New and striking results obtained in recent years from an intensive study of asymptotic combinatorics have led to a new, higher level of understanding of related problems: the theory of integrable systems, the Riemann-Hilbert problem, asymptotic representation theory, spectra of random matrices, combinatorics of Young diagrams and permutations, and even some aspects of quantum field theory.

New and striking results obtained in recent years from an intensive study of asymptotic combinatorics have led to a new, higher level of understanding of related problems: the theory of integrable systems, the Riemann-Hilbert problem, asymptotic representation theory, spectra of random matrices, combinatorics of Young diagrams and permutations, and even some aspects of quantum field theory.

This volume, a sequel to volumes 1108, 1214 and 1334, is a selection of survey or expository articles on recent work in global analysis. These articles centre on methods of global analysis in nonlinear equations and topological and geometrical methods of analysis. An account by V.M.Tikhomirov on the life and work of A.N.Kolmogorov is included as a tribute to his influence on the development of mathematics.