The seminal formula of Gross and Zagier relating heights of Heegner points to derivatives of the associated Rankin L-series has led to many generalisations and extensions in a variety of different directions, spawning a fertile area of study that remains active to this day. This volume, based on a workshop on Special Values of Rankin L-series held at the MSRI in December 2001, is a collection of thirteen articles written by many of the leading contributors in the field, having the Gross-Zagier formula and its avatars as a common unifying theme. It serves as a valuable reference for mathematicians wishing to become further acquainted with the theory of complex multiplication, automorphic forms, the Rankin-Selberg method, arithmetic intersection theory, Iwasawa theory, and other topics related to the Gross-Zagier formula.

The seminal formula of Gross and Zagier relating heights of Heegner points to derivatives of the associated Rankin L-series has led to many generalisations and extensions in a variety of different directions, spawning a fertile area of study that remains active to this day. This volume, based on a workshop on Special Values of Rankin L-series held at the MSRI in December 2001, is a collection of thirteen articles written by many of the leading contributors in the field, having the Gross-Zagier formula and its avatars as a common unifying theme. It serves as a valuable reference for mathematicians wishing to become further acquainted with the theory of complex multiplication, automorphic forms, the Rankin-Selberg method, arithmetic intersection theory, Iwasawa theory, and other topics related to the Gross-Zagier formula.

This comprehensive account of the Gross-Zagier formula on Shimura curves over totally real fields relates the heights of Heegner points on abelian varieties to the derivatives of L-series. The formula will have new applications for the Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer conjecture and Diophantine equations.

The book begins with a conceptual formulation of the Gross-Zagier formula in terms of incoherent quaternion algebras and incoherent automorphic representations with rational coefficients attached naturally to abelian varieties parametrized by Shimura curves. This is followed by a complete proof of its coherent analogue: the Waldspurger formula, which relates the periods of integrals and the special values of L-series by means of Weil representations. The Gross-Zagier formula is then reformulated in terms of incoherent Weil representations and Kudla's generating series. Using Arakelov theory and the modularity of Kudla's generating series, the proof of the Gross-Zagier formula is reduced to local formulas.

"The Gross-Zagier Formula on Shimura Curves" will be of great use to students wishing to enter this area and to those already working in it.

This comprehensive account of the Gross-Zagier formula on Shimura curves over totally real fields relates the heights of Heegner points on abelian varieties to the derivatives of L-series. The formula will have new applications for the Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer conjecture and Diophantine equations.

The book begins with a conceptual formulation of the Gross-Zagier formula in terms of incoherent quaternion algebras and incoherent automorphic representations with rational coefficients attached naturally to abelian varieties parametrized by Shimura curves. This is followed by a complete proof of its coherent analogue: the Waldspurger formula, which relates the periods of integrals and the special values of L-series by means of Weil representations. The Gross-Zagier formula is then reformulated in terms of incoherent Weil representations and Kudla's generating series. Using Arakelov theory and the modularity of Kudla's generating series, the proof of the Gross-Zagier formula is reduced to local formulas.

"The Gross-Zagier Formula on Shimura Curves" will be of great use to students wishing to enter this area and to those already working in it.