Ronald G. Douglas - Böcker

Operator theory is a diverse area of mathematics which derives its impetus and motivation from several sources. It began with the study of integral equations and now includes the study of operators and collections of operators arising in various branches of physics and mechanics. The intention of this book is to discuss certain advanced topics in operator theory and to provide the necessary background for them assuming only the standard senior-first year graduate courses in general topology, measure theory, and algebra. At the end of each chapter there are source notes which suggest additional reading along with giving some comments on who proved what and when. In addition, following each chapter is a large number of problems of varying difficulty. This new edition will appeal to a new generation of students seeking an introduction to operator theory.

Recent developments in diverse areas of mathematics suggest the study of a certain class of extensions of C*-algebras. Here, Ronald Douglas uses methods from homological algebra to study this collection of extensions. He first shows that equivalence classes of the extensions of the compact metrizable space X form an abelian group Ext (X). Second, he shows that the correspondence X ? Ext (X) defines a homotopy invariant covariant functor which can then be used to define a generalized homology theory. Establishing the periodicity of order two, the author shows, following Atiyah, that a concrete realization of K-homology is obtained.

The purpose of the corona workshop was to consider the corona problem in both one and several complex variables, both in the context of function theory and harmonic analysis as well as the context of operator theory and functional analysis. It was held in June 2012 at the Fields Institute in Toronto, and attended by about fifty mathematicians. This volume validates and commemorates the workshop, and records some of the ideas that were developed within.The corona problem dates back to 1941. It has exerted a powerful influence over mathematical analysis for nearly 75 years. There is material to help bring people up to speed in the latest ideas of the subject, as well as historical material to provide background. Particularly noteworthy is a history of the corona problem, authored by the five organizers, that provides a unique glimpse at how the problem and its many different solutions have developed.There has never been a meeting of this kind, and there has never been a volume of this kind. Mathematicians—both veterans and newcomers—will benefit from reading this book. This volume makes a unique contribution to the analysis literature and will be a valuable part of the canon for many years to come.