We study the partially ordered set of quantum dynamical semigroups dominated by a given semigroup on the algebra of all bounded operators on a Hilbert space. For semigroups of *-endomorphisms this set can be described through cocycles. This helps us to prove a factorization theorem for dilations and to show that minimal dilations of quantum dynamical semigroups with bounded generators can be got through Hudson-Parthasarathy cocycles.

This book offers a presentation of some new trends in operator theory and operator algebras, with a view to their applications. It consists of separate papers written by some of the leading practitioners in the field. The content is put together by the three editors in a way that should help students and working mathematicians in other parts of the mathematical sciences gain insight into an important part of modern mathematics and its applications. While different specialist authors are outlining new results in this book, the presentations have been made user friendly with the aid of tutorial material. In fact, each paper contains three things: a friendly introduction with motivation, tutorial material, and new research. The authors have strived to make their results relevant to the rest of mathematics. A list of topics discussed in the book includes wavelets, frames and their applications, quantum dynamics, multivariable operator theory, $C*$-algebras, and von Neumann algebras. Some longer papers present recent advances on particular, long-standing problems such as extensions and dilations, the Kadison-Singer conjecture, and diagonals of self-adjoint operators.

This volume is the first of two volumes containing the revised and completed notes lectures given at the school "Quantum Independent Increment Processes: Structure and Applications to Physics". This school was held at the Alfried-Krupp-Wissenschaftskolleg in Greifswald during the period March 9 – 22, 2003, and supported by the Volkswagen Foundation. The school gave an introduction to current research on quantum independent increment processes aimed at graduate students and non-specialists working in classical and quantum probability, operator algebras, and mathematical physics. The present first volume contains the following lectures: "Lévy Processes in Euclidean Spaces and Groups" by David Applebaum, "Locally Compact Quantum Groups" by Johan Kustermans, "Quantum Stochastic Analysis" by J. Martin Lindsay, and "Dilations, Cocycles and Product Systems" by B.V. Rajarama Bhat.

This volume and Stochastic Processes, Physics and Geometry: New Interplays I present state-of-the-art research currently unfolding at the interface between mathematics and physics. Included are select articles from the international conference held in Leipzig (Germany) in honor of Sergio Albeverio's sixtieth birthday. The theme of the conference, "Infinite Dimensional (Stochastic) Analysis and Quantum Physics", was chosen to reflect Albeverio's wide-ranging scientific interests. The articles in these books reflect that broad range of interests and provide a detailed overview highlighting the deep interplay among stochastic processes, mathematical physics, and geometry. The contributions are written by internationally recognized experts in the fields of stochastic analysis, linear and nonlinear (deterministic and stochastic) PDEs, infinite dimensional analysis, functional analysis, commutative and noncommutative probability theory, integrable systems, quantum and statistical mechanics, geometric quantization, and neural networks. Also included are applications in biology and other areas. Most of the contributions are high-level research papers. However, there are also some overviews on topics of general interest. The articles selected for publication in these volumes were specifically chosen to introduce readers to advanced topics, to emphasize interdisciplinary connections, and to stress future research directions. Volume I contains contributions from invited speakers; Volume II contains additional contributed papers. Members of the Canadian Mathematical Society may order at the AMS member price.

This book introduces the notion of an E-semigroup, a generalization of the known concept of E_O-semigroup. These objects are families of endomorphisms of a von Neumann algebra satisfying certain natural algebraic and continuity conditions. Its thorough approach is ideal for graduate students and research mathematicians.

This volume contains the proceedings of the conference on Advances in Quantum Dynamics. The purpose of the conference was to assess the current state of knowledge and to outline future research directions of quantum dynamical semigroups on von Neumann algebras. Since the appearance of the landmark papers by F. Murray and J. von Neumann, On the Rings of Operators, von Neumann algebras have been used as a mathematical model in the study of time evolution of quantum mechanical systems.Following the work of M. H. Stone, von Neumann, and others on the structure of one-parameter groups of unitary transformations, many researchers have made fundamental contributions to the understanding of time-reversible dynamical systems. This book deals with the mathematics of time-irreversiblesystems, also called dissipative systems. The time parameter is the half-line, and the transformations are now endomorphisms as opposed to automorphisms. For over a decade, W. B. Arveson and R. T. Powers have pioneered the effort to understand the structure of irreversible quantum dynamical systems on von Neumann algebras. Their papers in this volume serve as an excellent introduction to the theory. Also included are contributions in other areas which have had an impact on the theory, such asBrownian motion, dilation theory, quantum probability, and free probability. The volume is suitable for graduate students and research mathematicians interested in the dynamics of quantum systems and corresponding topics in the theory of operator algebras.

The dynamics of infinite classical lattice systems has been considered and has led to the study of the properties of ergodicity and convergence to equilibrium of a new class of Markov semigroups. Quantum analogues of these semigroups have also been considered. However, the problem of deriving these Markovian semigroups and, what is much more interesting, the associated stochastic flows, as limits of Hamiltonian systems, rather than postulating their form on a phenomenological basis, is essentially open both in the classical case and in the quantum case. This book presents a conjecture that, by coupling a quantum spin system in finite volume to a quantum field via a suitable interaction, applying the stochastic golden rule and taking the thermodynamic limit, one may obtain a class of quantum flows which, when restricted to an appropriate Abelian subalgebra, gives rise to the classical interacting particle systems studied in classical statistical mechanics.

This volume collects research papers in quantum probability and related fields and reflects the recent developments in quantum probability ranging from the foundations to its applications.

Noncommutative mathematics is a significant new trend of mathematics. Initially motivated by the development of quantum physics, the idea of 'making theory noncommutative' has been extended to many areas of pure and applied mathematics. This book is divided into two parts. The first part provides an introduction to quantum probability, focusing on the notion of independence in quantum probability and on the theory of quantum stochastic processes with independent and stationary increments. The second part provides an introduction to quantum dynamical systems, discussing analogies with fundamental problems studied in classical dynamics. The desire to build an extension of the classical theory provides new, original ways to understand well-known 'commutative' results. On the other hand the richness of the quantum mathematical world presents completely novel phenomena, never encountered in the classical setting. This book will be useful to students and researchers in noncommutative probability, mathematical physics and operator algebras.

Lectures given at the school "Quantum Independent Increment Processes: Structure and Applications to Physics" held at the Alfried-Krupp-Wissenschaftskolleg in Greifswald in March 9-22, 2003.