Moscow Lectures – serie

This book offers a concise yet thorough introduction to the notion of moduli spaces of complex algebraic curves. Over the last few decades, this notion has become central not only in algebraic geometry, but in mathematical physics, including string theory, as well.The book begins by studying individual smooth algebraic curves, including the most beautiful ones, before addressing families of curves. Studying families of algebraic curves often proves to be more efficient than studying individual curves: these families and their total spaces can still be smooth, even if there are singular curves among their members. A major discovery of the 20th century, attributed to P. Deligne and D. Mumford, was that curves with only mild singularities form smooth compact moduli spaces. An unexpected byproduct of this discovery was the realization that the analysis of more complex curve singularities is not a necessary step in understanding the geometry of the moduli spaces.Thebook does not use the sophisticated machinery of modern algebraic geometry, and most classical objects related to curves – such as Jacobian, space of holomorphic differentials, the Riemann-Roch theorem, and Weierstrass points – are treated at a basic level that does not require a profound command of algebraic geometry, but which is sufficient for extending them to vector bundles and other geometric objects associated to moduli spaces. Nevertheless, it offers clear information on the construction of the moduli spaces, and provides readers with tools for practical operations with this notion.Based on several lecture courses given by the authors at the Independent University of Moscow and Higher School of Economics, the book also includes a wealth of problems, making it suitable not only for individual research, but also as a textbook for undergraduate and graduate coursework

This English edition of Yuri I. Manin's well-received lecture notes provides a concise but extremely lucid exposition of the basics of algebraic geometry and sheaf theory. The lectures were originally held in Moscow in the late 1960s, and the corresponding preprints were widely circulated among Russian mathematicians. This book will be of interest to students majoring in algebraic geometry and theoretical physics (high energy physics, solid body, astrophysics) as well as to researchers and scholars in these areas."This is an excellent introduction to the basics of Grothendieck's theory of schemes; the very best first reading about the subject that I am aware of. I would heartily recommend every grad student who wants to study algebraic geometry to read it prior to reading more advanced textbooks."- Alexander Beilinson

This book is devoted to classical and modern achievements in complex analysis. In order to benefit most from it, a first-year university background is sufficient; all other statements and proofs are provided. We begin with a brief but fairly complete course on the theory of holomorphic, meromorphic, and harmonic functions. We then present a uniformization theory, and discuss a representation of the moduli space of Riemann surfaces of a fixed topological type as a factor space of a contracted space by a discrete group. Next, we consider compact Riemann surfaces and prove the classical theorems of Riemann-Roch, Abel, Weierstrass, etc. We also construct theta functions that are very important for a range of applications. After that, we turn to modern applications of this theory. First, we build the (important for mathematics and mathematical physics) Kadomtsev-Petviashvili hierarchy and use validated results to arrive at important solutions to these differential equations. We subsequently use the theory of harmonic functions and the theory of differential hierarchies to explicitly construct a conformal mapping that translates an arbitrary contractible domain into a standard disk – a classical problem that has important applications in hydrodynamics, gas dynamics, etc. The book is based on numerous lecture courses given by the author at the Independent University of Moscow and at the Mathematics Department of the Higher School of Economics.

This book is devoted to classical and modern achievements in complex analysis. In order to benefit most from it, a first-year university background is sufficient; all other statements and proofs are provided. We begin with a brief but fairly complete course on the theory of holomorphic, meromorphic, and harmonic functions. We then present a uniformization theory, and discuss a representation of the moduli space of Riemann surfaces of a fixed topological type as a factor space of a contracted space by a discrete group. Next, we consider compact Riemann surfaces and prove the classical theorems of Riemann-Roch, Abel, Weierstrass, etc. We also construct theta functions that are very important for a range of applications. After that, we turn to modern applications of this theory. First, we build the (important for mathematics and mathematical physics) Kadomtsev-Petviashvili hierarchy and use validated results to arrive at important solutions to these differential equations. We subsequently use the theory of harmonic functions and the theory of differential hierarchies to explicitly construct a conformal mapping that translates an arbitrary contractible domain into a standard disk – a classical problem that has important applications in hydrodynamics, gas dynamics, etc. The book is based on numerous lecture courses given by the author at the Independent University of Moscow and at the Mathematics Department of the Higher School of Economics.

This book is based on lectures given at "Mekhmat", the Department of Mechanics and Mathematics at Moscow State University, one of the top mathematical departments worldwide, with a rich tradition of teaching functional analysis.Featuring an advanced course on real and functional analysis, the book presents not only core material traditionally included in university courses of different levels, but also a survey of the most important results of a more subtle nature, which cannot be considered basic but which are useful for applications. Further, it includes several hundred exercises of varying difficulty with tips and references.The book is intended for graduate and PhD students studying real and functional analysis as well as mathematicians and physicists whose research is related to functional analysis.

This book is based on lectures given at "Mekhmat", the Department of Mechanics and Mathematics at Moscow State University, one of the top mathematical departments worldwide, with a rich tradition of teaching functional analysis.Featuring an advanced course on real and functional analysis, the book presents not only core material traditionally included in university courses of different levels, but also a survey of the most important results of a more subtle nature, which cannot be considered basic but which are useful for applications. Further, it includes several hundred exercises of varying difficulty with tips and references.The book is intended for graduate and PhD students studying real and functional analysis as well as mathematicians and physicists whose research is related to functional analysis.

This book offers an introduction to the research in several recently discovered and actively developing mathematical and mathematical physics areas. It focuses on: 1) Feynman integrals and modular functions, 2) hyperbolic and Lorentzian Kac-Moody algebras, related automorphic forms and applications to quantum gravity, 3) superconformal indices and elliptic hypergeometric integrals, related instanton partition functions, 4) moonshine, its arithmetic aspects, Jacobi forms, elliptic genus, and string theory, and 5) theory and applications of the elliptic Painleve equation, and aspects of Painleve equations in quantum field theories. All the topics covered are related to various partition functions emerging in different supersymmetric and ordinary quantum field theories in curved space-times of different (d=2,3,…,6) dimensions. Presenting multidisciplinary methods (localization, Borcherds products, theory of special functions, Cremona maps, etc) for treating a range of partition functions, the book is intended for graduate students and young postdocs interested in the interaction between quantum field theory and mathematics related to automorphic forms, representation theory, number theory and geometry, and mirror symmetry.

This book offers an introduction to the research in several recently discovered and actively developing mathematical and mathematical physics areas. It focuses on: 1) Feynman integrals and modular functions, 2) hyperbolic and Lorentzian Kac-Moody algebras, related automorphic forms and applications to quantum gravity, 3) superconformal indices and elliptic hypergeometric integrals, related instanton partition functions, 4) moonshine, its arithmetic aspects, Jacobi forms, elliptic genus, and string theory, and 5) theory and applications of the elliptic Painleve equation, and aspects of Painleve equations in quantum field theories. All the topics covered are related to various partition functions emerging in different supersymmetric and ordinary quantum field theories in curved space-times of different (d=2,3,…,6) dimensions. Presenting multidisciplinary methods (localization, Borcherds products, theory of special functions, Cremona maps, etc) for treating a range of partition functions, the book is intended for graduate students and young postdocs interested in the interaction between quantum field theory and mathematics related to automorphic forms, representation theory, number theory and geometry, and mirror symmetry.

This is a brief textbook on complex analysis intended for the students of upper undergraduate or beginning graduate level. The author stresses the aspects of complex analysis that are most important for the student planning to study algebraic geometry and related topics. The exposition is rigorous but elementary: abstract notions are introduced only if they are really indispensable. This approach provides a motivation for the reader to digest more abstract definitions (e.g., those of sheaves or line bundles, which are not mentioned in the book) when he/she is ready for that level of abstraction indeed. In the chapter on Riemann surfaces, several key results on compact Riemann surfaces are stated and proved in the first nontrivial case, i.e. that of elliptic curves.

This is a brief textbook on complex analysis intended for the students of upper undergraduate or beginning graduate level. The author stresses the aspects of complex analysis that are most important for the student planning to study algebraic geometry and related topics. The exposition is rigorous but elementary: abstract notions are introduced only if they are really indispensable. This approach provides a motivation for the reader to digest more abstract definitions (e.g., those of sheaves or line bundles, which are not mentioned in the book) when he/she is ready for that level of abstraction indeed. In the chapter on Riemann surfaces, several key results on compact Riemann surfaces are stated and proved in the first nontrivial case, i.e. that of elliptic curves.

The book contains a consistent and sufficiently comprehensive theory of smooth functions and maps insofar as it is connected with differential calculus.The scope of notions includes, among others, Lagrange inequality, Taylor’s formula, finding absolute and relative extrema, theorems on smoothness of the inverse map and on conditions of local invertibility, implicit function theorem, dependence and independence of functions, classification of smooth functions up to diffeomorphism. The concluding chapter deals with a more specific issue of critical values of smooth mappings.In several chapters, a relatively new technical approach is used that allows the authors to clarify and simplify some of the technically difficult proofs while maintaining full integrity. Besides, the book includes complete proofs of some important results which until now have only been published in scholarly literature or scientific journals (remainder estimates of Taylor’s formula in a nonconvex area (Chapter I, §8), Whitney's extension theorem for smooth function (Chapter I, §11) and some of its corollaries, global diffeomorphism theorem (Chapter II, §5), results on sets of critical values of smooth mappings and the related Whitney example (Chapter IV).The text features multiple examples illustrating the results obtained and demonstrating their accuracy. Moreover, the book contains over 150 problems and 19 illustrations.Perusal of the book equips the reader to further explore any literature basing upon multivariable calculus.

The book contains a consistent and sufficiently comprehensive theory of smooth functions and maps insofar as it is connected with differential calculus.The scope of notions includes, among others, Lagrange inequality, Taylor’s formula, finding absolute and relative extrema, theorems on smoothness of the inverse map and on conditions of local invertibility, implicit function theorem, dependence and independence of functions, classification of smooth functions up to diffeomorphism. The concluding chapter deals with a more specific issue of critical values of smooth mappings.In several chapters, a relatively new technical approach is used that allows the authors to clarify and simplify some of the technically difficult proofs while maintaining full integrity. Besides, the book includes complete proofs of some important results which until now have only been published in scholarly literature or scientific journals (remainder estimates of Taylor’s formula in a nonconvex area (Chapter I, §8), Whitney's extension theorem for smooth function (Chapter I, §11) and some of its corollaries, global diffeomorphism theorem (Chapter II, §5), results on sets of critical values of smooth mappings and the related Whitney example (Chapter IV).The text features multiple examples illustrating the results obtained and demonstrating their accuracy. Moreover, the book contains over 150 problems and 19 illustrations.Perusal of the book equips the reader to further explore any literature basing upon multivariable calculus.

This book combines the classical and contemporary approaches to differential geometry. An introduction to the Riemannian geometry of manifolds is preceded by a detailed discussion of properties of curves and surfaces.The chapter on the differential geometry of plane curves considers local and global properties of curves, evolutes and involutes, and affine and projective differential geometry. Various approaches to Gaussian curvature for surfaces are discussed. The curvature tensor, conjugate points, and the Laplace-Beltrami operator are first considered in detail for two-dimensional surfaces, which facilitates studying them in the many-dimensional case. A separate chapter is devoted to the differential geometry of Lie groups.

This book combines the classical and contemporary approaches to differential geometry. An introduction to the Riemannian geometry of manifolds is preceded by a detailed discussion of properties of curves and surfaces.The chapter on the differential geometry of plane curves considers local and global properties of curves, evolutes and involutes, and affine and projective differential geometry. Various approaches to Gaussian curvature for surfaces are discussed. The curvature tensor, conjugate points, and the Laplace-Beltrami operator are first considered in detail for two-dimensional surfaces, which facilitates studying them in the many-dimensional case. A separate chapter is devoted to the differential geometry of Lie groups.

This book gives a comprehensive introduction to those parts of the theory of elliptic integrals and elliptic functions which provide illuminating examples in complex analysis, but which are not often covered in regular university courses. These examples form prototypes of major ideas in modern mathematics and were a driving force of the subject in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In addition to giving an account of the main topics of the theory, the book also describes many applications, both in mathematics and in physics. For the reader’s convenience, all necessary preliminaries on basic notions such as Riemann surfaces are explained to a level sufficient to read the book.For each notion a clear motivation is given for its study, answering the question ‘Why do we consider such objects?’, and the theory is developed in a natural way that mirrors its historical development (e.g., ‘If there is such and such an object, then you would surely expect this one’). This feature sets this text apart from other books on the same theme, which are usually presented in a different order. Throughout, the concepts are augmented and clarified by numerous illustrations. Suitable for undergraduate and graduate students of mathematics, the book will also be of interest to researchers who are not familiar with elliptic functions and integrals, as well as math enthusiasts.

This book gives a comprehensive introduction to those parts of the theory of elliptic integrals and elliptic functions which provide illuminating examples in complex analysis, but which are not often covered in regular university courses. These examples form prototypes of major ideas in modern mathematics and were a driving force of the subject in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In addition to giving an account of the main topics of the theory, the book also describes many applications, both in mathematics and in physics. For the reader’s convenience, all necessary preliminaries on basic notions such as Riemann surfaces are explained to a level sufficient to read the book.For each notion a clear motivation is given for its study, answering the question ‘Why do we consider such objects?’, and the theory is developed in a natural way that mirrors its historical development (e.g., ‘If there is such and such an object, then you would surely expect this one’). This feature sets this text apart from other books on the same theme, which are usually presented in a different order. Throughout, the concepts are augmented and clarified by numerous illustrations. Suitable for undergraduate and graduate students of mathematics, the book will also be of interest to researchers who are not familiar with elliptic functions and integrals, as well as math enthusiasts.

This book is devoted to combinatorial aspects of the theory of symmetric functions. This rich, interesting and highly nontrivial part of algebraic combinatorics has numerous applications to algebraic geometry, topology, representation theory and other areas of mathematics. Along with classical material, such as Schur polynomials and Young diagrams, less standard subjects are also covered, including Schubert polynomials and Danilov–Koshevoy arrays. Requiring only standard prerequisites in algebra and discrete mathematics, the book will be accessible to undergraduate students and can serve as a basis for a semester-long course. It contains more than a hundred exercises of various difficulty, with hints and solutions. Primarily aimed at undergraduate and graduate students, it will also be of interest to anyone who wishes to learn more about modern algebraic combinatorics and its usage in other areas of mathematics.

This book is devoted to combinatorial aspects of the theory of symmetric functions. This rich, interesting and highly nontrivial part of algebraic combinatorics has numerous applications to algebraic geometry, topology, representation theory and other areas of mathematics. Along with classical material, such as Schur polynomials and Young diagrams, less standard subjects are also covered, including Schubert polynomials and Danilov–Koshevoy arrays. Requiring only standard prerequisites in algebra and discrete mathematics, the book will be accessible to undergraduate students and can serve as a basis for a semester-long course. It contains more than a hundred exercises of various difficulty, with hints and solutions. Primarily aimed at undergraduate and graduate students, it will also be of interest to anyone who wishes to learn more about modern algebraic combinatorics and its usage in other areas of mathematics.