N.Ja. Vilenkin – författare

One service mathematici has rendered the 'Et moi, ...* si j'avait IU comment en revenir. je n'y serais point alle.' human race. It has put common sense back Jules Verne where it belong., on the topmost shelf next to the dusty canister labelled 'discarded non- The series is divergent; therefore we may be sense', Eric T. Bell able to do something with it. O. H eaviside Mathematics is a tool for thought. A highly necessary tool in a world where both feedback and non- linearities abound. Similarly, all kinds of parts of mathematics serve as tools for other pans and for other sciences. Applying a simple rewriting rule to the quote on the right above one finds such statements as: 'One service topology has rendered mathematical physics ...'; 'One service logic has rendered com- puter science ...'; 'One service category theory has rendered mathematics ...'. All arguably true. And all statements obtainable this way form part of the raison d'el;re of this series.

One service mathematics has rendered the "Et moi, ..., si j'avait su comment en revenir, human race. It has put common sense back je n 'y serais point all

Onc service malhemalics has rendered Ihe "Et moil ...* si ravait au oomment en revcnir. je n'y serais point aU':' human race. It has put common sense back whcre it belongs, on the topmost shelf next Iules Verne to the dUlty canister IabeUed 'discarded n- sense'. The series is divergent; therefore we may be Eric T. BeU able to do something with it. O. H eaviside Mathematics is a tool for thought, A highly necessary tool in a world where both feedback and non- linearities abound. Similarly, all kinds of parts of mathematics serve as tools for other pans and for other sciences. Applying a simple rewriting rule to the quote on the right above one finds such statements as: 'One service topology has rendered mathematical physics ...'; 'One service logic has rendered com- puter science ...'; 'One service category theory has rendered mathematics ...'. All arguably true. And all statements obtainable this way form part of the raison d'are of this series.

This is the last of three major volumes which present a comprehensive treatment of the theory of the main classes of special functions from the point of view of the theory of group representations. This volume deals with q-analogs of special functions, quantum groups and algebras (including Hopf algebras), and (representations of) semi-simple Lie groups. Also treated are special functions of a matrix argument, representations in the Gel'fand-Tsetlin basis, and, finally, modular forms, theta-functions and affine Lie algebras. The volume builds upon results of the previous two volumes, and presents many new results. Subscribers to the complete set of three volumes will be entitled to a discount of 15%.

In 1991-1993 our three-volume book "Representation of Lie Groups and Spe­ cial Functions" was published. When we started to write that book (in 1983), editors of "Kluwer Academic Publishers" expressed their wish for the book to be of encyclopaedic type on the subject. Interrelations between representations of Lie groups and special functions are very wide. This width can be explained by existence of different types of Lie groups and by richness of the theory of their rep­ resentations. This is why the book, mentioned above, spread to three big volumes. Influence of representations of Lie groups and Lie algebras upon the theory of special functions is lasting. This theory is developing further and methods of the representation theory are of great importance in this development. When the book "Representation of Lie Groups and Special Functions" ,vol. 1-3, was under preparation, new directions of the theory of special functions, connected with group representations, appeared. New important results were discovered in the traditional directions. This impelled us to write a continuation of our three-volume book on relationship between representations and special functions. The result of our further work is the present book. The three-volume book, published before, was devoted mainly to studying classical special functions and orthogonal polynomials by means of matrix elements, Clebsch-Gordan and Racah coefficients of group representations and to generaliza­ tions of classical special functions that were dictated by matrix elements of repre­ sentations.

One service mathematics has rendered the "Et moi, ..., si j'avait su comment en revenir, human race. It has put common sense back je n 'y serais point all

Onc service malhemalics has rendered Ihe "Et moil ...* si ravait au oomment en revcnir. je n'y serais point aU':' human race. It has put common sense back whcre it belongs, on the topmost shelf next Iules Verne to the dUlty canister IabeUed 'discarded n- sense'. The series is divergent; therefore we may be Eric T. BeU able to do something with it. O. H eaviside Mathematics is a tool for thought, A highly necessary tool in a world where both feedback and non- linearities abound. Similarly, all kinds of parts of mathematics serve as tools for other pans and for other sciences. Applying a simple rewriting rule to the quote on the right above one finds such statements as: 'One service topology has rendered mathematical physics ...'; 'One service logic has rendered com- puter science ...'; 'One service category theory has rendered mathematics ...'. All arguably true. And all statements obtainable this way form part of the raison d'are of this series.

In 1991-1993 our three-volume book "Representation of Lie Groups and Spe­ cial Functions" was published. When we started to write that book (in 1983), editors of "Kluwer Academic Publishers" expressed their wish for the book to be of encyclopaedic type on the subject. Interrelations between representations of Lie groups and special functions are very wide. This width can be explained by existence of different types of Lie groups and by richness of the theory of their rep­ resentations. This is why the book, mentioned above, spread to three big volumes. Influence of representations of Lie groups and Lie algebras upon the theory of special functions is lasting. This theory is developing further and methods of the representation theory are of great importance in this development. When the book "Representation of Lie Groups and Special Functions" ,vol. 1-3, was under preparation, new directions of the theory of special functions, connected with group representations, appeared. New important results were discovered in the traditional directions. This impelled us to write a continuation of our three-volume book on relationship between representations and special functions. The result of our further work is the present book. The three-volume book, published before, was devoted mainly to studying classical special functions and orthogonal polynomials by means of matrix elements, Clebsch-Gordan and Racah coefficients of group representations and to generaliza­ tions of classical special functions that were dictated by matrix elements of repre­ sentations.

One service mathematici has rendered the 'Et moi, ...* si j'avait IU comment en revenir. je n'y serais point alle.' human race. It has put common sense back Jules Verne where it belong., on the topmost shelf next to the dusty canister labelled 'discarded non- The series is divergent; therefore we may be sense', Eric T. Bell able to do something with it. O. H eaviside Mathematics is a tool for thought. A highly necessary tool in a world where both feedback and non- linearities abound. Similarly, all kinds of parts of mathematics serve as tools for other pans and for other sciences. Applying a simple rewriting rule to the quote on the right above one finds such statements as: 'One service topology has rendered mathematical physics ...'; 'One service logic has rendered com- puter science ...'; 'One service category theory has rendered mathematics ...'. All arguably true. And all statements obtainable this way form part of the raison d'el;re of this series.

In 1991-1993 our three-volume book "Representation of Lie Groups and Spe­ cial Functions" was published. When we started to write that book (in 1983), editors of "Kluwer Academic Publishers" expressed their wish for the book to be of encyclopaedic type on the subject. Interrelations between representations of Lie groups and special functions are very wide. This width can be explained by existence of different types of Lie groups and by richness of the theory of their rep­ resentations. This is why the book, mentioned above, spread to three big volumes. Influence of representations of Lie groups and Lie algebras upon the theory of special functions is lasting. This theory is developing further and methods of the representation theory are of great importance in this development. When the book "Representation of Lie Groups and Special Functions" ,vol. 1-3, was under preparation, new directions of the theory of special functions, connected with group representations, appeared. New important results were discovered in the traditional directions. This impelled us to write a continuation of our three-volume book on relationship between representations and special functions. The result of our further work is the present book. The three-volume book, published before, was devoted mainly to studying classical special functions and orthogonal polynomials by means of matrix elements, Clebsch-Gordan and Racah coefficients of group representations and to generaliza­ tions of classical special functions that were dictated by matrix elements of repre­ sentations.