Commutative Ring Theory emerged as a distinct field of research in math ematics only at the beginning of the twentieth century. It is rooted in nine teenth century major works in Number Theory and Algebraic Geometry for which it provided a useful tool for proving results. From this humble origin, it flourished into a field of study in its own right of an astonishing richness and interest. Nowadays, one has to specialize in an area of this vast field in order to be able to master its wealth of results and come up with worthwhile contributions. One of the major areas of the field of Commutative Ring Theory is the study of non-Noetherian rings. The last ten years have seen a lively flurry of activity in this area, including: a large number of conferences and special sections at national and international meetings dedicated to presenting its results, an abundance of articles in scientific journals, and a substantial number of books capturing some of its topics. This rapid growth, and the occasion of the new Millennium, prompted us to embark on a project aimed at presenting an overview of the recent research in the area. With this in mind, we invited many of the most prominent researchers in Non-Noetherian Commutative Ring Theory to write expository articles representing the most recent topics of research in this area."

"Singular Loci of Schubert Varieties" is a unique work at the crossroads of representation theory, algebraic geometry, and combinatorics. Over the past 20 years, many research articles have been written on the subject in notable journals. In this work, Billey and Lakshmibai have recreated and restructured the various theories and approaches of those articles and present a clearer understanding of this important subdiscipline of Schubert varieties a" namely singular loci. The main focus, therefore, is on the computations for the singular loci of Schubert varieties and corresponding tangent spaces. The methods used include standard monomial theory, the nil Hecke ring, and Kazhdan-Lusztig theory. New results are presented with sufficient examples to emphasize key points. A comprehensive bibliography, index, and tables a" the latter not to be found elsewhere in the mathematics literature a" round out this concise work. After a good introduction giving background material, the topics are presented in a systematic fashion to engage a wide readership of researchers and graduate students.

New Approaches to Circle Packing into the Square is devoted to the most recent results on the densest packing of equal circles in a square. In the last few decades, many articles have considered this question, which has been an object of interest since it is a hard challenge both in discrete geometry and in mathematical programming. The authors have studied this geometrical optimization problem for a long time, and they developed several new algorithms to solve it. The book completely covers the investigations on this topic.

Field Arithmetic explores Diophantine fields through their absolute Galois groups. This largely self-contained treatment starts with techniques from algebraic geometry, number theory, and profinite groups. Graduate students can effectively learn generalizations of finite field ideas. We use Haar measure on the absolute Galois group to replace counting arguments. New Chebotarev density variants interpret diophantine properties. Here we have the only complete treatment of Galois stratifications, used by Denef and Loeser, et al, to study Chow motives of Diophantine statements.

Progress from the first edition starts by characterizing the finite-field like P(seudo)A(lgebraically)C(losed) fields. We once believed PAC fields were rare. Now we know they include valuable Galois extensions of the rationals that present its absolute Galois group through known groups. PAC fields have projective absolute Galois group. Those that are Hilbertian are characterized by this group being pro-free. These last decade results are tools for studying fields by their relation to those with projective absolute group. There are still mysterious problems to guide a new generation: Is the solvable closure of the rationals PAC; and do projective Hilbertian fields have pro-free absolute Galois group (includes Shafarevich's conjecture)?

The third edition improves the second edition in two ways: First it removes many typos and mathematical inaccuracies that occur in the second edition (in particular in the references). Secondly, the third edition reports on five open problems (out of thirtyfour open problems of the second edition) that have been partially or fully solved since that edition appeared in 2005.

This textbook provides a thorough introduction to the differential geometry of parametrized curves and surfaces, along with a wealth of applications to specific architectural elements. Geometric elements in architecture respond to practical, physical and aesthetic needs. Proper understanding of the mathematics underlying the geometry provides control over the construction. This book relates the classical mathematical theory of parametrized curves and surfaces to multiple applications in architecture. The presentation is mathematically complete with numerous figures and animations illustrating the theory, and special attention is given to some of the recent trends in the field. Solved exercises are provided to see the theory in practice. Intended as a textbook for lecture courses, Parametric Geometry of Curves and Surfaces is suitable for mathematically-inclined students in engineering, architecture and related fields, and can also serve as a textbook for traditional differential geometry courses to mathematics students. Researchers interested in the mathematics of architecture or computer-aided design will also value its combination of precise mathematics and architectural examples.

The subject of algebraic cycles has thrived through its interaction with algebraic K-theory, Hodge theory, arithmetic algebraic geometry, number theory, and topology. These interactions have led to such developments as a description of Chow groups in terms of algebraic K-theory, the arithmetic Abel-Jacobi mapping, progress on the celebrated conjectures of Hodge and Tate, and the conjectures of Bloch and Beilinson. The immense recent progress in algebraic cycles, based on so many interactions with so many other areas of mathematics, has contributed to a considerable degree of inaccessibility, especially for graduate students. Even specialists in one approach to algebraic cycles may not understand other approaches well. This book offers students and specialists alike a broad perspective of algebraic cycles, presented from several viewpoints, including arithmetic, transcendental, topological, motives and K-theory methods. Topics include a discussion of the arithmetic Abel-Jacobi mapping, higher Abel-Jacobi regulator maps, polylogarithms and L-series, candidate Bloch-Beilinson filtrations, applications of Chern-Simons invariants to algebraic cycles via the study of algebraic vector bundles with algebraic connection, motivic cohomology, Chow groups of singular varieties, and recent progress on the Hodge and Tate conjectures for Abelian varieties.

This book presents a systematic and comprehensive account of the theory of differentiable manifolds and provides the necessary background for the use of fundamental differential topology tools. The text includes, in particular, the earlier works of Stephen Smale, for which he was awarded the Fields Medal. Explicitly, the topics covered are Thom transversality, Morse theory, theory of handle presentation, h-cobordism theorem and the generalised Poincare conjecture. The material is the outcome of lectures and seminars on various aspects of differentiable manifolds and differential topology given over the years at the Indian Statistical Institute in Calcutta, and at other universities throughout India. The book will appeal to graduate students and researchers interested in these topics. An elementary knowledge of linear algebra, general topology, multivariate calculus, analysis and algebraic topology is recommended.

This book provides a self-contained introduction to diagram geometry. Tight connections with group theory are shown. It treats thin geometries (related to Coxeter groups) and thick buildings from a diagrammatic perspective. Projective and affine geometry are main examples. Polar geometry is motivated by polarities on diagram geometries and the complete classification of those polar geometries whose projective planes are Desarguesian is given. It differs from Tits' comprehensive treatment in that it uses Veldkamp's embeddings.

The book intends to be a basic reference for those who study diagram geometry. Group theorists will find examples of the use of diagram geometry. Light on matroid theory is shed from the point of view of geometry with linear diagrams. Those interested in Coxeter groups and those interested in buildings will find brief but self-contained introductions into these topics from the diagrammatic perspective. Graph theorists will find many highly regular graphs.

The text is written so graduate students will be able to follow the arguments without needing recourse to further literature.

A strong point of the book is the density of examples.

This volume includes 28 chapters by authors who are leading researchers of the world describing many of the up-to-date aspects in the field of several complex variables (SCV). These contributions are based upon their presentations at the 10th Korean Conference on Several Complex Variables (KSCV10), held as a satellite conference to the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) 2014 in Seoul, Korea. SCV has been the term for multidimensional complex analysis, one of the central research areas in mathematics. Studies over time have revealed a variety of rich, intriguing, new knowledge in complex analysis and geometry of analytic spaces and holomorphic functions which were "hidden" in the case of complex dimension one. These new theories have significant intersections with algebraic geometry, differential geometry, partial differential equations, dynamics, functional analysis and operator theory, and sheaves and cohomology, as well as the traditional analysis of holomorphic functions in all dimensions. This book is suitable for a broad audience of mathematicians at and above the beginning graduate-student level. Many chapters pose open-ended problems for further research, and one in particular is devoted to problems for future investigations.

This book presents two natural generalizations of continuous mappings, namely usco and quasicontinuous mappings. The first class considers set-valued mappings, the second class relaxes the definition of continuity. Both these topological concepts stem naturally from basic mathematical considerations and have numerous applications that are covered in detail.

In recent years, there has been tremendous progress on the interface of geometry and mathematical physics. This book reflects the expanded articles of several lectures in these areas delivered at the University of Adelaide, with an audience of primarily graduate students. The aim of this volume is to provide surveys of recent progress without assuming too much prerequisite knowledge and with a comprehensive bibliography, so that researchers and graduate students in geometry and mathematical physics will benefit. The contributors cover a number of areas in mathematical physics. Chapter 1 offers a self-contained derivation of the partition function of Chern-Simons gauge theory in the semiclassical approximation. Chapter 2 considers the algebraic and geometric aspects of the Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov equations in conformal field theory, including their relation to the braid group, quantum groups and infinite dimensional Lie algebras. Chapter 3 surveys the application of the representation theory of loop groups to simple models in quantum field theory and to certain integrable systems. Chapter 4 examines the variational methods in Hermitian geometry from the viewpoint of the critical points of action functionals together with physical backgrounds. Chapter 5 is a review of monopoles in non-Abelian gauge theories and the various approaches to understanding them. Chapter 6 covers much of the exciting recent developments in quantum cohomology, including relative Gromov-Witten invariant, birational geometry, naturality and mirror symmetry. Chapter 7 explains the physics origin of the Seiberg-Witten equations in four-manifold theory and a number of important concepts in quantum field theory, such asvacuum, mass gap, (super)symmetry, anomalies and duality. Contributors: D.H. Adam, P. Bouwknegt, A.L. Carey, A. Harris, E. Langmann, M.K. Murray, Y. Ruan, S. Wu D. H. Adams: Semiclassical Approximation in Chern-Simons Gauge Theory P. Bouwknegt: The Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov Equations A. L. Carey and E. Langmann: Loop Groups and Quantum Fields A. Harris: Some Applications of Variational Calculus in Hermitian Geometry M. K. Murray: Monopoles Y. Ruan: On Gromov-Witten Invariants and Quantum Cohomology S. Wu The Geometry and Physics of the Seiberg-Witten Equations

This book is devoted to a rather complete discussion of techniques and topics intervening in the mathematical treatment of quantum and semi-classical mechanics. It starts with a very readable introduction to symplectic geometry. Many topics are also of genuine interest for pure mathematicians working in geometry and topology.

"La narraci6n literaria es la evocaci6n de las nostalgias. " ("Literary narration is the evocation of nostalgia. ") G. G. Marquez, interview in Puerta del Sol, VII, 4, 1996. A Personal Prehistory In 1972 I started cooperating with members of the Biodynamics Research Unit at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, which was under the direction of Earl H. Wood. At that time, their ambitious (and eventually realized) dream was to build the Dynamic Spatial Reconstructor (DSR), a device capable of collecting data regarding the attenuation of X-rays through the human body fast enough for stop-action imaging the full extent of the beating heart inside the thorax. Such a device can be applied to study the dynamic processes of cardiopulmonary physiology, in a manner similar to the application of an ordinary cr (computerized tomography) scanner to observing stationary anatomy. The standard method of displaying the information produced by a cr scanner consists of showing two-dimensional images, corresponding to maps of the X-ray attenuation coefficient in slices through the body. (Since different tissue types attenuate X-rays differently, such maps provide a good visualization of what is in the body in those slices; bone - which attenuates X-rays a lot - appears white, air appears black, tumors typically appear less dark than the surrounding healthy tissue, etc. ) However, it seemed to me that this display mode would not be appropriate for the DSR.

The aim of this book is to describe the underlying principles of algebraic geometry, some of its important developments in the twentieth century, and some of the problems that occupy its practitioners today. It is intended for the working or the aspiring mathematician who is unfamiliar with algebraic geometry but wishes to gain an appreciation of its foundations and its goals with a minimum of prerequisites. Few algebraic prerequisites are presumed beyond a basic course in linear algebra.

This book provides an upto date information on metric, connection and curva ture symmetries used in geometry and physics. More specifically, we present the characterizations and classifications of Riemannian and Lorentzian manifolds (in particular, the spacetimes of general relativity) admitting metric (i.e., Killing, ho mothetic and conformal), connection (i.e., affine conformal and projective) and curvature symmetries. Our approach, in this book, has the following outstanding features: (a) It is the first-ever attempt of a comprehensive collection of the works of a very large number of researchers on all the above mentioned symmetries. (b) We have aimed at bringing together the researchers interested in differential geometry and the mathematical physics of general relativity by giving an invariant as well as the index form of the main formulas and results. (c) Attempt has been made to support several main mathematical results by citing physical example(s) as applied to general relativity. (d) Overall the presentation is self contained, fairly accessible and in some special cases supported by an extensive list of cited references. (e) The material covered should stimulate future research on symmetries. Chapters 1 and 2 contain most of the prerequisites for reading the rest of the book. We present the language of semi-Euclidean spaces, manifolds, their tensor calculus; geometry of null curves, non-degenerate and degenerate (light like) hypersurfaces. All this is described in invariant as well as the index form."

Symplectic geometry is the geometry underlying Hamiltonian dynamics, and symplectic mappings arise as time-1-maps of Hamiltonian flows. The spectacular rigidity phenomena for symplectic mappings discovered in the last two decades show that certain things cannot be done by a symplectic mapping. For instance, Gromov's famous "non-squeezing'' theorem states that one cannot map a ball into a thinner cylinder by a symplectic embedding. The aim of this book is to show that certain other things can be done by symplectic mappings. This is achieved by various elementary and explicit symplectic embedding constructions, such as "folding," "wrapping'', and "lifting''. These constructions are carried out in detail and are used to solve some specific symplectic embedding problems. The exposition is self-contained and addressed to students and researchers interested in geometry or dynamics.

This classic work has been fundamentally revised to take account of recent developments in general topology. The first three chapters remain unchanged except for numerous minor corrections and additional exercises, but chapters IV-VII and the new chapter VIII cover the rapid changes that have occurred since 1968 when the first edition appeared.
The reader will find many new topics in chapters IV-VIII, e.g. theory of Wallmann-Shanin's compactification, realcompact space, various generalizations of paracompactness, generalized metric spaces, Dugundji type extension theory, linearly ordered topological space, theory of cardinal functions, dyadic space, etc., that were, in the author's opinion, mostly special or isolated topics some twenty years ago but now settle down into the mainstream of general topology.

This is the second edition of this best selling problem book for students, now containing over 400 completely solved exercises on differentiable manifolds, Lie theory, fibre bundles and Riemannian manifolds. The exercises go from elementary computations to rather sophisticated tools. Many of the definitions and theorems used throughout are explained in the first section of each chapter where they appear. A 56-page collection of formulae is included which can be useful as an aide-memoire, even for teachers and researchers on those topics. In this 2nd edition: * 76 new problems * a section devoted to a generalization of Gauss' Lemma * a short novel section dealing with some properties of the energy of Hopf vector fields * an expanded collection of formulae and tables * an extended bibliography Audience This book will be useful to advanced undergraduate and graduate students of mathematics, theoretical physics and some branches of engineering with a rudimentary knowledge of linear and multilinear algebra.

This book represents a collection of invited papers by outstanding mathematicians in algebra, algebraic geometry, and number theory dedicated to Vladimir Drinfeld. Original research articles reflect the range of Drinfeld's work, and his profound contributions to the Langlands program, quantum groups, and mathematical physics are paid particular attention. These ten original articles by prominent mathematicians, dedicated to Drinfeld on the occasion of his 50th birthday, broadly reflect the range of Drinfeld's own interests in algebra, algebraic geometry, and number theory.

The 12 lectures presented in Representation Theories and Algebraic Geometry focus on the very rich and powerful interplay between algebraic geometry and the representation theories of various modern mathematical structures, such as reductive groups, quantum groups, Hecke algebras, restricted Lie algebras, and their companions. This interplay has been extensively exploited during recent years, resulting in great progress in these representation theories. Conversely, a great stimulus has been given to the development of such geometric theories as D-modules, perverse sheafs and equivariant intersection cohomology. The range of topics covered is wide, from equivariant Chow groups, decomposition classes and Schubert varieties, multiplicity free actions, convolution algebras, standard monomial theory, and canonical bases, to annihilators of quantum Verma modules, modular representation theory of Lie algebras and combinatorics of representation categories of Harish-Chandra modules.

This book is a monograph on unitals embedded in ?nite projective planes. Unitals are an interesting structure found in square order projective planes, and numerous research articles constructing and discussing these structures have appeared in print. More importantly, there still are many open pr- lems, and this remains a fruitful area for Ph.D. dissertations. Unitals play an important role in ?nite geometry as well as in related areas of mathematics. For example, unitals play a parallel role to Baer s- planes when considering extreme values for the size of a blocking set in a square order projective plane (see Section 2.3). Moreover, unitals meet the upper bound for the number of absolute points of any polarity in a square order projective plane (see Section 1.5). From an applications point of view, the linear codes arising from unitals have excellent technical properties (see 2 Section 6.4). The automorphism group of the classical unitalH =H(2, q ) is 2-transitive on the points ofH, and so unitals are of interest in group theory. In the ?eld of algebraic geometry over ?nite ?elds, H is a maximal curve that contains the largest number of F -rational points with respect to its genus, 2 q as established by the Hasse-Weil boun

The series is aimed specifically at publishing peer reviewed reviews and contributions presented at workshops and conferences. Each volume is associated with a particular conference, symposium or workshop. These events cover various topics within pure and applied mathematics and provide up-to-date coverage of new developments, methods and applications.

The volume consists of invited refereed research papers. The contributions cover a wide spectrum in algebraic geometry, from motives theory to numerical algebraic geometry and are mainly focused on higher dimensional varieties and Minimal Model Program and surfaces of general type. A part of the articles grew out a Conference in memory of Paolo Francia (1951-2000) held in Genova in September 2001 with about 70 participants.

This second edition, divided into fourteen chapters, presents a comprehensive treatment of contact and symplectic manifolds from the Riemannian point of view. The monograph examines the basic ideas in detail and provides many illustrative examples for the reader.

"Riemannian Geometry of Contact and Symplectic Manifolds, Second Edition" provides new material in most chapters, but a particular emphasis remains on contact manifolds. Researchers, mathematicians, and graduate students in contact and symplectic manifold theory and in Riemannian geometry will benefit from this work. A basic course in Riemannian geometry is a prerequisite.