History of Mathematics

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Ultima uscita: 23 febbraio 2022
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31
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''When I was invited to speak at the conference on the history of analysis given at Rice University [in 1977], I decided that it might be interesting to review the history of mathematics and physics in the last three hundred years or so with heavy emphasis on those parts in which harmonic analysis had played a decisive or at least a major role. I was pleased and somewhat astonished to find how much of both subjects could be included under this rubric ... The picture that gradually emerged as the various details fell into place was one that I found very beautiful, and the process of seeing it do so left me in an almost constant state of euphoria. I would like to believe that others can be led to see this picture by reading my paper, and to facilitate this I have included a large number of short expositions of topics which are not widely understood by non-specialists.'' --from the Preface This volume, containing the paper mentioned above as well as five other reprinted papers by Mackey, presents a sweeping view of the importance, utility, and beauty of harmonic analysis and its connections to other areas of mathematics and science. A seventh paper, written exclusively for this volume, attempts to unify certain themes that emerged after major discoveries in 1967 and 1968 in the areas of Lie algebras, strong interaction physics, statistical mechanics, and nonlinear partial differential equations--discoveries that may at first glance appear to be independent, but which are in fact deeply interrelated. Information for our distributors: Copublished with the London Mathematical Society beginning with volume 4. Members of the LMS may order directly from the AMS at the AMS member price. The LMS is registered with the Charity Commissioners.
The Scope and History of Commutative and Noncommutative Harmonic Analysis
Libro 5 · apr 2005 ·
0,0
''When I was invited to speak at the conference on the history of analysis given at Rice University [in 1977], I decided that it might be interesting to review the history of mathematics and physics in the last three hundred years or so with heavy emphasis on those parts in which harmonic analysis had played a decisive or at least a major role. I was pleased and somewhat astonished to find how much of both subjects could be included under this rubric ... The picture that gradually emerged as the various details fell into place was one that I found very beautiful, and the process of seeing it do so left me in an almost constant state of euphoria. I would like to believe that others can be led to see this picture by reading my paper, and to facilitate this I have included a large number of short expositions of topics which are not widely understood by non-specialists.'' --from the Preface This volume, containing the paper mentioned above as well as five other reprinted papers by Mackey, presents a sweeping view of the importance, utility, and beauty of harmonic analysis and its connections to other areas of mathematics and science. A seventh paper, written exclusively for this volume, attempts to unify certain themes that emerged after major discoveries in 1967 and 1968 in the areas of Lie algebras, strong interaction physics, statistical mechanics, and nonlinear partial differential equations--discoveries that may at first glance appear to be independent, but which are in fact deeply interrelated. Information for our distributors: Copublished with the London Mathematical Society beginning with volume 4. Members of the LMS may order directly from the AMS at the AMS member price. The LMS is registered with the Charity Commissioners.
Lectures in the History of Mathematics
Libro 7 · gen 1993 ·
0,0
" [These lectures] are about themes of the history of mathematics which for various reasons are dear to me. The early differential and integral calculus, Christiaan Huygens, and the concept of construction in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century mathematics are the three themes around which much of my research has concentrated and which continue to fascinate me by the insights they offer in the development of that special human activity called mathematics." ---from the Introduction. This volume contains 11 lectures ranging over a variety of topics in the history of mathematics. The lectures, presented between 1970 and 1987, were delivered in a variety of venues and appeared only in less accessible publications. Those who teach mathematics, as well as mathematics historians, will appreciate this insightful, wide ranging book. The History of Mathematics series is cojointly published with the London Mathematical Society
Ramanujan: Letters and Commentary
Libro 9 · set 1995 ·
4,5
The letters that Ramanujan wrote to G. H. Hardy on January 16 and February 27, 1913, are two of the most famous letters in the history of mathematics. These and other letters introduced Ramanujan and his remarkable theorems to the world and stimulated much research, especially in the 1920s and 1930s. This book brings together many letters to, from, and about Ramanujan. The letters came from the National Archives in Delhi, the Archives in the State of Tamil Nadu, and a variety of other sources. Helping to orient the reader is the extensive commentary, both mathematical and cultural, by Berndt and Rankin; in particular, they discuss in detail the history, up to the present day, of each mathematical result in the letters. Containing many letters that have never been published before, this book will appeal to those interested in Ramanujan's mathematics as well as those wanting to learn more about the personal side of his life. Ramanujan: Letters and Commentary was selected for the CHOICE list of Outstanding Academic Books for 1996.
The Way I Remember it
Libro 12 · gen 1992 ·
4,0
Walter Rudin's memoirs should prove to be a delightful read specifically to mathematicians, but also to historians who are interested in learning about his colorful history and ancestry. Characterized by his personal style of elegance, clarity, and brevity, Rudin presents in the first part of the book his early memories about his family history, his boyhood in Vienna throughout the 1920s and 1930s, and his experiences during World War II.
Part II offers samples of his work, in which he relates where problems came from, what their solutions led to, and who else was involved.
Pioneers of Representation Theory: Frobenius, Burnside, Schur, and Brauer
Libro 15 ·
0,0
The year 1897 was marked by two important mathematical events: the publication of the first paper on representations of finite groups by Ferdinand Georg Frobenius (1849-1917) and the appearance of the first treatise in English on the theory of finite groups by William Burnside (1852-1927). Burnside soon developed his own approach to representations of finite groups. In the next few years, working independently, Frobenius and Burnside explored the new subject and its applications to finite group theory. They were soon joined in this enterprise by Issai Schur (1875-1941) and some years later, by Richard Brauer (1901-1977). These mathematicians' pioneering research is the subject of this book. It presents an account of the early history of representation theory through an analysis of the published work of the principals and others with whom the principals' work was interwoven. Also included are biographical sketches and enough mathematics to enable readers to follow the development of the subject. An introductory chapter contains some of the results involving characters of finite abelian groups by Lagrange, Gauss, and Dirichlet, which were part of the mathematical tradition from which Frobenius drew his inspiration. This book presents the early history of an active branch of mathematics. It includes enough detail to enable readers to learn the mathematics along with the history. The volume would be a suitable text for a course on representations of finite groups, particularly one emphasizing an historical point of view. Co-published with the London Mathematical Society. Members of the LMS may order directly from the AMS at the AMS member price. The LMS is registered with the Charity Commissioners.
Non-Euclidean Geometry in the Theory of Automorphic Functions
Libro 17 · gen 1999 ·
0,0
This is the English translation of a volume originally published only in Russian and now out of print. The book was written by Jacques Hadamard on the work of Poincare.
Poincare's creation of a theory of automorphic functions in the early 1880s was one of the most significant mathematical achievements of the nineteenth century. It directly inspired the uniformization theorem, led to a class of functions adequate to solve all linear ordinary differential equations, and focused attention on a large new class of discrete groups. It was the first significant application of non-Euclidean geometry.
This unique exposition by Hadamard offers a fascinating and intuitive introduction to the subject of automorphic functions and illuminates its connection to differential equations, a connection not often found in other texts.
Kolmogorov in Perspective
Libro 20 · gen 2000 ·
0,0
The editorial board for the History of Mathematics series has selected for this volume a series of translations from two Russian publications, Kolmogorov in Remembrance and Mathematics and its Historical Development. This book, Kolmogorov in Perspective, includes articles written by Kolmogorov's students and colleagues and his personal accounts of shared experiences and lifelong mathematical friendships. Specifically, the article, "Andrei Nikolaevich Kolmogorov. A Biographical Sketch of His Life and Creative Paths" by A.N. Shiryaev, gives an excellent personal and scientific biography of Kolmogorov. The volume also includes the following articles: "On A.N. Kolmogorov" by V.I. Arnol'd, "In Memory of A.N. Kolmogorov" by S.M. Nikol'skii, "Remembrances of A.N. Kolmogorov" by Ya. G. Sinai, "The Influence of Andrei Nikolaevich Kolmogorov on My Life" by P.L. Ul'yanov, "A Few Words on A.N. Kolmogorov" by P.S. Aleksandrov, "Memories of P.S. Aleksandrov" by A.N. Kolmogorov, "Newton and Contemporary Mathematical Thought" by A.N. Kolmogorov, and an extensive bibliography with the complete list of Kolmogorov's works--including the articles written for encyclopedias and newspapers. The book is illustrated with photographs and includes quotations from Kolmogorov's letters and conversations, uniquely reflecting his mathematical tastes and opinions.
Mathematics Unbound: The Evolution of an International Mathematical Research Community, 1800-1945
Libro 23 ·
0,0
Although today's mathematical research community takes its international character very much for granted, this ''global nature'' is relatively recent, having evolved over a period of roughly 150 years-from the beginning of the nineteenth century to the middle of the twentieth century. During this time, the practice of mathematics changed from being centered on a collection of disparate national communities to being characterized by an international group of scholars for whom thegoal of mathematical research and cooperation transcended national boundaries. Yet, the development of an international community was far from smooth and involved obstacles such as war, political upheaval, and national rivalries. Until now, this evolution has been largely overlooked by historians andmathematicians alike. This book addresses the issue by bringing together essays by twenty experts in the history of mathematics who have investigated the genesis of today's international mathematical community. This includes not only developments within component national mathematical communities, such as the growth of societies and journals, but also more wide-ranging political, philosophical, linguistic, and pedagogical issues. The resulting volume is essential reading for anyone interestedin the history of modern mathematics. It will be of interest to mathematicians, historians of mathematics, and historians of science in general.
A History of Analysis
Libro 24 ·
0,0
The St. Petersburg School of Number Theory
Libro 26 ·
0,0
For over two centuries, the work of the St. Petersburg mathematicians in number theory has constituted a glorious contribution to mathematics. The Russian book, The St. Petersburg School of Number Theory, is about the life and work of prominent members of this school, such as Chebyshev, Korkin, Zolotarev, Markov, Voronoi, and Vinogradov. These mathematicians are indeed a very distinguished group, and their work in number theory is of the highest quality and continues to have lasting significance. This English translation acquaints the reader with the most important works of these six eminent members of the St. Petersburg school. A short biography is given for each of them, followed by an exposition of some of his most significant contributions. Each contribution features the author's original terminology and notation and is followed by commentary. Certain works receive relatively complete expositions, while others are dealt with more briefly. With a Foreword written for the English edition, this volume will appeal to a broad mathematical audience, including mathematical historians. It is particularly suitable for graduate students and researchers interested in number theory. Information for our distributors: Copublished with the London Mathematical Society. Members of the LMS may order directly from the AMS at the AMS member price. The LMS is registered with the Charity Commissioners.
John Von Neumann: Selected Letters
Libro 27 ·
0,0
John von Neumann was perhaps the most influential mathematician of the twentieth century, especially if his broad influence outside mathematics is included.
The present volume is the first substantial collection of (previously mainly unpublished) letters written by von Neumann to colleagues, friends, government officials, and others. The letters give us a glimpse of the thinking of John von Neumann about mathematics, physics, computer science, science management, education, consulting, politics, and war. Readers of quite diverse backgrounds will find much of interest in this first-hand look at one of the towering figures of twentieth century science.
John von Neumann: Selected Letters
Libro 27 · feb 2022 ·
0,0
John von Neuman was perhaps the most influential mathematician of the twentieth century, especially if his broad influence outside mathematics is included. Not only did he contribute to almost all branches of mathematics and created new fields, but he also changed post-World War II history with his work on the design of computers and with being a sought-after technical advisor to many figures in the U.S. military-political establishment in the 1940s and 1950s. The present volume is the first substantial collection of (previously mainly unpublished) letters written by von Neumann to colleagues, friends, government officials, and others. The letters give us a glimpse of the thinking of John von Neumann about mathematics, physics, computer science, science management, education, consulting, politics, and war. Readers of quite diverse backgrounds will find much of interest in this fascinating first-hand look at one of the towering figures of twentieth century science.
Mathematics and Social Utopias in France: Olinde Rodrigues and His Times
Libro 28 · mar 2013 ·
0,0
Annotation A mathematician, a social reformer within Saint-Simon's utopian-socialist movement, and later a prosperous banker, Olinde Rodrigues is a fascinating figure of the city of Paris in the first half of the nineteenth century. His many interests and associations make him a remarkable character in the history of nineteenth-century mathematics. Since archival resources on Rodrigues are not abundant and since they are scattered throughout a variety of archives--from large to very small--studying him presents difficult historiographic challenges. These are met for the first time in this book, written by a team of mathematicians, historians of mathematics, and historians of culture and society for people interested in any of these fields. An effort has been made to give continuity to these different contributions and to focus them around different aspects of Rodrigues's absorbing life and interesting mathematical work. The starting chapters attempt to recreate the scientific and social background in which he moved in Paris. His contributions to a variety of mathematical fields (orthogonal polynomials, combinatorics, and rotations) are discussed in the chapters that follow. The book ends with a discussion on contemporary responses to his work in mathematics. Sufficient background is given in the discussion of Rodrigues's work in mathematics to make it accessible to a reader familiar with basic college mathematics.
Euclid's Phaenomena: A Translation and Study of a Hellenistic Treatise in Spherical Astronomy
Libro 29 · gen 2006 ·
0,0
The book contains a translation and study of Euclid's Phaenomena, a work which once formed part of the mathematical training of astronomers from Central Asia to Western Europe. Included is an introduction that sets Euclid's geometry of the celestial sphere, and its application to the astronomy of his day, into its historical context for readers not already familiar with it. So no knowledge of astronomy or advanced mathematics is necessary for an understanding of the work. The book shows mathematical astronomy shortly before the invention of trigonometry, which allowed the calculation of exact results and the subsequent composition of Ptolemy's Almagest. The Phaenomena itself begins with an introduction (possibly not by Euclid) followed by eighteen propositions set out in geometrical style about how arcs of the zodiacal circle move across the sky. The astronomical application is to the small arc of that circle occupied by the Sun, but the Sun is not mentioned. This work and the (roughly) contemporaneous treatises of Autolycus and Aristarchos form a corpus of the oldest extant works on mathematical astronomy. Together with Euclid's Optics one has the beginnings of the history of science as an application of mathematics. Information for our distributors: Copublished with the London Mathematical Society beginning with Volume 4. Members of the LMS may order directly from the AMS at the AMS member price. The LMS is registered with the Charity Commissioners.
Logic's Lost Genius: The Life of Gerhard Gentzen
Libro 33 · gen 2007 ·
0,0
Gerhard Gentzen (1909-1945) is the founder of modern structural proof theory. His lasting methods, rules, and structures resulted not only in the technical mathematical discipline called ''proof theory'' but also in verification programs that are essential in computer science. The appearance, clarity, and elegance of Gentzen's work on natural deduction, the sequent calculus, and ordinal proof theory continue to be impressive even today. The present book gives the first comprehensive, detailed, accurate scientific biography expounding the life and work of Gerhard Gentzen, one of our greatest logicians, until his arrest and death in Prague in 1945. Particular emphasis in the book is put on the conditions of scientific research, in this case mathematical logic, in National Socialist Germany, the ideological fight for ''German logic'', and their mutual protagonists. Numerous hitherto unpublished sources, family documents, archival material, interviews, and letters, as well as Gentzen's lectures for the mathematical public, make this book an indispensable source of information on this important mathematician, his work, and his time. The volume is completed by two deep substantial essays by Jan von Plato and Craig Smorynski on Gentzen's proof theory; its relation to the ideas of Hilbert, Brouwer, Weyl, and Godel; and its development up to the present day. Smorynski explains the Hilbert program in more than the usual slogan form and shows why consistency is important. Von Plato shows in detail the benefits of Gentzen's program. This important book is a self-contained starting point for any work on Gentzen and his logic. The book is accessible to a wide audience with different backgrounds and is suitable for general readers, researchers, students, and teachers. Information for our distributors: Co-published with the London Mathematical Society beginning with Volume 4. Members of the LMS may order directly from the AMS at the AMS member price. The LMS is registered with the Charity Commissioners.
Logic's Lost Genius
Libro 33 · mag 2016 ·
0,0
Gerhard Gentzen (1909–1945) is the founder of modern structural proof theory. His lasting methods, rules, and structures resulted not only in the technical mathematical discipline called “proof theory” but also in verification programs that are essential in computer science. The appearance, clarity, and elegance of Gentzen's work on natural deduction, the sequent calculus, and ordinal proof theory continue to be impressive even today.

The present book gives the first comprehensive, detailed, accurate scientific biography expounding the life and work of Gerhard Gentzen, one of our greatest logicians, until his arrest and death in Prague in 1945.

Particular emphasis in the book is put on the conditions of scientific research, in this case mathematical logic, in National Socialist Germany, the ideological fight for “German logic”, and their mutual protagonists. Numerous hitherto unpublished sources, family documents, archival material, interviews, and letters, as well as Gentzen's lectures for the mathematical public, make this book an indispensable source of information on this important mathematician, his work, and his time. The volume is completed by two deep substantial essays by Jan von Plato and Craig Smoryński on Gentzen's proof theory; its relation to the ideas of Hilbert, Brouwer, Weyl, and Gödel; and its development up to the present day. Smoryński explains the Hilbert program in more than the usual slogan form and shows why consistency is important. Von Plato shows in detail the benefits of Gentzen's program.

This important book is a self-contained starting point for any work on Gentzen and his logic. The book is accessible to a wide audience with different backgrounds and is suitable for general readers, researchers, students, and teachers.
Pioneering Women in American Mathematics: The Pre-1940 PhD's
Libro 34 · gen 2009 ·
0,0
"This book is the result of a study in which the authors identified all of the American women who earned PhD's in mathematics before 1940, and collected extensive biographical and bibliographical information about each of them. By reconstructing as complete a picture as possible of this group of women, Green and LaDuke reveal insights into the larger scientific and cultural communities in which they lived and worked." "The book contains an extended introductory essay, as well as biographical entries for each of the 228 women in the study. The authors examine family backgrounds, education, careers, and other professional activities. They show that there were many more women earning PhD's in mathematics before 1940 than is commonly thought." "The material will be of interest to researchers, teachers, and students in mathematics, history of mathematics, history of science, women's studies, and sociology."--BOOK JACKET.
The Life and Times of the Central Limit Theorem
Libro 35 · nov 2009 ·
0,0
About the First Edition: The study of any topic becomes more meaningful if one also studies the historical development that resulted in the final theorem. ... This is an excellent book on mathematics in the making. --Philip Peak, The Mathematics Teacher, May, 1975 I find the book very interesting. It contains valuable information and useful references. It can be recommended not only to historians of science and mathematics but also to students of probability and statistics. --Wei-Ching Chang, Historica Mathematica, August, 1976 In the months since I wrote ... I have read it from cover to cover at least once and perused it here and there a number of times. I still find it a very interesting and worthwhile contribution to the history of probability and statistics. --Churchill Eisenhart, past president of the American Statistical Association, in a letter to the author, February 3, 1975 The name Central Limit Theorem covers a wide variety of results involving the determination of necessary and sufficient conditions under which sums of independent random variables, suitably standardized, have cumulative distribution functions close to the Gaussian distribution. As the name Central Limit Theorem suggests, it is a centerpiece of probability theory which also carries over to statistics. Part One of The Life and Times of the Central Limit Theorem, Second Edition traces its fascinating history from seeds sown by Jacob Bernoulli to use of integrals of $\exp (x^2)$ as an approximation tool, the development of the theory of errors of observation, problems in mathematical astronomy, the emergence of the hypothesis of elementary errors, the fundamental work of Laplace, and the emergence of an abstract Central Limit Theorem through the work of Chebyshev, Markov and Lyapunov. This closes the classical period of the life of the Central Limit Theorem, 1713-1901. The second part of the book includes papers by Feller and Le Cam, as well as comments by Doob, Trotter, and Pollard, describing the modern history of the Central Limit Theorem (1920-1937), in particular through contributions of Lindeberg, Cramer, Levy, and Feller. The Appendix to the book contains four fundamental papers by Lyapunov on the Central Limit Theorem, made available in English for the first time.
Papers on Topology: Analysis Situs and Its Five Supplements
Libro 37 ·
0,0
Early Days in Complex Dynamics: A History of Complex Dynamics in One Variable During 1906-1942
Libro 38 · gen 2012 ·
0,0
The theory of complex dynamics, whose roots lie in 19th-century studies of the iteration of complex function conducted by Koenigs, Schoder, and others, flourished remarkably during the first half of the 20th century, when many of the central ideas and techniques of the subject developed. This book paints a robust picture of the field of complex dynamics between 1906 and 1942 through detailed discussions of the work of Fatou, Julia, Siegel, and several others.