The present volume contains a collection of original research articles and expository contributions on recent developments in operator theory and its multifaceted applications. They cover a wide range of themes from the IWOTA 2010 conference held at the TU Berlin, Germany, including spectral theory, function spaces, mathematical system theory, evolution equations and semigroups, and differential and difference operators. The book encompasses new trends and various modern topics in operator theory, and serves as a useful source of information to mathematicians, scientists and engineers.

The present volume contains a collection of original research articles and expository contributions on recent developments in operator theory and its multifaceted applications. They cover a wide range of themes from the IWOTA 2010 conference held at the TU Berlin, Germany, including spectral theory, function spaces, mathematical system theory, evolution equations and semigroups, and differential and difference operators. The book encompasses new trends and various modern topics in operator theory, and serves as a useful source of information to mathematicians, scientists and engineers.

Thepresentbookisamemorialvolumedevotedtoourfriend,colleagueandteacher Peter Jonas who passed away on July 18, 2007. It displays recent advances in modern operator theory in Hilbert and Krein spaces and contains a collection of original research papers written by participants of the 7th Workshop on Operator Theory in Krein Spaces and Spectral Analysis, which was held at the Technische Universit. at Berlin, Germany, December 13 to 16, 2007. The articles in this v- ume contain new results for problems close to the area of research of Peter Jonas: Spectralandperturbationproblemsfor operatorsininner productspaces,gener- ized Nevanlinna functions and de?nitizable functions, scattering theory, extension theory for symmetric operators, ?xed points, hyperbolic matrix polynomials, - ment problems, inde?nite spectral and Sturm-Liouville problems, and invariant subspace problems. It is a pleasure to acknowledge the substantial ?nancial support for the 7th Workshop on Operator Theory in Krein Spaces and Spectral Analysis received from the - Berlin Mathematical School (BMS) - Gesellschaft fur .. Angewandte Mathematik und Mechanik (GAMM) - International Mathematical Union, Commission on Development and Exchanges - Institute of Mathematics of the Technische Universit. at Berlin The Editors Peter Jonas (1941-2007) In Memoriam Peter Jonas (1941-2007) Jussi Behrndt, Karl-Heinz F.. orster and Carsten Trunk Peter Jonas was born on July 18, 1941, in Memel, now Klaipeda, which was at thattime the mosteasterntownofEastPrussia.After the war,PeterJonasmoved with his mother and grandmother to Blankenfelde - a small village near Berlin, where he lived until the end of his school education.

This volume contains papers written by participants of the 6th Workshop on - erator Theory in Krein Spaces and Operator Polynomials, which was held at the Technische Universit. at Berlin, Germany, December 14 to 17, 2006. This workshop was attended by 67 participants from 14 countries. The lectures covered topics from spectral and perturbation theory of linear operators in inner product spaces and from operator polynomials. They included the theory of generalized Nevanlinna and Schur functions, di?erential operators, singular perturbations, de Branges spaces, scattering problems, block numerical ranges, nonnegative matrices and relations. All these topics are re?ected in the present volume. Besides, it contains an after dinner speech from an earlier wo- shop, which we think may be of interest for the reader, as well as a speech on the occasion of the retirement of Peter Jonas. It is a pleasure to acknowledge the substantial ?nancial support received from the - Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), - Berlin Mathematical School (BMS), - DFG-Forschungszentrum MATHEON "Mathematik fur .. Schlussel- .. technologien", - Institute of Mathematics of the Technische Universit. at Berlin. WewouldalsoliketothankPetraGrimbergerforhergreathelpintheorganisation. Without her assistance the workshop might not have taken place.

This volume contains contributions written by participants of the 4th Workshop on Operator Theory in Krein Spaces and Applications, held at the TU Berlin, Germany, December 17 to 19, 2004. The workshop covered topics from spectral, perturbation, and extension theory of linear operators and relations in inner product spaces.