of large scale specially structured problems encountered in such areas as chemical engineering, financial engineering, location and network optimization, production and inventory control, engineering design, computational geometry, and multi-objective and multi-level optimization. These new developments motivated the authors to write a new book devoted to global optimization problems with special structures. Most of these problems, though highly nonconvex, can be characterized by the property that they reduce to convex minimization problems when some of the variables are fixed. A number of recently developed algorithms have been proved surprisingly efficient for handling typical classes of problems exhibiting such structures, namely low rank nonconvex structures. Audience: The book will serve as a fundamental reference book for all those who are interested in mathematical optimization.

Lagrange and penalty function methods provide a powerful approach, both as a theoretical tool and a computational vehicle, for the study of constrained optimization problems. However, for a nonconvex constrained optimization problem, the classical Lagrange primal-dual method may fail to find a mini mum as a zero duality gap is not always guaranteed. A large penalty parameter is, in general, required for classical quadratic penalty functions in order that minima of penalty problems are a good approximation to those of the original constrained optimization problems. It is well-known that penaity functions with too large parameters cause an obstacle for numerical implementation. Thus the question arises how to generalize classical Lagrange and penalty functions, in order to obtain an appropriate scheme for reducing constrained optimiza tion problems to unconstrained ones that will be suitable for sufficiently broad classes of optimization problems from both the theoretical and computational viewpoints. Some approaches for such a scheme are studied in this book. One of them is as follows: an unconstrained problem is constructed, where the objective function is a convolution of the objective and constraint functions of the original problem. While a linear convolution leads to a classical Lagrange function, different kinds of nonlinear convolutions lead to interesting generalizations. We shall call functions that appear as a convolution of the objective function and the constraint functions, Lagrange-type functions.

The impact and influence of Jean-Pierre Serre's work have been notable ever since his doctoral thesis on homotopy groups. The abundance of significant results and deep insight contained in his research and survey papers ranging through topology, several complex variables, and algebraic geometry to number theory, group theory, commutative algebra and modular forms, continues to provide inspiring reading for mathematicians working in these areas, in their research and their teaching. Characteristic of Serre's publications are the many open questions he formulated suggesting further research directions. Four volumes specify how he has provided comments on and corrections to most articles, and described the present status of the open questions with reference to later results. Jean-Pierre Serre is one of a few mathematicians to have won the Fields medal, the Abel prize, and the Wolf prize.

This contributed volume brings together the highest quality expository papers written by leaders and talented junior mathematicians in the field of Commutative Algebra. Contributions cover a very wide range of topics, including core areas in Commutative Algebra and also relations to Algebraic Geometry, Algebraic Combinatorics, Hyperplane Arrangements, Homological Algebra, and String Theory. The book aims to showcase the area, especially for the benefit of junior mathematicians and researchers who are new to the field; it will aid them in broadening their background and to gain a deeper understanding of the current research in this area. Exciting developments are surveyed and many open problems are discussed with the aspiration to inspire the readers and foster further research.

The study of arithmetic differential operators is a novel and promising area of mathematics. This complete introduction to the subject starts with the basics: a discussion of p-adic numbers and some of the classical differential analysis on the field of p-adic numbers leading to the definition of arithmetic differential operators on this field. Buium's theory of arithmetic jet spaces is then developed succinctly in order to define arithmetic operators in general. Features of the book include a comparison of the behaviour of these operators over the p-adic integers and their behaviour over the unramified completion, and a discussion of the relationship between characteristic functions of p-adic discs and arithmetic differential operators that disappears as soon as a single root of unity is adjoined to the p-adic integers. This book is essential reading for researchers and graduate students who want a first introduction to arithmetic differential operators over the p-adic integers.

Particles with fractional statistics interpolating between bosons and fermions have attracted considerable interest from mathematical physicists. In recent years it has emerged that these so-called anyons have rather unexpected applications, such as the fractional Hall effect, anyonic excitations in films of liquid helium, and high-temrperature superconductivity. Furthermore, they are discussed also in the context of conformal field theories. This book is a systematic and pedagogical introduction that considers the subject of anyons from many different points of view. In particular, the author presents the relation of anyons to braid groups and Chern-Simons field theory and devotes three chapters to physical applications. The book, while being of interest to researchers, primarily addresses advanced students of mathematics and physics.

The theory of elliptic curves involves a pleasing blend of algebra, geometry, analysis, and number theory. This volume stresses this interplay as it develops the basic theory, thereby providing an opportunity for advanced undergraduates to appreciate the unity of modern mathematics. At the same time, every effort has been made to use only methods and results commonly included in the undergraduate curriculum. This accessibility, the informal writing style, and a wealth of exercises make Rational Points on Elliptic Curves an ideal introduction for students at all levels who are interested in learning about Diophantine equations and arithmetic geometry. Most concretely, an elliptic curve is the set of zeroes of a cubic polynomial in two variables. If the polynomial has rational coefficients, then one can ask for a description of those zeroes whose coordinates are either integers or rational numbers. It is this number theoretic question that is the main subject of Rational Points on Elliptic Curves. Topics covered include the geometry and group structure of elliptic curves, the Nagell–Lutz theorem describing points of finite order, the Mordell–Weil theorem on the finite generation of the group of rational points, the Thue–Siegel theorem on the finiteness of the set of integer points, theorems on counting points with coordinates in finite fields, Lenstra's elliptic curve factorization algorithm, and a discussion of complex multiplication and the Galois representations associated to torsion points. Additional topics new to the second edition include an introduction to elliptic curve cryptography and a brief discussion of the stunning proof of Fermat's Last Theorem by Wiles et al. via the use of elliptic curves.

In recognition of professor Shiing-Shen Chern s long and distinguished service to mathematics and to the University of California, the geometers at Berkeley held an International Symposium in Global Analysis and Global Geometry in his honor in June 1979. The output of this Symposium was published in a series of three separate volumes, comprising approximately a third of Professor Chern s total publications up to 1979. Later, a fourth volume was published, focusing on papers written during the Eighties. This first volume comprises selected papers written between 1932 and 1975. In making the selections, Professor Chern gave preference to shorter and lesser-known papers."

A unique series of fascinating research papers on subjects related to the work of Niels Henrik Abel, written by some of the foremost specialists in their fields. Some of the authors have been specifically invited to present papers, discussing the influence of Abel in a mathematical-historical context. Others have submitted papers presented at the Abel Bicentennial Conference, Oslo June 3-8, 2002. The idea behind the book has been to produce a text covering a substantial part of the legacy of Abel, as perceived at the beginning of the 21st century.

The impact and influence of Jean-Pierre Serre's work have been notable ever since his doctoral thesis on homotopy groups. The abundance of significant results and deep insight contained in his research and survey papers ranging through topology, several complex variables, and algebraic geometry to number theory, group theory, commutative algebra and modular forms, continues to provide inspiring reading for mathematicians working in these areas, in their research and their teaching. Characteristic of Serre's publications are the many open questions he formulated suggesting further research directions. Four volumes specify how he has provided comments on and corrections to most articles, and described the present status of the open questions with reference to later results. Jean-Pierre Serre is one of a few mathematicians to have won the Fields medal, the Abel prize, and the Wolf prize.

"Still waters run deep." This proverb expresses exactly how a mathematician Akihito Uchiyama and his works were. He was not celebrated except in the field of harmonic analysis, and indeed he never wanted that. He suddenly passed away in summer of 1997 at the age of 48. However, nowadays his contributions to the fields of harmonic analysis and real analysis are permeating through various fields of analysis deep and wide. One could write several papers explaining his contributions and how they have been absorbed into these fields, developed, and used in further breakthroughs. Peter W. Jones (Professor of Yale University) says in his special contribution to this book that Uchiyama's decomposition of BMO functions is considered to be the Mount Everest of Hardy space theory. This book is based on the draft, which the author Akihito Uchiyama had completed by 1990. It deals with the theory of real Hardy spaces on the n-dimensional Euclidean space. Here the author explains scrupulously some of important results on Hardy spaces by real-variable methods, in particular, the atomic decomposition of elements in Hardy spaces and his constructive proof of the Fefferman-Stein decomposition of BMO functions into the sum of a bounded?function and Riesz transforms of bounded functions.

Just suppose, for a moment, that all rings of integers in algebraic number fields were unique factorization domains, then it would be fairly easy to produce a proof of Fermat's Last Theorem, fitting, say, in the margin of this page. Unfortunately however, rings of integers are not that nice in general, so that, for centuries, math ematicians had to search for alternative proofs, a quest which culminated finally in Wiles' marvelous results - but this is history. The fact remains that modern algebraic number theory really started off with in vestigating the problem which rings of integers actually are unique factorization domains. The best approach to this question is, of course, through the general the ory of Dedekind rings, using the full power of their class group, whose vanishing is, by its very definition, equivalent to the unique factorization property. Using the fact that a Dedekind ring is essentially just a one-dimensional global version of discrete valuation rings, one easily verifies that the class group of a Dedekind ring coincides with its Picard group, thus making it into a nice, functorial invariant, which may be studied and calculated through algebraic, geometric and co homological methods. In view of the success of the use of the class group within the framework of Dedekind rings, one may wonder whether it may be applied in other contexts as well. However, for more general rings, even the definition of the class group itself causes problems."

The development of Maxim Kontsevich's initial ideas on motivic integration has unexpectedly influenced many other areas of mathematics, ranging from the Langlands program over harmonic analysis, to non-Archimedean analysis, singularity theory and birational geometry. This book assembles the different theories of motivic integration and their applications for the first time, allowing readers to compare different approaches and assess their individual strengths. All of the necessary background is provided to make the book accessible to graduate students and researchers from algebraic geometry, model theory and number theory. Applications in several areas are included so that readers can see motivic integration at work in other domains. In a rapidly-evolving area of research this book will prove invaluable. This second volume discusses various applications of non-Archimedean geometry, model theory and motivic integration and the interactions between these domains.