This book is concerned with one of the most fundamental questions of mathematics: the relationship between algebraic formulas and geometric images.

At one of the first international mathematical congresses (in Paris in 1900), Hilbert stated a special case of this question in the form of his 16th problem (from his list of 23 problems left over from the nineteenth century as a legacy for the twentieth century).

In spite of the simplicity and importance of this problem (including its numerous applications), it remains unsolved to this day (although, as you will now see, many remarkable results have been discovered).

Singularity theory is a young, rapidly-growing topic with connections to algebraic geometry, complex analysis, commutative algebra, representations theory, Lie groups theory and topology, and many applications in the natural and technical sciences. This book presents the basic singularity theory of analytic spaces, including local deformation theory and the theory of plane curve singularities. It includes complete proofs.

These notes present a polished introduction to tropical geometry and contain some applications of this rapidly developing and attractive subject. It consists of three chapters which complete each other and give a possibility for non-specialists to make the first steps in the subject which is not yet well represented in the literature. The notes are based on a seminar at the Mathematical Research Center in Oberwolfach in October 2004. The intended audience is graduate, post-graduate, and Ph.D. students as well as established researchers in mathematics.

Singularity theory is a young, rapidly-growing topic with connections to algebraic geometry, complex analysis, commutative algebra, representations theory, Lie groups theory and topology, and many applications in the natural and technical sciences. This book presents the basic singularity theory of analytic spaces, including local deformation theory and the theory of plane curve singularities. It includes complete proofs.