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Expositions of mathematical subjects set forth in a manner comprehensible not only to teachers and students specializing in mathematics, but also to scientific workers in other fields. The monographs are intended for the wide circle of thoughtful people familiar with basic graduate or advanced undergraduate mathematics, encountered in the study of mathematics itself, or in the context of related disciplines, who wish to extend their knowledge without prolonged and critical study of the mathematical journals and treatises. The books in this series are hardbound.

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28 results in Carus Mathematical Monographs

Page 1 of 2

Mathematical Statistics
  • Henry Lewis Rietz
  • Published by:
    Mathematical Association of America
    Published online:
    05 June 2014
    Print publication:
    15 November 2013
  • The MAA is pleased to re-issue the early Carus Mathematical Monographs in ebook and print-on-demand formats. Readers with an interest in the history of the undergraduate curriculum or the history of a particular field will be rewarded by study of these very clear and approachable little volumes. This monograph contributes toward shifting the emphasis and point of view in the study of statistics in the direction of the consideration of the underlying theory involved in certain highly important methods of statistical analysis. With this as the main purpose it is natural that no great effort is made to present a well-balanced discussion of all the many available topics. Considerable portions of this monograph can be read by those who have relatively little knowledge of college mathematics. However, the exposition is designed, in general, for readers of a certain degree of mathematical maturity, and presupposes an acquaintance with elementary differential and integral calculus, and with the elementary principles of probability as presented in various books on college algebra for freshmen.

Randomness and Recurrence in Dynamical Systems
  • A Real Analysis Approach
  • Rodney Nillsen
  • Published by:
    Mathematical Association of America
    Published online:
    26 October 2011
    Print publication:
    01 August 2010
  • Randomness and Recurrence in Dynamical Systems aims to bridge a gap between undergraduate teaching and the research level in mathematical analysis. It makes ideas on averaging, randomness, and recurrence, which traditionally require measure theory, accessible at the undergraduate and lower graduate level. The author develops new techniques of proof and adapts known proofs to make the material accessible to students with only a background in elementary real analysis. Over 60 figures are used to explain proofs, provide alternative viewpoints and elaborate on the main text. The book explains further developments in terms of measure theory. The results are presented in the context of dynamical systems, and the quantitative results are related to the underlying qualitative phenomena—chaos, randomness, recurrence and order. The final part of the book introduces and motivates measure theory and the notion of a measurable set, and describes the relationship of Birkhoff's Individual Ergodic Theorem to the preceding ideas. Developments in other dynamical systems are indicated, in particular Lévy's result on the frequency of occurence of a given digit in the partial fractions expansion of a number. Historical notes and comments suggest possible avenues for self-study.

Algebra and Tiling
  • Homomorphisms in the Service of Geometry
  • Sherman K. Stein, Sandor Szabo
  • Published by:
    Mathematical Association of America
    Published online:
    05 June 2014
    Print publication:
    01 June 2009
  • Read what reviewers had to say about this excellent monograph: Algebra and Tiling is perfect for bringing alive an abstract algebra course. Intuitive but difficult problems of geometry are translated into algebraic problems more amenable to solution... Full of surprises, the book is a pleasure to read. Essential for collections that serve undergraduates. Choice The authors have arranged the text so that exercises are stated frequently throughout the chapters, rather than at the end, and they have presented as problems some questions that have not yet been answered. Historical background relating to tiling problems helps focus the reader on the mathematical discussions. The student or mathematician whose area of interest is algebra should enjoy this text. The Mathematics Teacher There are many questions about tilings which lend themselves nicely to the tools of modern algebra. This book is about several such questions. Each chapter is an independent instance of turning a tiling problem into a problem in algebra... This book is almost self-contained; a lot of time is spent describing carefully the relevant algebra. Zentralblatt für Mathematik Algebra and Tiling is accessible to undergraduate mathematics majors, as most of the tools necessary to read the book are found in standard upper division algebra courses, but teachers, researchers, and professional mathematicians will find the book equally appealing. Beginners will find the exercises and the appendices especially useful. The unsolved problems will challenge both beginners and experts. The book could serve as the basis of an undergraduate or graduate seminar or a source of applications to enrich an algebra or geometry course.

Complex Analysis
  • The Geometric Viewpoint
  • 2nd edition
  • Steven G. Krantz
  • Published by:
    Mathematical Association of America
    Published online:
    26 October 2011
    Print publication:
    01 January 2004
  • In this second edition of a Carus Monograph Classic, Steven Krantz develops material on classical non-Euclidean geometry. He shows how it can be developed in a natural way from the invariant geometry of the complex disc. He also introduces the Bergman kernal and metric and provides profound applications, some of them never having appeared before in print. In general, the new edition represents a considerable polishing and re-thinking of the original successful volume. This is the first and only book to describe the context, the background, the details, and the applications of Ahlfors's celebrated ideas about curvature, the Schwarz lemma, and applications in complex analysis. Beginning from scratch, and requiring only a minimal background in complex variable theory, this book takes the reader up to ideas that are currently active areas of study. Such areas include a) the Caratheodory and Kobayashi metrics, b) the Bergman kernel and metric, c) boundary continuation of conformal maps. There is also an introduction to the theory of several complex variables. Poincaré's celebrated theorem about the biholomorphic inequivalence of the ball and polydisc is discussed and proved.

Ergodic Theory of Numbers
  • Karma Dajani, Cor Kraaikamp
  • Published by:
    Mathematical Association of America
    Published online:
    05 June 2014
    Print publication:
    01 June 2002
  • Ergodic Theory of Numbers is an introduction to the ergodic theory behind common number expansion, like decimal expansions, continued fractions, and many others. However, its aim does not stop there. For undergraduate students with sufficient background knowledge in real analysis and graduate students interested in the area, it is also an introduction to a "dynamical way of thinking." The questions studied here are dynamical as well as number theoretical in nature, and the answers are obtained with the help of ergodic theory. Attention is focused on concepts like measure-preserving, ergodicity, natural extension, induced transformations, and entropy. These concepts are then applied to familiar expansions to obtain old and new results in an elegant and straightforward manner. What it means to be ergodic and the basic ideas behind ergodic theory will be explained along the way. The subjects covered vary from classical to recent, which makes this book appealing to researchers as well as students.

Inequalities from Complex Analysis
  • John P. D'Angelo
  • Published by:
    Mathematical Association of America
    Published online:
    26 October 2011
    Print publication:
    01 January 2002
  • Inequalities from Complex Analysis is a careful, friendly exposition of inequalities and positivity conditions for various mathematical objects arising in complex analysis. The author begins by defining the complex number field, and then discusses enough mathematical analysis to reach recently published research on positivity conditions for functions of several complex variables. The development culminates in complete proofs of a stabilization theorem relating two natural positivity conditions for real-valued polynomials of several complex variables. The reader will also encounter the Bergman kernel function, Fourier series, Hermitian linear algebra, the spectral theorem for compact Hermitian operators, plurisubharmonic functions, and some delightful inequalities. Numerous examples, exercises, and discussions of geometric reasoning appear along the way. Undergraduate mathematics majors who have seen elementary real analysis can easily read the first five chapters of this book, and second year graduate students in mathematics can read the entire text. Some physicists and engineers may also find the topics and discussions useful. The inequalities and positivity conditions herein form the foundation for a small but beautiful part of complex analysis. John P. D'Angelo was the 1999 winner of the Bergman Prize; he was cited for several important contributions to complex analysis, including his work on degenerate Levi forms and points of finite type, as well as work, some joint with David Catlin, on positivity conditions in complex analysis

A Panaroma of Harmonic Analysis
  • Steven G. Krantz
  • Published by:
    Mathematical Association of America
    Published online:
    05 June 2014
    Print publication:
    01 June 1999
  • A Panorama of Harmonic Analysis treats the subject of harmonic analysis, from its earliest beginnings to the latest research. Following both an historical and a conceptual genesis, the book discusses Fourier series of one and several variables, the Fourier transform, spherical harmonics, fractional integrals, and singular integrals on Euclidean space. The climax of the book is a consideration of the earlier ideas from the point of view of spaces of homogeneous type. The book culminates with a discussion of wavelets-one of the newest ideas in the subject. A Panorama of Harmonic Analysis is intended for graduate students, advanced undergraduates, mathematicians, and anyone wanting to get a quick overview of the subject of cummutative harmonic analysis. Applications are to mathematical physics, engineering and other parts of hard science. Required background is calculus, set theory, integration theory, and the theory of sequences and series.

The Sensual (Quadratic) Form
  • John H. Conway
  • Assisted by Francis Y. C. Fung
  • Published by:
    Mathematical Association of America
    Published online:
    05 June 2014
    Print publication:
    01 June 1997
  • Absolutely fascinating from beginning to end. Ian Stewart, New Scientist This is a book rich in ideas. They seem to burst forth from almost every page ... I suspect that the author's hope that 'even the experts will find some new enlightenment here' will be realized. The Mathematics Teacher A very original book ... The lectures are self-contained for the graduate reader ... full of new ideas, and thus of real interest also to experts. Zentralblatt für Mathematik John Horton Conway's unique approach to quadratic forms was the subject of the Hedrick Lectures given by him in August of 1991 at the Joint Meetings of the Mathematical Association of America and the American Mathematical Society in Orono, Maine. This book presents the substance of those lectures. The book should not be thought of as a serious textbook on the theory of quadratic forms - it consists rather of a number of essays on particular aspects of quadratic forms that have interested the author. The lectures are self-contained and will be accessible to the generally informed reader who has no particular background in quadratic form theory. The minor exceptions should not interrupt the flow of ideas. The Afterthoughts to the Lectures contain discussion of related matters that occasionally presuppose greater knowledge.

A Primer of Real Functions
  • 4th edition
  • Ralph P. Boas, Jr
  • Revised by Harold P. Boas
  • Published by:
    Mathematical Association of America
    Published online:
    05 January 2012
    Print publication:
    01 June 1996
  • This is a revised, updated and significantly augmented edition of a classic Carus Monograph (a bestseller for over 25 years) on the theory of functions of a real variable. Earlier editions of this classic Carus Monograph covered sets, metric spaces, continuous functions, and differentiable functions. The fourth edition adds sections on measurable sets and functions, the Lebesgue and Stieltjes integrals, and applications. The book retains the informal chatty style of the previous editions, remaining accessible to readers with some mathematical sophistication and a background in calculus. The book is thus suitable either for self-study or for supplemental reading in a course on advanced calculus or real analysis. Not intended as a systematic treatise, this book has more the character of a sequence of lectures on a variety of interesting topics connected with real functions. Many of these topics are not commonly encountered in undergraduate textbooks: for example, the existence of continuous everywhere-oscillating functions (via the Baire category theorem); the universal chord theorem; two functions having equal derivatives, yet not differing by a constant; and application of Stieltjes integration to the speed of convergence of infinite series.

Knot Theory
  • Charles Livingston
  • Published by:
    Mathematical Association of America
    Published online:
    05 January 2012
    Print publication:
    01 June 1993
  • Knot Theory, a lively exposition of the mathematics of knotting, will appeal to a diverse audience from the undergraduate seeking experience outside the traditional range of studies to mathematicians wanting a leisurely introduction to the subject. Graduate students beginning a program of advanced study will find a worthwhile overview, and the reader will need no training beyond linear algebra to understand the mathematics presented. The interplay between topology and algebra, known as algebraic topology, arises early in the book, when tools from linear algebra and from basic group theory are introduced to study the properties of knots. Livingston guides you through a general survey of the topic showing how to use the techniques of linear algebra to address some sophisticated problems, including one of mathematics' most beautiful topics, symmetry. The book closes with a discussion of high-dimensional knot theory and a presentation of some of the recent advances in the subject—the Conway, Jones, and Kauffman polynomials. A supplementary section presents the fundamental group, which is a centerpiece of algebraic topology.

Random Walks and Electric Networks
  • Peter G. Doyle, J. Laurie Snell
  • Published by:
    Mathematical Association of America
    Published online:
    05 January 2012
    Print publication:
    01 June 1984
  • Probability theory, like much of mathematics, is indebted to physics as a source of problems and intuition for solving these problems. Unfortunately, the level of abstraction of current mathematics often makes it difficult for anyone but an expert to appreciate this fact. Random Walks and Electric Networks looks at the interplay of physics and mathematics in terms of an example — the relation between elementary electric network theory and random walks —where the mathematics involved is at the college level.

From Error-Correcting Codes through Sphere Packings to Simple Groups
  • Thomas M. Thompson
  • Published by:
    Mathematical Association of America
    Published online:
    05 June 2014
    Print publication:
    01 June 1983
  • This book traces a remarkable path of mathematical connections through seemingly disparate topics. Frustrations with a 1940's electro-mechanical computer at a premier research laboratory begin this story. Subsequent mathematical methods of encoding messages to ensure correctness when transmitted over noisy channels lead to discoveries of extremely efficient lattice packings of equal-radius balls, especially in 24-dimensional space. In turn, this highly symmetric lattice, with each point neighboring exactly 196,560 other points, suggested the possible presence of new simple groups as groups of symmetries. Indeed, new groups were found and are now part of the "Enormous Theorem" - the classification of all simple groups whose entire proof runs some 10,000+ pages. And these connections, along with the fascinating history and the proof of the simplicity of one of those "sporatic" simple groups, are presented at an undergraduate mathematical level.

The Generalized Riemann Integral
  • Robert M. McLeod
  • Published by:
    Mathematical Association of America
    Published online:
    05 June 2014
    Print publication:
    01 June 1980
  • The Generalized Riemann Integral is addressed to persons who already have an acquaintance with integrals they wish to extend and to the teachers of generations of students to come. The organization of the work will make it possible for the first group to extract the principal results without struggling through technical details which they may find formidable or extraneous to their purposes. The technical level starts low at the opening of each chapter. Thus readers may follow each chapter as far as they wish and then skip to the beginning of the next. To readers who do wish to see all the details of the arguments, they are given. The generalized Riemann integral can be used to bring the full power of the integral within the reach of many who, up to now, get no glimpse of such results as monotone and dominated convergence theorems. As its name hints, the generalized Riemann integral is defined in terms of Riemann sums. The path from the definition to theorems exhibiting the full power of the integral is direct and short.

Analytic Functions of a Complex Variable
  • David Raymond Curtiss
  • Published by:
    Mathematical Association of America
    Published online:
    05 June 2014
    Print publication:
    01 July 1978
  • The MAA is pleased to re-issue the early Carus Mathematical Monographs in ebook and print-on-demand formats. Readers with an interest in the history of the undergraduate curriculum or the history of a particular field will be rewarded by study of these very clear and approachable little volumes. The theory of functions of a complex variable has been developed by the efforts of thousands of workers through the last hundred years. To give even the briefest account of the present state of that theory in all its branches would be impossible within the limits of this book. What is attempted here is a presentation of fundamental principles with sufficient details of proof and discussion to avoid the style of a mere summary or synopsis. In various places there are indications of directions in which special portions of the subject branch off from the main stem. The reader is assumed to have an acquaintance with elementary differential and integral calculus. Without such knowledge one may, however, obtain some idea of the scope and purposes of the theory of functions from this monograph. Those should profit most who are familiar with more than the elements of the calculus.

Calculus of Variations
  • Gilbert Ames Bliss
  • Published by:
    Mathematical Association of America
    Published online:
    05 June 2014
    Print publication:
    01 June 1978
  • The MAA is pleased to re-issue the early Carus Mathematical Monographs in ebook and print-on-demand formats. Readers with an interest in the history of the undergraduate curriculum or the history of a particular field will be rewarded by study of these very clear and approachable little volumes. The development of the calculus of variations has, from the beginning, been interlaced with that of the differential and integral calculus. Without any knowledge of the calculus one can readily understand at least the geometrical or mechanical statements of many of the problems of the calculus of variations and the character of their solutions. The discovery and justification of the results in this book, apart from their simple statements, do require, however, acquaintance with the principles of the calculus, and it is assumed that the reader has such an acquaintance. Calculus of Variations begins by studying special problems rather than the general theory. The first chapter of the book describes the historical setting out of which the theory of the calculus of variations grew, and the character of some of the simpler problems. The next three chapters are devoted to the development in detail of the then known results for three special problems (shortest distances, brachistochrone, and surfaces of revolution of minimum area) which illustrate in excellent fashion the essential characteristics of the general theory contained in Chapter V with which the book concludes.

Celestial Mechanics
  • Harry Pollard
  • Published by:
    Mathematical Association of America
    Published online:
    05 June 2014
    Print publication:
    01 June 1976
  • The MAA is pleased to re-issue the early Carus Mathematical Monographs in ebook and print-on-demand formats. Readers with an interest in the history of the undergraduate curriculum or the history of a particular field will be rewarded by study of these very clear and approachable little volumes. This monograph presents the basic mathematics underlying the subject of celestial mechanics. Chapter 1 formulates the central force problem and then deals with Kepler's first and second laws, orbits under non-Newtonian attraction, elements of an orbit, the two-body system, the solar system, and disturbed motion. Chapter 2 introduces the n-body problem. Included in Chapter 2 are the Lagrange-Jacobi formula, Sundman's theorem on total collapse, the three-body problem, and Lagrange's and Euler's solutions to the three-body problem. Chapter 3 is an introduction to Hamilton-Jacobi Theory.

The Theory of Algebraic Numbers
  • 2nd edition
  • Harry Pollard, Harold Diamond
  • Published by:
    Mathematical Association of America
    Published online:
    05 June 2014
    Print publication:
    01 June 1975
  • The MAA is pleased to re-issue the early Carus Mathematical Monographs in ebook and print-on-demand formats. Readers with an interest in the history of the undergraduate curriculum or the history of a particular field will be rewarded by study of these very clear and approachable little volumes. This monograph makes available in English the elementary parts of classical algebraic number theory. This second edition follows closely the plan and style of the first edition. The principal changes are the correction of misprints, the expansion or simplification of some arguments, and the omission of the final chapter on units in order to make way for the introduction of some two hundred problems.

Field Theory and its Classical Problems
  • Charles R. Hadlock
  • Published by:
    Mathematical Association of America
    Published online:
    05 June 2014
    Print publication:
    01 June 1975
  • Field Theory and its Classical Problems lets Galois theory unfold in a natural way, beginning with the geometric construction problems of antiquity, continuing through the constructibility of regular n-gons and the properties of roots of unity, and then on to the solvability of polynomial equations by radicals, and beyond. The logical pathway is historic, but the terminology is consistent with modern treatments. No previous knowledge of groups, fields, or abstract algebra is assumed. Notable topics treated along this route include the transcendence of e and of pi, cyclotomic polynomials, polynomials over the integers, Hilbert's, irreducibility theorem, and many other gems in classical mathematics. Historical and bibliographical notes complement the text, and complete solutions are provided to all problems. Field Theory and its Classical Problems is a winner of the MAA Edwin Beckenbach Book Prize for excellence in mathematical exposition.

The Schwarz Function and its Applications
  • Philip J. Davis
  • Published by:
    Mathematical Association of America
    Published online:
    05 June 2014
    Print publication:
    01 June 1974
  • H. A. Schwarz showed us how to extend the notion of reflection in straight lines and circles to reflection in an arbitrary analytic arc. Notable applications were made to the symmetry principle and to problems of analytic continuation. Reflection, in the hands of Schwarz, is an antianalytic mapping. By taking its complex conjugate, we arrive at an analytic function that we have called here the Schwarz Function of the analytic arc. This function is worthy of study in its own right and this essay presents such a study. In dealing with certain familiar topics, the use of the Schwarz Function lends a point of view, a clarity and elegance, and a degree of generality which might otherwise be missing. It opens up a line of inquiry which has yielded numerous interesting things in complex variables; it illuminates some functional equations and a variety of iterations which interest the numerical analyst. The perceptive reader will certainly find here some old wine in relabelled bottles. But one of the principles of mathematical growth is that the relabelling process often suggests a new generation of problems. Means become ends; the medium rapidly becomes the message. This book is not wholly self-contained. Readers will find that they should be familiar with the elementary portions of linear algebra and of the theory of functions of a complex variable.

Dedekind Sums
  • Hans Rademacher, Emil Grosswald
  • Published by:
    Mathematical Association of America
    Published online:
    05 June 2014
    Print publication:
    01 June 1972
  • These notes from Hans Rademacher's 1963 Hedrick Lectures have been gently polished and augmented by Emil Grosswald. While the topic itself is specialized, these sums are linked in diverse ways to many results in number theory, elliptical modular functions, and topology. The first main result is a surprising reciprocity law that is equivalent to the law of quadratic reciprocity.

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