Volume of geometric objects plays an important role in applied and theoretical mathematics. This is particularly true in the relatively new branch of discrete geometry, where volume is often used to find new topics for research. Volumetric Discrete Geometry demonstrates the recent aspects of volume, introduces problems related to it, and presents methods to apply it to other geometric problems. Part I of the text consists of survey chapters of selected topics on volume and is suitable for advanced undergraduate students. Part II has chapters of selected proofs of theorems stated in Part I and is oriented for graduate level students wishing to learn about the latest research on the topic. Chapters can be studied independently from each other. Provides a list of 30 open problems to promote research Features more than 60 research exercises Ideally suited for researchers and students of combinatorics, geometry and discrete mathematics

The French expression "dessins d'enfants'' means children's drawings. This term was coined by the great French mathematician Alexandre Grothendieck in order to denominate a method of pictorial representation of some highly interesting classes of polynomials and rational functions. The polynomials studied in this book take their origin in number theory. The authors show how, by drawing simple pictures, one can prove some long-standing conjectures and formulate new ones. The theory presented here touches upon many different fields of mathematics. The major part of the book is quite elementary and is easily accessible to an undergraduate student. The less elementary parts, such as Galois theory or group representations and their characters, would need a more profound knowledge of mathematics. The reader may either take the basic facts of these theories for granted or use our book as a motivation and a first approach to these subjects.

Additive combinatorics is the theory of counting additive structures in sets. This theory has seen exciting developments and dramatic changes in direction in recent years thanks to its connections with areas such as number theory, ergodic theory and graph theory. This graduate-level 2006 text will allow students and researchers easy entry into this fascinating field. Here, the authors bring together in a self-contained and systematic manner the many different tools and ideas that are used in the modern theory, presenting them in an accessible, coherent, and intuitively clear manner, and providing immediate applications to problems in additive combinatorics. The power of these tools is well demonstrated in the presentation of recent advances such as Szemeredi's theorem on arithmetic progressions, the Kakeya conjecture and Erdos distance problems, and the developing field of sum-product estimates. The text is supplemented by a large number of exercises and new results.

Handbook of Mathematical Induction: Theory and Applications shows how to find and write proofs via mathematical induction. This comprehensive book covers the theory, the structure of the written proof, all standard exercises, and hundreds of application examples from nearly every area of mathematics.

In the first part of the book, the author discusses different inductive techniques, including well-ordered sets, basic mathematical induction, strong induction, double induction, infinite descent, downward induction, and several variants. He then introduces ordinals and cardinals, transfinite induction, the axiom of choice, Zorn s lemma, empirical induction, and fallacies and induction. He also explains how to write inductive proofs.

The next part contains more than 750 exercises that highlight the levels of difficulty of an inductive proof, the variety of inductive techniques available, and the scope of results provable by mathematical induction. Each self-contained chapter in this section includes the necessary definitions, theory, and notation and covers a range of theorems and problems, from fundamental to very specialized.

The final part presents either solutions or hints to the exercises. Slightly longer than what is found in most texts, these solutions provide complete details for every step of the problem-solving process.

Eschewing the often standard dry and static writing style of traditional textbooks, Discrete Encounters provides a refreshing approach to discrete mathematics. The author blends traditional course topics and applications with historical context, pop culture references, and open problems. This book focuses on the historical development of the subject and provides fascinating details of the people behind the mathematics, along with their motivations, deepening readers' appreciation of mathematics. This unique book covers many of the same topics found in traditional textbooks, but does so in an alternative, entertaining style that better captures readers' attention. In addition to standard discrete mathematics material, the author shows the interplay between the discrete and the continuous and includes high-interest topics such as fractals, chaos theory, cellular automata, money-saving financial mathematics, and much more. Not only will readers gain a greater understanding of mathematics and its culture, they will also be encouraged to further explore the subject. Long lists of references at the end of each chapter make this easy. Highlights: Features fascinating historical context to motivate readers Text includes numerous pop culture references throughout to provide a more engaging reading experience Its unique topic structure presents a fresh approach The text's narrative style is that of a popular book, not a dry textbook Includes the work of many living mathematicians Its multidisciplinary approach makes it ideal for liberal arts mathematics classes, leisure reading, or as a reference for professors looking to supplement traditional courses Contains many open problems Profusely illustrated

The Mathematics of Chip-firing is a solid introduction and overview of the growing field of chip-firing. It offers an appreciation for the richness and diversity of the subject. Chip-firing refers to a discrete dynamical system - a commodity is exchanged between sites of a network according to very simple local rules. Although governed by local rules, the long-term global behavior of the system reveals fascinating properties. The Fundamental properties of chip-firing are covered from a variety of perspectives. This gives the reader both a broad context of the field and concrete entry points from different backgrounds. Broken into two sections, the first examines the fundamentals of chip-firing, while the second half presents more general frameworks for chip-firing. Instructors and students will discover that this book provides a comprehensive background to approaching original sources. Features: Provides a broad introduction for researchers interested in the subject of chip-firing The text includes historical and current perspectives Exercises included at the end of each chapter About the Author: Caroline J. Klivans received a BA degree in mathematics from Cornell University and a PhD in applied mathematics from MIT. Currently, she is an Associate Professor in the Division of Applied Mathematics at Brown University. She is also an Associate Director of ICERM (Institute for Computational and Experimental Research in Mathematics). Before coming to Brown she held positions at MSRI, Cornell and the University of Chicago. Her research is in algebraic, geometric and topological combinatorics.

The Mathematics of Chip-firing is a solid introduction and overview of the growing field of chip-firing. It offers an appreciation for the richness and diversity of the subject. Chip-firing refers to a discrete dynamical system - a commodity is exchanged between sites of a network according to very simple local rules. Although governed by local rules, the long-term global behavior of the system reveals fascinating properties. The Fundamental properties of chip-firing are covered from a variety of perspectives. This gives the reader both a broad context of the field and concrete entry points from different backgrounds. Broken into two sections, the first examines the fundamentals of chip-firing, while the second half presents more general frameworks for chip-firing. Instructors and students will discover that this book provides a comprehensive background to approaching original sources. Features: Provides a broad introduction for researchers interested in the subject of chip-firing The text includes historical and current perspectives Exercises included at the end of each chapter About the Author: Caroline J. Klivans received a BA degree in mathematics from Cornell University and a PhD in applied mathematics from MIT. Currently, she is an Associate Professor in the Division of Applied Mathematics at Brown University. She is also an Associate Director of ICERM (Institute for Computational and Experimental Research in Mathematics). Before coming to Brown she held positions at MSRI, Cornell and the University of Chicago. Her research is in algebraic, geometric and topological combinatorics.

Paul Erdoes was one of the greatest mathematicians of this century, known the world over for his brilliant ideas and stimulating questions. On the date of his 80th birthday a conference was held in his honour at Trinity College, Cambridge. Many leading combinatorialists attended. Their subsequent contributions are collected here. The areas represented range from set theory and geometry, through graph theory, group theory and combinatorial probability, to randomised algorithms and statistical physics. Erdoes himself was able to give a survey of recent progress made on his favourite problems. Consequently this volume, consisting of in-depth studies at the frontier of research, provides a valuable panorama across the breadth of combinatorics as it is today.

50 Years of Combinatorics, Graph Theory, and Computing advances research in discrete mathematics by providing current research surveys, each written by experts in their subjects. The book also celebrates outstanding mathematics from 50 years at the Southeastern International Conference on Combinatorics, Graph Theory & Computing (SEICCGTC). The conference is noted for the dissemination and stimulation of research, while fostering collaborations among mathematical scientists at all stages of their careers. The authors of the chapters highlight open questions. The sections of the book include: Combinatorics; Graph Theory; Combinatorial Matrix Theory; Designs, Geometry, Packing and Covering. Readers will discover the breadth and depth of the presentations at the SEICCGTC, as well as current research in combinatorics, graph theory and computer science. Features: Commemorates 50 years of the Southeastern International Conference on Combinatorics, Graph Theory & Computing with research surveys Surveys highlight open questions to inspire further research Chapters are written by experts in their fields Extensive bibliographies are provided at the end of each chapter

Tolerance graphs can be used to quantify the degree to which there is conflict or accord in a system and can provide solutions to questions in the form of "optimum arrangements." Arising from the authors' teaching graduate students in the U.S. and Israel, this book is intended for use in mathematics and computer science, where the subject can be applied to algorithmics. The inclusion of many exercises with partial solutions will increase the appeal of the book to instructors as well as graduate students.

The study of combinatorial isoperimetric problems exploits similarities between discrete optimization problems and the classical continuous setting. Based on his many years of teaching experience, Larry Harper focuses on global methods of problem solving. His text will enable graduate students and researchers to quickly reach the most current state of research in this topic. Harper includes numerous worked examples, exercises and material about applications to computer science.

Combinatorics, a subject dealing with ways of arranging and distributing objects, involves ideas from geometry, algebra, and analysis. The breadth of the theory is matched by that of its applications, which include topics as diverse as codes, circuit design and algorithm complexity. It has thus become an essential tool in many scientific fields. In this second edition the authors have made the text as comprehensive as possible, dealing in a unified manner with such topics as graph theory, extremal problems, designs, colorings, and codes. The depth and breadth of the coverage make the book a unique guide to the whole of the subject. It is ideal for courses on combinatorical mathematics at the advanced undergraduate or beginning graduate level, and working mathematicians and scientists will also find it a valuable introduction and reference.

Boundaries and Hulls of Euclidean Graphs: From Theory to Practice presents concepts and algorithms for finding convex, concave and polygon hulls of Euclidean graphs. It also includes some implementations, determining and comparing their complexities. Since the implementation is application-dependent, either centralized or distributed, some basic concepts of the centralized and distributed versions are reviewed. Theoreticians will find a presentation of different algorithms together with an evaluation of their complexity and their utilities, as well as their field of application. Practitioners will find some practical and real-world situations in which the presented algorithms can be used.

Steven Finch provides 136 essays, each devoted to a mathematical constant or a class of constants, from the well known to the highly exotic. This book is helpful both to readers seeking information about a specific constant, and to readers who desire a panoramic view of all constants coming from a particular field, for example, combinatorial enumeration or geometric optimization. Unsolved problems appear virtually everywhere as well. This work represents a scholarly attempt to bring together all significant mathematical constants in one place.

This text is a self-contained study of expander graphs, specifically, their explicit construction. Expander graphs are highly connected but sparse, and while being of interest within combinatorics and graph theory, they can also be applied to computer science and engineering. Only a knowledge of elementary algebra, analysis and combinatorics is required because the authors provide the necessary background from graph theory, number theory, group theory and representation theory. Thus the text can be used as a brief introduction to these subjects and their synthesis in modern mathematics.

Abstract regular polytopes stand at the end of more than two millennia of geometrical research, which began with regular polygons and polyhedra. The rapid development of the subject in the past twenty years has resulted in a rich new theory featuring an attractive interplay of mathematical areas, including geometry, combinatorics, group theory and topology. This is the first comprehensive, up-to-date account of the subject and its ramifications. It meets a critical need for such a text, because no book has been published in this area since Coxeter's "Regular Polytopes" (1948) and "Regular Complex Polytopes" (1974).

Beginning with the origin of the four color problem in 1852, the field of graph colorings has developed into one of the most popular areas of graph theory. Introducing graph theory with a coloring theme, Chromatic Graph Theory explores connections between major topics in graph theory and graph colorings as well as emerging topics.

This self-contained book first presents various fundamentals of graph theory that lie outside of graph colorings, including basic terminology and results, trees and connectivity, Eulerian and Hamiltonian graphs, matchings and factorizations, and graph embeddings. The remainder of the text deals exclusively with graph colorings. It covers vertex colorings and bounds for the chromatic number, vertex colorings of graphs embedded on surfaces, and a variety of restricted vertex colorings. The authors also describe edge colorings, monochromatic and rainbow edge colorings, complete vertex colorings, several distinguishing vertex and edge colorings, and many distance-related vertex colorings.

With historical, applied, and algorithmic discussions, this text offers a solid introduction to one of the most popular areas of graph theory.

Combinatorics and Number Theory of Counting Sequences is an introduction to the theory of finite set partitions and to the enumeration of cycle decompositions of permutations. The presentation prioritizes elementary enumerative proofs. Therefore, parts of the book are designed so that even those high school students and teachers who are interested in combinatorics can have the benefit of them. Still, the book collects vast, up-to-date information for many counting sequences (especially, related to set partitions and permutations), so it is a must-have piece for those mathematicians who do research on enumerative combinatorics. In addition, the book contains number theoretical results on counting sequences of set partitions and permutations, so number theorists who would like to see nice applications of their area of interest in combinatorics will enjoy the book, too. Features The Outlook sections at the end of each chapter guide the reader towards topics not covered in the book, and many of the Outlook items point towards new research problems. An extensive bibliography and tables at the end make the book usable as a standard reference. Citations to results which were scattered in the literature now become easy, because huge parts of the book (especially in parts II and III) appear in book form for the first time.

The design of code and cipher systems has undergone major changes in modern times. Powerful personal computers have resulted in an explosion of e-banking, e-commerce and e-mail, and as a consequence the encryption of communications to ensure security has become a matter of public interest and importance. This book describes and analyzes many cipher systems ranging from the earliest and elementary to the most recent and sophisticated, such as RSA and DES, as well as wartime machines such as the ENIGMA and Hagelin, and ciphers used by spies. Security issues and possible methods of attack are discussed and illustrated by examples. The design of many systems involves advanced mathematical concepts and this is explained in detail in a major appendix. This book will appeal to anyone interested in codes and ciphers as used by private individuals, spies, governments and industry throughout history and right up to the present day.

The design of code and cipher systems has undergone major changes in modern times. Powerful personal computers have resulted in an explosion of e-banking, e-commerce and e-mail, and as a consequence the encryption of communications to ensure security has become a matter of public interest and importance. This book describes and analyzes many cipher systems ranging from the earliest and elementary to the most recent and sophisticated, such as RSA and DES, as well as wartime machines such as the ENIGMA and Hagelin, and ciphers used by spies. Security issues and possible methods of attack are discussed and illustrated by examples. The design of many systems involves advanced mathematical concepts and this is explained in detail in a major appendix. This book will appeal to anyone interested in codes and ciphers as used by private individuals, spies, governments and industry throughout history and right up to the present day.

An update of the most accessible introductory number theory text available, Fundamental Number Theory with Applications, Second Edition presents a mathematically rigorous yet easy-to-follow treatment of the fundamentals and applications of the subject. The substantial amount of reorganizing makes this edition clearer and more elementary in its coverage. New to the Second Edition * Removal of all advanced material to be even more accessible in scope * New fundamental material, including partition theory, generating functions, and combinatorial number theory * Expanded coverage of random number generation, Diophantine analysis, and additive number theory * More applications to cryptography, primality testing, and factoring * An appendix on the recently discovered unconditional deterministic polynomial-time algorithm for primality testing Taking a truly elementary approach to number theory, this text supplies the essential material for a first course on the subject. Placed in highlighted boxes to reduce distraction from the main text, nearly 70 biographies focus on major contributors to the field. The presentation of over 1,300 entries in the index maximizes cross-referencing so students can find data with ease.

This is a new 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 an up-to-date and comprehensive account of random graph theory. The theory estimates 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 is a new 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 an up-to-date and comprehensive account of random graph theory. The theory estimates 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 volume contains the proceedings of the 18th British Combinatorial Conference. This meeting, held every two years is now a key event for mathematicians working in combinatorics throughout the world. The papers contained here are from the invited speakers and are thus of a quality fitting for the event. This book will be a valuable reference for researchers in a variety of branches of combinatorics. However, graduate students will find much here that will be of use for future directions in their research.

This collection of surveys and research papers on recent topics of interest in combinatorics is dedicated to Paul Erdös, who attended the conference and who is represented by two articles in the collection, including one, unfinished, which he was writing on the eve of his sudden death. Erdös was one of the greatest mathematicians of his century and often the subject of anecdotes about his somewhat unusual lifestyle. A new preface, written by friends and colleagues, gives a flavor of his life, including many such stories, and also describes the broad outline and importance of his work in combinatorics and other related fields.