Algebraandtopology,thetwofundamentaldomainsofmathematics,playcomplem- tary roles. Topology studies continuity and convergence and provides a general framework to study the concept of a limit. Much of topology is devoted to handling in?nite sets and in?nity itself; the methods developed are qualitative and, in a certain sense, irrational. - gebra studies all kinds of operations and provides a basis for algorithms and calculations. Very often, the methods here are ?nitistic in nature. Because of this difference in nature, algebra and topology have a strong tendency to develop independently, not in direct contact with each other. However, in applications, in higher level domains of mathematics, such as functional analysis, dynamical systems, representation theory, and others, topology and algebra come in contact most naturally. Many of the most important objects of mathematics represent a blend of algebraic and of topologicalstructures. Topologicalfunctionspacesandlineartopologicalspacesingeneral, topological groups and topological ?elds, transformation groups, topological lattices are objects of this kind. Very often an algebraic structure and a topology come naturally together; this is the case when they are both determined by the nature of the elements of the set considered (a group of transformations is a typical example). The rules that describe the relationship between a topology and an algebraic operation are almost always transparentandnatural—theoperationhastobecontinuous,jointlyorseparately.

Tim Maudlin sets out a completely new method for describing the geometrical structure of spaces, and thus a better mathematical tool for describing and understanding space-time. He presents a historical review of the development of geometry and topology, and then his original Theory of Linear Structures.

The aim of this book is a detailed study of topological effects related to continuity of the dependence of solutions on initial values and parameters. This allows us to develop cheaply a theory which deals easily with equations having singularities and with equations with multivalued right hand sides (differential inclusions). An explicit description of corresponding topological structures expands the theory in the case of equations with continuous right hand sides also. In reality, this is a new science where Ordinary Differential Equations, General Topology, Integration theory and Functional Analysis meet. In what concerns equations with discontinuities and differential inclu sions, we do not restrict the consideration to the Cauchy problem, but we show how to develop an advanced theory whose volume is commensurable with the volume of the existing theory of Ordinary Differential Equations. The level of the account rises in the book step by step from second year student to working scientist.

Approach your problems from the right end It isn't that they can't see the solution. It is and begin with the answers. Then one day, that they can't see the problem. perhaps you will find the final question. G. K. Chesterton. The Scandal of Father 'The Hermit Clad in Crane Feathers' in R. Brown 'The point of a Pin'. van Gulik's The Chinese Maze Murders. Growing specialization and diversification have brought a host of monographs and textbooks on increasingly specialized topics. However, the "tree" of knowledge of mathematics and related fields does not grow only by putting forth new branches. It also happens, quite often in fact, that branches which were thought to be completely disparate are suddenly seen to be related. Further, the kind and level of sophistication of mathematics applied in various sciences has changed drastically in recent years: measure theory is used (non-trivially) in regional and theoretical economics; algebraic geometry interacts with physics; the Minkowsky lemma, coding theory and the structure of water meet one another in packing and covering theory; quantum fields, crystal defects and mathematical programming profit from homotopy theory; Lie algebras are relevant to filtering; and prediction and electrical engineering can use Stein spaces. And in addition to this there are such new emerging subdisciplines as "experimental mathematics", "CFD", "completely integrable systems", "chaos, synergetics and large-scale order", which are almost impossible to fit into the existing classification schemes. They draw upon widely different sections of mathematics.

The advent of very large scale integrated circuit technology has enabled the construction of very complex and large interconnection networks. By most accounts, the next generation of supercomputers will achieve its gains by increasing the number of processing elements, rather than by using faster processors. The most difficult technical problem in constructing a supercom puter will be the design of the interconnection network through which the processors communicate. Selecting an appropriate and adequate topological structure of interconnection networks will become a critical issue, on which many research efforts have been made over the past decade. The book is aimed to attract the readers' attention to such an important research area. Graph theory is a fundamental and powerful mathematical tool for de signing and analyzing interconnection networks, since the topological struc ture of an interconnection network is a graph. This fact has been univer sally accepted by computer scientists and engineers. This book provides the most basic problems, concepts and well-established results on the topological structure and analysis of interconnection networks in the language of graph theory. The material originates from a vast amount of literature, but the theory presented is developed carefully and skillfully. The treatment is gen erally self-contained, and most stated results are proved. No exercises are explicitly exhibited, but there are some stated results whose proofs are left to the reader to consolidate his understanding of the material.

Over the past twenty-five years, mathematical concepts associated with geometric phases have come to occupy a central place in our modern understanding of the physics of electrons in solids. These 'Berry phases' describe the global phase acquired by a quantum state as the Hamiltonian is changed. Beginning at an elementary level, this book provides a pedagogical introduction to the important role of Berry phases and curvatures, and outlines their great influence upon many key properties of electrons in solids, including electric polarization, anomalous Hall conductivity, and the nature of the topological insulating state. It focuses on drawing connections between physical concepts and provides a solid framework for their integration, enabling researchers and students to explore and develop links to related fields. Computational examples and exercises throughout provide an added dimension to the book, giving readers the opportunity to explore the central concepts in a practical and engaging way.

{\it Elements of Operatory Theory} is aimed at graduate students as well as a new generation of mathematicians and scientists who need to apply operator theory to their field. Written in a user-friendly, motivating style, fundamental topics are presented in a systematic fashion, i.e., set theory, algebraic structures, topological structures, Banach spaces, Hilbert spaces, culminating with the Spectral Theorem, one of the landmarks in the theory of operators on Hilbert spaces. The exposition is concept-driven and as much as possible avoids the formula-computational approach. Key features of this largely self-contained work include: * required background material to each chapter * fully rigorous proofs, over 300 of them, are specially tailored to the presentation and some are new * more than 100 examples and, in several cases, interesting counterexamples that demonstrate the frontiers of an important theorem * over 300 problems, many with hints * both problems and examples underscore further auxiliary results and extensions of the main theory; in this non-traditional framework, the reader is challenged and has a chance to prove the principal theorems anew This work is an excellent text for the classroom as well as a self-study resource for researchers. Prerequisites include an introduction to analysis and to functions of a complex variable, which most first-year graduate students in mathematics, engineering, or another formal science have already acquired. Measure theory and integration theory are required only for the last section of the final chapter.

In recent years there has been a growing interest in the interactions between descriptive set theory and various aspects of the theory of dynamical systems, including ergodic theory and topological dynamics. This volume, first published in 2000, contains a collection of survey papers by leading researchers covering a wide variety of recent developments in these subjects and their interconnections. This book provides researchers and graduate students interested in either of these areas with a guide to work done in the other, as well as with an introduction to problems and research directions arising from their interconnections.

Structural topology optimization is a fast growing field that is finding numerous applications in automotive, aerospace and mechanical design processes. Homogenization is a mathematical theory with applications in several engineering problems that are governed by partial differential equations with rapidly oscillating coefficients Homogenization and Structural Topology Optimization brings the two concepts together and successfully bridges the previously overlooked gap between the mathematical theory and the practical implementation of the homogenization method. The book is presented in a unique self-teaching style that includes numerous illustrative examples, figures and detailed explanations of concepts. The text is divided into three parts which maintains the book's reader-friendly appeal.