Advances in science and technology necessitate the use of increasingly-complicated dynamic control processes. Undoubtedly, sophisticated mathematical models are also concurrently elaborated for these processes. In particular, linear dynamic control systems iJ = Ay + Bu, y E M C ]Rn, U E ]RT, (1) where A and B are constants, are often abandoned in favor of nonlinear dynamic control systems (2) which, in addition, contain a large number of equations. The solution of problems for multidimensional nonlinear control systems en counters serious difficulties, which are both mathematical and technical in nature. Therefore it is imperative to develop methods of reduction of nonlinear systems to a simpler form, for example, decomposition into systems of lesser dimension. Approaches to reduction are diverse, in particular, techniques based on approxi mation methods. In this monograph, we elaborate the most natural and obvious (in our opinion) approach, which is essentially inherent in any theory of math ematical entities, for instance, in the theory of linear spaces, theory of groups, etc. Reduction in our interpretation is based on assigning to the initial object an isomorphic object, a quotient object, and a subobject. In the theory of linear spaces, for instance, reduction consists in reducing to an isomorphic linear space, quotient space, and subspace. Strictly speaking, the exposition of any mathemat ical theory essentially begins with the introduction of these reduced objects and determination of their basic properties in relation to the initial object."

Foliation theory has its origins in the global analysis of solutions of ordinary differential equations: on an n-dimensional manifold M, an [autonomous] differential equation is defined by a vector field X ; if this vector field has no singularities, then its trajectories form a par tition of M into curves, i.e. a foliation of codimension n - 1. More generally, a foliation F of codimension q on M corresponds to a partition of M into immersed submanifolds [the leaves] of dimension ,--------,- - . - -- p = n - q. The first global image that comes to mind is 1--------;- - - - - - that of a stack of "plaques". 1---------;- - - - - - Viewed laterally [transver 1--------1- - - -- sally], the leaves of such a 1--------1 - - - - -. stacking are the points of a 1--------1--- ----. quotient manifold W of di L..... -' _ mension q. -----~) W M Actually, this image corresponds to an elementary type of folia tion, that one says is "simple". For an arbitrary foliation, it is only l- u L ally [on a "simpIe" open set U] that the foliation appears as a stack of plaques and admits a local quotient manifold. Globally, a leaf L may - - return and cut a simple open set U in several plaques, sometimes even an infinite number of plaques.

The papers in this volume are based on lectures given during the meeting of the Seminaire Sud Rhodanien de Geometrie which we organized at MSRI from May 22 to June 2, 1989, as part of a year-long program on Symplectic Geometry and Mechanics. The Seminaire Sud Rhodanien de Geometrie (SSRG) was established in 1982 by geometers and mathematical physicists at the Universities of Avignon, Lyon, Marseille, and Montpellier, with the aim of developing and coordinating research in symplectic geometry and its applications to analysis and mathematical physics. It has been designated by the Centre N ationale de la Recherche Scientifique as a "Groupement de Recherche" (G.D.R. 144), centered at the Universite Claude Bernard (Lyon I). From the beginning, the SSRG has involved the cooperation of colleagues from other universities inside and outside France; in addition to the editors of this volume, its Scientific Committee consists of D. Bennequin, P. Libermann, A. Lichnerowicz, C.-M. MarIe, J.-M. Morvan, P. Molino, and J.-M. Souriau. In particular, there have always been strong connections with the University of California at Berkeley, making this other "UCB" into a virtual fifth pole of the SSRG. Through its international meetings, of which the first five were held at Lyon, Montpellier, and Marseille, the SSRG has become an important cen ter of exchange for the latest developments in symplectic geometry and its applications. It seemed natural, therefore, to have this sixth meeting at MSRI in Berkeley in conjunction with the "symplectic year" 1988-89."

The invited papers in this volume provide a detailed examination of Clifford algebras and their significance to analysis, geometry, mathematical structures, physics, and applications in engineering. While the papers collected in this volume require that the reader possess a solid knowledge of appropriate background material, they lead to the most current research topics. With its wide range of topics, well-established contributors, and excellent references and index, this book will appeal to graduate students and researchers.

This is a self-contained and systematic account of affine differential geometry from a contemporary viewpoint, not only covering the classical theory, but also introducing the modern developments that have happened over the last decade. In order both to cover as much as possible and to keep the text of a reasonable size, the authors have concentrated on the significant features of the subject and their relationship and application to such areas as Riemannian, Euclidean, Lorentzian and projective differential geometry. In so doing, they also provide a modern introduction to the last. Some of the important geometric surfaces considered are illustrated by computer graphics, making this a physically and mathematically attractive book for all researchers in differential geometry, and for mathematical physicists seeking a quick entry into the subject.

The question of existence of c10sed geodesics on a Riemannian manifold and the properties of the corresponding periodic orbits in the geodesic flow has been the object of intensive investigations since the beginning of global differential geo metry during the last century. The simplest case occurs for c10sed surfaces of negative curvature. Here, the fundamental group is very large and, as shown by Hadamard [Had] in 1898, every non-null homotopic c10sed curve can be deformed into a c10sed curve having minimallength in its free homotopy c1ass. This minimal curve is, up to the parameterization, uniquely determined and represents a c10sed geodesic. The question of existence of a c10sed geodesic on a simply connected c10sed surface is much more difficult. As pointed out by Poincare [po 1] in 1905, this problem has much in common with the problem ofthe existence of periodic orbits in the restricted three body problem. Poincare [l.c.] outlined a proof that on an analytic convex surface which does not differ too much from the standard sphere there always exists at least one c10sed geodesic of elliptic type, i. e., the corres ponding periodic orbit in the geodesic flow is infinitesimally stable.

X 1 O S R Cher lecteur, J'entre bien tard dans la sphere etroite des ecrivains au double alphabet, moi qui, il y a plus de quarante ans deja, avais accueilli sur mes terres un general epris de mathematiques. JI m'avait parle de ses projets grandioses en promettant d'ailleurs de m'envoyer ses ouvrages de geometrie. Je suis entiche de geometrie et c'est d'elle dontje voudrais vous parler, oh! certes pas de toute la geometrie, mais de celle que fait l'artisan qui taille, burine, amene, gauchit, peaufine les formes. Mon interet pour le probleme dont je veux vous entretenir ici, je le dois a un ami ebeniste. En effet comme je rendais un jour visite il cet ami, je le trouvai dans son atelier affaire a un tour. Il se retourna bientot, puis, rayonnant, me tendit une sorte de toupie et me dit: "Monsieur Besse, vous qui calculez les formes avec vos grimoires, que pensez-vous de ceci?)) Je le regardai interloque. Il poursuivit: "Regardez! Si vous prenez ce collier de laine et si vous le maintenez fermement avec un doigt place n'importe ou sur la toupie, eh bien! la toupie passera toujours juste en son interieur, sans laisser le moindre espace.)) Je rentrai chez moi, fort etonne, car sa toupie etait loin d'etre une boule. Je me mis alors au travail ...

Shapes are complex objects to apprehend, as mathematical entities, in terms that also are suitable for computerized analysis and interpretation. This volume provides the background that is required for this purpose, including different approaches that can be used to model shapes, and algorithms that are available to analyze them. It explores, in particular, the interesting connections between shapes and the objects that naturally act on them, diffeomorphisms. The book is, as far as possible, self-contained, with an appendix that describes a series of classical topics in mathematics (Hilbert spaces, differential equations, Riemannian manifolds) and sections that represent the state of the art in the analysis of shapes and their deformations. A direct application of what is presented in the book is a branch of the computerized analysis of medical images, called computational anatomy.

L' inj' ' enuit' ' m eme d' un regard neuf (celui de la science l'est toujours) peut parfois ' 'clairer d' un jour nouveau d' anciens probl' emes. J.Monod [77, p. 13] his book is intended as a comprehensive introduction to the theory of T principalsheaves andtheirconnections inthesettingofAbstractDi?- ential Geometry (ADG), the latter being initiated by A. Mallios'sGeometry of Vector Sheaves [62]. Based on sheaf-theoretic methods and sheaf - homology, the presentGeometry of Principal Sheaves embodies the classical theory of connections on principal and vector bundles, and connections on vector sheaves, thus paving the way towards a uni?ed (abstract) gauge t- ory and other potential applications to theoretical physics. We elaborate on the aforementioned brief description in the sequel. Abstract (ADG) vs. Classical Di?erential Geometry (CDG). M- ern di?erential geometry is built upon the fundamental notions of di?er- tial (smooth) manifolds and ?ber bundles, based,intheir turn, on ordinary di?erential calculus. However, the theory of smooth manifolds is inadequate to cope, for - stance, with spaces like orbifolds, spaces with corners, or other spaces with more complicated singularities. This is a rather unfortunate situation, since one cannot apply the powerful methods of di?erential geometry to them or to any spaces that do not admit an ordinary method of di?erentiation. The ix x Preface same inadequacy manifests in physics, where many geometrical models of physical phenomena are non-smooth.

This text, the first of two volumes, provides a comprehensive and self-contained introduction to a wide range of fundamental results from ergodic theory and geometric measure theory. Topics covered include: finite and infinite abstract ergodic theory, Young's towers, measure-theoretic Kolmogorov-Sinai entropy, thermodynamics formalism, geometric function theory, various kinds of conformal measures, conformal graph directed Markov systems and iterated functions systems, semi-local dynamics of analytic functions, and nice sets. Many examples are included, along with detailed explanations of essential concepts and full proofs, in what is sure to be an indispensable reference for both researchers and graduate students.

This text, the second of two volumes, builds on the foundational material on ergodic theory and geometric measure theory provided in Volume I, and applies all the techniques discussed to describe the beautiful and rich dynamics of elliptic functions. The text begins with an introduction to topological dynamics of transcendental meromorphic functions, before progressing to elliptic functions, discussing at length their classical properties, measurable dynamics and fractal geometry. The authors then look in depth at compactly non-recurrent elliptic functions. Much of this material is appearing for the first time in book or paper form. Both senior and junior researchers working in ergodic theory and dynamical systems will appreciate what is sure to be an indispensable reference.

The present monograph is motivated by two distinct aims. Firstly, an endeavour has been made to furnish a reasonably comprehensive account of the theory of Finsler spaces based on the methods of classical differential geometry. Secondly, it is hoped that this monograph may serve also as an introduction to a branch of differential geometry which is closely related to various topics in theoretical physics, notably analytical dynamics and geometrical optics. With this second object in mind, an attempt has been made to describe the basic aspects of the theory in some detail - even at the expense of conciseness - while in the more specialised sections of the later chapters, which might be of interest chiefly to the specialist, a more succinct style has been adopted. The fact that there exist several fundamentally different points of view with regard to Finsler geometry has rendered the task of writing a coherent account a rather difficult one. This remark is relevant not only to the development of the subject on the basis of the tensor calculus, but is applicable in an even wider sense. The extensive work of H. BUSEMANN has opened up new avenues of approach to Finsler geometry which are independent of the methods of classical tensor analysis. In the latter sense, therefore, a full description of this approach does not fall within the scope of this treatise, although its fundamental l significance cannot be doubted.

Reprinted as it originally appeared in the 1990s, this work is as an affordable textthat will be of interest to a range of researchers in geometric analysis and mathematical physics. Thebook covers avarietyof concepts fundamental tothe study and applications of the spin-c Dirac operator, making use of the heat kernels theory of Berline, Getzlet, and Vergne. True to the precision and clarity for which J.J. Duistermaat was so well known, the exposition is elegant and concise."

Nilpotent Ue algebras have played an Important role over the last ye!US : either In the domain at Algebra when one considers Its role In the classlftcation problems of Ue algebras, or In the domain of geometry since one knows the place of nilmanlfolds In the Illustration, the description and representation of specific situations. The first fondamental results In the study of nilpotent Ue algebras are obvlsouly, due to Umlauf. In his thesis (leipZig, 1991), he presented the first non trlvlal classifications. The systematic study of real and complex nilpotent Ue algebras was Independently begun by D1xmler and Morozov. Complete classifications In dimension less than or equal to six were given and the problems regarding superior dimensions brought to light, such as problems related to the existence from seven up, of an infinity of non Isomorphic complex nilpotent Ue algebras. One can also find these losts (for complex and real algebras) In the books about differential geometry by Vranceanu. A more formal approach within the frame of algebraiC geometry was developed by Michele Vergne. The variety of Ue algebraiC laws Is an affine algebraic subset In this view the role variety and the nilpotent laws constitute a Zarlski's closed of Irreduclbl~ components appears naturally as well the determination or estimate of their numbers. Theoritical physiCiSts, Interested In the links between diverse mechanics have developed the Idea of contractions of Ue algebras (Segal, Inonu, Wlgner). That Idea was In fact very convenient In the determination of components.

This two-volume treatise is a standard reference in the field. It pays special attention to the historical aspects and the origins partly in applied problems such as those of geometric optics of parts of the theory. It contains an introduction to each chapter, section, and subsection and an overview of the relevant literature in the footnotes and bibliography. It also includes an index of the examples used throughout the book.

The development of dynamics theory began with the work of Isaac Newton. In his theory the most basic law of classical mechanics is f = ma, which describes the motion n in IR. of a point of mass m under the action of a force f by giving the acceleration a. If n the position of the point is taken to be a point x E IR. , and if the force f is supposed to be a function of x only, Newton's Law is a description in terms of a second-order ordinary differential equation: J2x m dt = f(x). 2 It makes sense to reduce the equations to first order by defining the velo city as an extra n independent variable by v = :i; = ~~ E IR. . Then x = v, mv = f(x). L. Euler, J. L. Lagrange and others studied mechanics by means of an analytical method called analytical dynamics. Whenever the force f is represented by a gradient vector field f = - \lU of the potential energy U, and denotes the difference of the kinetic energy and the potential energy by 1 L(x,v) = 2'm(v,v) - U(x), the Newton equation of motion is reduced to the Euler-Lagrange equation ~~ are used as the variables, the Euler-Lagrange equation can be If the momenta y written as . 8L y= 8x' Further, W. R.

From a historical point of view, the theory we submit to the present study has its origins in the famous dissertation of P. Finsler from 1918 ([Fi]). In a the classical notion also conventional classification, Finsler geometry has besides a number of generalizations, which use the same work technique and which can be considered self-geometries: Lagrange and Hamilton spaces. Finsler geometry had a period of incubation long enough, so that few math ematicians (E. Cartan, L. Berwald, S.S. Chem, H. Rund) had the patience to penetrate into a universe of tensors, which made them compare it to a jungle. To aU of us, who study nowadays Finsler geometry, it is obvious that the qualitative leap was made in the 1970's by the crystallization of the nonlinear connection notion (a notion which is almost as old as Finsler space, [SZ4]) and by work-skills into its adapted frame fields. The results obtained by M. Matsumoto (coUected later, in 1986, in a monograph, [Ma3]) aroused interest not only in Japan, but also in other countries such as Romania, Hungary, Canada and the USA, where schools of Finsler geometry are founded and are presently widely recognized.

This book is an exposition of "Singular Semi-Riemannian Geometry"- the study of a smooth manifold furnished with a degenerate (singular) metric tensor of arbitrary signature. The main topic of interest is those cases where the metric tensor is assumed to be nondegenerate. In the literature, manifolds with degenerate metric tensors have been studied extrinsically as degenerate submanifolds of semi Riemannian manifolds. One major aspect of this book is first to study the intrinsic structure of a manifold with a degenerate metric tensor and then to study it extrinsically by considering it as a degenerate submanifold of a semi-Riemannian manifold. This book is divided into three parts. Part I deals with singular semi Riemannian manifolds in four chapters. In Chapter I, the linear algebra of indefinite real inner product spaces is reviewed. In general, properties of certain geometric tensor fields are obtained purely from the algebraic point of view without referring to their geometric origin. Chapter II is devoted to a review of covariant derivative operators in real vector bundles. Chapter III is the main part of this book where, intrinsically, the Koszul connection is introduced and its curvature identities are obtained. In Chapter IV, an application of Chapter III is made to degenerate submanifolds of semi-Riemannian manifolds and Gauss, Codazzi and Ricci equations are obtained. Part II deals with singular Kahler manifolds in four chapters parallel to Part I."

The present book has been written by two mathematicians and one physicist: a pure mathematician specializing in Finsler geometry (Makoto Matsumoto), one working in mathematical biology (Peter Antonelli), and a mathematical physicist specializing in information thermodynamics (Roman Ingarden). The main purpose of this book is to present the principles and methods of sprays (path spaces) and Finsler spaces together with examples of applications to physical and life sciences. It is our aim to write an introductory book on Finsler geometry and its applications at a fairly advanced level. It is intended especially for graduate students in pure mathemat ics, science and applied mathematics, but should be also of interest to those pure "Finslerists" who would like to see their subject applied. After more than 70 years of relatively slow development Finsler geometry is now a modern subject with a large body of theorems and techniques and has math ematical content comparable to any field of modern differential geometry. The time has come to say this in full voice, against those who have thought Finsler geometry, because of its computational complexity, is only of marginal interest and with prac tically no interesting applications. Contrary to these outdated fossilized opinions, we believe "the world is Finslerian" in a true sense and we will try to show this in our application in thermodynamics, optics, ecology, evolution and developmental biology. On the other hand, while the complexity of the subject has not disappeared, the modern bundle theoretic approach has increased greatly its understandability."

Aconferenceon"NoncommutativeGeometryandtheStandardModelof- ementaryParticlePhysics"washeldattheHesselbergAcademy(innorthern Bavaria, Germany) during the week of March 14-19, 1999. The aim of the conference was to give a systematic exposition of the mathematical foun- tions and physical applications of noncommutative geometry, along the lines developedbyAlainConnes. Theconferencewasactuallypartofacontinuing series of conferences at the Hesselberg Academy held every three years and devoted to important developments in mathematical ?elds, such as geom- ricanalysis, operatoralgebras, indextheory, andrelatedtopicstogetherwith their applications to mathematical physics. The participants of the conference included mathematicians from fu- tional analysis, di?erential geometry and operator algebras, as well as - perts from mathematical physics interested in A. Connes' approach towards the standard model and other physical applications. Thus a large range of topics, from mathematical foundations to recent physical applications, could becoveredinasubstantialway. Theproceedingsofthisconference, organized in a coherent and systematic way, are presented here. Its three chapters c- respond to the main areas discussed during the conference: Chapter1. Foundations of Noncommutative Geometry and Basic Model Building Chapter2. The Lagrangian of the Standard Model Derived from Nonc- mutative Geometry Chapter3. New Directions in Noncommutative Geometry and Mathema- cal Physics During the conference the close interaction between mathematicians and mathematical physicists turned out to be quite fruitful and enlightening for both sides. Similarly, it is hoped that the proceedings presented here will be useful for mathematicians interested in basic physical questions and for physicists aiming at a more conceptual understanding of classical and qu- tum ?eld theory from a novel mathematical point of view.

From the reviews: ..". focused mainly on complex differential geometry and holomorphic bundle theory. This is a powerful book, written by a very distinguished contributor to the field" (Contemporary Physics )"the book provides a large amount of background for current research across a spectrum of field. ... requires effort to read but it is worthwhile and rewarding" (New Zealand Math. Soc. Newsletter) " The contents are highly technical and the pace of the exposition is quite fast. Manin is an outstanding mathematician, and writer as well, perfectly at ease in the most abstract and complex situation. With such a guide the reader will be generously rewarded " (Physicalia) This new edition includes an Appendix on developments of the last 10 years, by S. Merkulov.

Ordinary differential control thPory (the classical theory) studies input/output re lations defined by systems of ordinary differential equations (ODE). The various con cepts that can be introduced (controllability, observability, invertibility, etc. ) must be tested on formal objects (matrices, vector fields, etc. ) by means of formal operations (multiplication, bracket, rank, etc. ), but without appealing to the explicit integration (search for trajectories, etc. ) of the given ODE. Many partial results have been re cently unified by means of new formal methods coming from differential geometry and differential algebra. However, certain problems (invariance, equivalence, linearization, etc. ) naturally lead to systems of partial differential equations (PDE). More generally, partial differential control theory studies input/output relations defined by systems of PDE (mechanics, thermodynamics, hydrodynamics, plasma physics, robotics, etc. ). One of the aims of this book is to extend the preceding con cepts to this new situation, where, of course, functional analysis and/or a dynamical system approach cannot be used. A link will be exhibited between this domain of applied mathematics and the famous 'Backlund problem', existing in the study of solitary waves or solitons. In particular, we shall show how the methods of differ ential elimination presented here will allow us to determine compatibility conditions on input and/or output as a better understanding of the foundations of control the ory. At the same time we shall unify differential geometry and differential algebra in a new framework, called differential algebraic geometry."

This book contains an exposition of the theory of meromorphic functions and linear series on a compact Riemann surface. Thus the main subject matter consists of holomorphic maps from a compact Riemann surface to complex projective space. Our emphasis is on families of meromorphic functions and holomorphic curves. Our approach is more geometric than algebraic along the lines of [Griffiths-Harrisl]. AIso, we have relied on the books [Namba] and [Arbarello-Cornalba-Griffiths-Harris] to agreat exten- nearly every result in Chapters 1 through 4 can be found in the union of these two books. Our primary motivation was to understand the totality of meromorphic functions on an algebraic curve. Though this is a classical subject and much is known about meromorphic functions, we felt that an accessible exposition was lacking in the current literature. Thus our book can be thought of as a modest effort to expose parts of the known theory of meromorphic functions and holomorphic curves with a geometric bent. We have tried to make the book self-contained and concise which meant that several major proofs not essential to further development of the theory had to be omitted. The book is targeted at the non-expert who wishes to leam enough about meromorphic functions and holomorphic curves so that helshe will be able to apply the results in hislher own research. For example, a differential geometer working in minimal surface theory may want to tind out more about the distribution pattern of poles and zeros of a meromorphic function.

This book serves two purposes. The authors present important aspects of modern research on the mathematical structure of Einstein's field equations and they show how to extract their physical content from them by mathematically exact methods. The essays are devoted to exact solutions and to the Cauchy problem of the field equations as well as to post-Newtonian approximations that have direct physical implications. Further topics concern quantum gravity and optics in gravitational fields.
The book addresses researchers in relativity and differential geometry but can also be used as additional reading material for graduate students.

tEl moi, "0, si j'avait su comment en revenir, je One service mathematics has rendered the n 'y serais point aIle.' human race. It has put common sense back Jules Verne where it belongs, on the topmost shelf next to the dusty canister labelled 'discarded nonsense'. The series is divergent; therefore we may be Eric T. Bell able to do something with it. O. Heaviside Mathematics is a tool for thought A highly necessary tool in a world where both feedback and nonlinea- ties abound. Similarly, all kinds of parts of mathematics serve as tools for other parts and for other s- ences. Applying a simple rewriting rule to the quote on the right above one finds such statements as: 'One s- vice topology has rendered mathematical physics .. .'; 'One service logic has rendered computer science .. .'; 'One service category theory has rendered mathematics .. .'. All arguably true. And all statements obtainable this way form part of the raison d'etre of this series.