Equivariant cohomology on smooth manifolds is the subject of this book which is part of a collection of volumes edited by J. Bruning and V.W. Guillemin. The point of departure are two relatively short but very remarkable papers be Henry Cartan, published in 1950 in the Proceedings of the "Colloque de Topologie." These papers are reproduced here, together with a modern introduction to the subject, written by two of the leading experts in the field. This "introduction" comes as a textbook of its own, though, presenting the first full treatment of equivariant cohomology in the de Rahm setting. The well known topological approach is linked with the differential form aspect through the equivariant de Rahm theorem. The systematic use of supersymmetry simplifies considerably the ensuing development of the basic technical tools which are then applied to a variety of subjects, leading up to the localization theorems and other very recent results."

This textbook, available in two volumes, has been developed from a course taught at Harvard over the last decade. The course covers principally the theory and physical applications of linear algebra and of the calculus of several variables, particularly the exterior calculus. The authors adopt the 'spiral method' of teaching, covering the same topic several times at increasing levels of sophistication and range of application. Thus the reader develops a deep, intuitive understanding of the subject as a whole, and an appreciation of the natural progression of ideas. Topics covered include many items previously dealt with at a much more advanced level, such as algebraic topology (introduced via the analysis of electrical networks), exterior calculus, Lie derivatives, and star operators (which are applied to Maxwell's equations and optics). This then is a text which breaks new ground in presenting and applying sophisticated mathematics in an elementary setting. Any student, interpreted in the widest sense, with an interest in physics and mathematics, will gain from its study.

I.M.Gelfand, one of the leading contemporary mathematicians, largely determined the modern view of functional analysis with its numerous relations to other branches of mathematics, including mathematical physics, algebra, topology, differential geometry and analysis. With the publication of these Collected Papers in three volumes Gelfand gives a representative choice of his papers written in the last fifty years. Gelfand's research led to the development of remarkable mathematical theories - most now classics - in the field of Banach algebras, infinite-dimensional representations of Lie groups, the inverse Sturm-Liouville problem, cohomology of infinite-dimensional Lie algebras, integral geometry, generalized functions and general hypergeometric functions. The corresponding papers form the major part of the Collected Papers. Some articles on numerical methods and cybernetics as well as a few on biology are included. A substantial part of the papers have been translated into English especially for this edition. This edition is rounded off by a preface by S.G.Gindikin, a contribution by V.I.Arnold and an extensive bibliography with almost 500 references. Gelfand's Collected Papers will provide stimulating and serendipitous reading for researchers in a multitude of mathematical disciplines.

Multiplicity diagrams can be viewed as schemes for describing the phenomenon of "symmetry breaking" in quantum physics. The subject of this book is the multiplicity diagrams associated with the classical groups U(n), O(n), etc. It presents such topics as asymptotic distributions of multiplicities, hierarchical patterns in multiplicity diagrams, lacunae, and the multiplicity diagrams of the rank 2 and rank 3 groups. The authors take a novel approach, using the techniques of symplectic geometry. The book develops in detail some themes which were touched on in the highly successful Symplectic Techniques in Physics by V. Guillemin and S. Sternberg (CUP, 1984), including the geometry of the moment map, the Duistermaat-Heckman theorem, the interplay between coadjoint orbits and representation theory, and quantization. Students and researchers in geometry and mathematical physics will find this book fascinating.

Equivariant cohomology on smooth manifolds is the subject of this book which is part of a collection of volumes edited by J. Bruning and V.W. Guillemin. The point of departure are two relatively short but very remarkable papers be Henry Cartan, published in 1950 in the Proceedings of the "Colloque de Topologie." These papers are reproduced here, together with a modern introduction to the subject, written by two of the leading experts in the field. This "introduction" comes as a textbook of its own, though, presenting the first full treatment of equivariant cohomology in the de Rahm setting. The well known topological approach is linked with the differential form aspect through the equivariant de Rahm theorem. The systematic use of supersymmetry simplifies considerably the ensuing development of the basic technical tools which are then applied to a variety of subjects, leading up to the localization theorems and other very recent results."

Multiplicity diagrams can be viewed as schemes for describing the phenomenon of "symmetry breaking" in quantum physics: Suppose the state space of a quantum mechanical system is a Hilbert space V, on which the symmetry group G of the system acts irreducibly. How does this Hilbert space break up when G gets replaced by a smaller symmetry group H? In the case where H is a maximal torus of a compact group a convenient way to record the multiplicities is as integers drawn on the weight lattice of H. The subject of this book is the multiplicity diagrams associated with U(n), O(n), and the other classical groups. It presents such topics as asymptotic distributions of multiplicities, hierarchical patterns in multiplicity diagrams, lacunae, and the multiplicity diagrams of the rank-2 and rank-3 groups. The authors take a novel approach, using the techniques of symplectic geometry. They develop in detail some themes that were touched on in Symplectic Techniques in Physics (V. Guillemin and S. Sternberg, Cambridge University Press, 1984), including the geometry of the moment map, the Duistermaat-Heckman theorem, the interplay between coadjoint orbits and representation theory, and quantization. Students and researchers in geometry and mathematical physics will find this book fascinating.

Symplectic geometry is very useful for formulating clearly and concisely problems in classical physics and also for understanding the link between classical problems and their quantum counterparts. It is thus a subject of interest to both mathematicians and physicists, though they have approached the subject from different viewpoints. This is the first book that attempts to reconcile these approaches. The authors use the uncluttered, coordinate-free approach to symplectic geometry and classical mechanics that has been developed by mathematicians over the course of the past thirty years, but at the same time apply the apparatus to a great number of concrete problems. Some of the themes emphasized in the book include the pivotal role of completely integrable systems, the importance of symmetries, analogies between classical dynamics and optics, the importance of symplectic tools in classical variational theory, symplectic features of classical field theories, and the principle of general covariance.

I.M. Gelfand (1913 - 2009), one of the world's leading contemporary mathematicians, largely determined the modern view of functional analysis with its numerous relations to other branches of mathematics, including mathematical physics, algebra, topology, differential geometry and analysis. In this three-volume Collected Papers Gelfand presents a representative sample of his work. Gelfand's research led to the development of remarkable mathematical theories - most of which are now classics - in the field of Banach algebras, infinite-dimensional representations of Lie groups, the inverse Sturm-Liouville problem, cohomology of infinite-dimensional Lie algebras, integral geometry, generalized functions and general hypergeometric functions. The corresponding papers form the major part of the collection. Some articles on numerical methods and cybernetics as well as a few on biology are also included. A substantial number of the papers have been translated into English especially for this edition. The collection is rounded off by an extensive bibliography with almost 500 references. Gelfand's Collected Papers will be a great stimulus, especially for the younger generation, and will provide a strong incentive to researchers.

Celebrated mathematician Shlomo Sternberg, a pioneer in the field of dynamical systems, created this modern one-semester introduction to the subject for his classes at Harvard University. Its wide-ranging treatment covers one-dimensional dynamics, differential equations, random walks, iterated function systems, symbolic dynamics, and Markov chains. Supplementary materials offer a variety of online components, including PowerPoint lecture slides for professors and MATLAB exercises.
"Even though there are many dynamical systems books on the market, this book is bound to become a classic. The theory is explained with attractive stories illustrating the theory of dynamical systems, such as the Newton method, the Feigenbaum renormalization picture, fractal geometry, the Perron-Frobenius mechanism, and Google PageRank." -- Oliver Knill, PhD, Preceptor of Mathematics, Harvard University.