Elementary-level text by noted Soviet mathematician offers superb introduction to positive-integral elements of theory of continued fractions. Clear, straightforward presentation of the properties of the apparatus, the representation of numbers by continued fractions, and the measure theory of continued fractions. 1964 edition. Prefaces.

Traditionally a subject of number theory, continued fractions appear in dynamical systems, algebraic geometry, topology, and even celestial mechanics. The rise of computational geometry has resulted in renewed interest in multidimensional generalizations of continued fractions. Numerous classical theorems have been extended to the multidimensional case, casting light on phenomena in diverse areas of mathematics. This book introduces a new geometric vision of continued fractions. It covers several applications to questions related to such areas as Diophantine approximation, algebraic number theory, and toric geometry. The reader will find an overview of current progress in the geometric theory of multidimensional continued fractions accompanied by currently open problems. Whenever possible, we illustrate geometric constructions with figures and examples. Each chapter has exercises useful for undergraduate or graduate courses.

The book is essentially based on recent work of the authors. In order to unify and generalize the results obtained so far, new concepts have been introduced, e.g., an infinite order chain representation of the continued fraction expansion of irrationals, the conditional measures associated with, and the extended random variables corresponding to that representation. Also, such procedures as singularization and insertion allow to obtain most of the continued fraction expansions related to the regular continued fraction expansion. The authors present and prove with full details for the first time in book form, the most recent developments in solving the celebrated 1812 Gauss' problem which originated the metrical theory of continued fractions. At the same time, they study exhaustively the Perron-Frobenius operator, which is of basic importance in this theory, on various Banach spaces including that of functions of bounded variation on the unit interval. The book is of interest to research workers and advanced Ph.D. students in probability theory, stochastic processes and number theory.

This book presents the arithmetic and metrical theory of regular continued fractions and is intended to be a modern version of A. Ya. Khintchine's classic of the same title. Besides new and simpler proofs for many of the standard topics, numerous numerical examples and applications are included (the continued fraction of e, Ostrowski representations and t-expansions, period lengths of quadratic surds, the general Pell's equation, homogeneous and inhomogeneous diophantine approximation, Hall's theorem, the Lagrange and Markov spectra, asymmetric approximation, etc). Suitable for upper level undergraduate and beginning graduate students, the presentation is self-contained and the metrical results are developed as strong laws of large numbers.

Special functions are pervasive in all fields of science and industry. The most well-known application areas are in physics, engineering, chemistry, computer science and statistics. Because of their importance, several books and websites (see for instance http: functions.wolfram.com) and a large collection of papers have been devoted to these functions. Of the standard work on the subject, the Handbook of mathematical functions with formulas, graphs and mathematical tables edited by Milton Abramowitz and Irene Stegun, the American National Institute of Standards claims to have sold over 700 000 copies! But so far no project has been devoted to the systematic study of continued fraction representations for these functions. This handbook is the result of such an endeavour. We emphasise that only 10% of the continued fractions contained in this book, can also be found in the Abramowitz and Stegun project or at the Wolfram website!

Besides their well-known value in number theory, continued fractions are also a useful tool in modern numerical applications and computer science. The goal of the book is to revisit the almost forgotten classical theory and to contextualize it for contemporary numerical applications and signal processing, thus enabling students and scientist to apply classical mathematics on recent problems. The books tries to be mostly self-contained and to make the material accessible for all interested readers. This provides a new view from an applied perspective, combining the classical recursive techniques of continued fractions with orthogonal problems, moment problems, Prony’s problem of sparse recovery and the design of stable rational filters, which are all connected by continued fractions.

This introductory text covers a variety of applications to interest every reader, from researchers to amateur mathematicians.

The history of continued fractions is certainly one of the longest among those of mathematical concepts, since it begins with Euclid's algorithm for the great est common divisor at least three centuries B.C. As it is often the case and like Monsieur Jourdain in Moliere's "Ie bourgeois gentilhomme" (who was speak ing in prose though he did not know he was doing so), continued fractions were used for many centuries before their real discovery. The history of continued fractions and Pade approximants is also quite im portant, since they played a leading role in the development of some branches of mathematics. For example, they were the basis for the proof of the tran scendence of 11' in 1882, an open problem for more than two thousand years, and also for our modern spectral theory of operators. Actually they still are of great interest in many fields of pure and applied mathematics and in numerical analysis, where they provide computer approximations to special functions and are connected to some convergence acceleration methods. Con tinued fractions are also used in number theory, computer science, automata, electronics, etc ...

One of the most authoritative and comprehensive books on the subject of continued fractions, this monograph has been widely used by generations of mathematicians and their students. Dr. Hubert Stanley Wall presents a unified theory correlating certain parts and applications of the subject within a larger analytic structure. Prerequisites include a first course in function theory and knowledge of the elementary properties of linear transformations in the complex plane. Some background in number theory, real analysis, and complex analysis may also prove helpful. The two-part treatment begins with an exploration of convergence theory, addressing continued fractions as products of linear fractional transformations, convergence theorems, and the theory of positive definite continued fractions, as well as other topics. The second part, focusing on function theory, covers the theory of equations, matrix theory of continued fractions, bounded analytic functions, and many additional subjects.

Continued Fractions consists of two volumes — Volume 1: Convergence Theory; and Volume 2: Representation of Functions (tentative title), which is expected in 2011. Volume 1 is dedicated to the convergence and computation of continued fractions, while Volume 2 will treat representations of meromorphic functions by continued fractions. Taken together, the two volumes will present the basic continued fractions theory without requiring too much previous knowledge; some basic knowledge of complex functions will suffice. Both new and advanced graduate students of continued fractions shall get a comprehensive understanding of how these infinite structures work in a number of applications, and why they work so well. A varied buffet of possible applications to whet the appetite is presented first, before the more basic but modernized theory is given. This new edition is the result of an increasing interest in computing special functions by means of continued fractions. The methods described in detail are, in many cases, very simple, yet reliable and efficient.