Number Theory, Analysis and Geometry: In Memory of Serge Lang

Serge Lang was an iconic figure in mathematics, both for his own important work and for the indelible impact he left on the field of mathematics, on his students, and on his colleagues. Over the course of his career, Lang traversed a tremendous amount of mathematical ground. As he moved from subject to subject, he found analogies that led to important questions in such areas as number theory, arithmetic geometry and the theory of negatively curved spaces. Lang's conjectures will keep many mathematicians occupied far into the future. In the spirit of Lang’s vast contribution to mathematics, this memorial volume contains articles by prominent mathematicians in a variety of areas, namely number theory, analysis and geometry, representing Lang’s own breadth of interests. A special introduction by John Tate includes a brief and engaging account of Serge Lang’s life

Rational approximations, multidimensional continued fractions and lattice reduction

We first survey the current state of the art concerning the dynamical properties of multidimensional continued fraction algorithms defined dynamically as piecewise fractional maps and compare them with algorithms based on lattice reduction. We discuss their convergence properties and the quality of the rational approximation, and stress the interest for these algorithms to be obtained by iterating dynamical systems. We then focus on an algorithm based on the classical Jacobi--Perron algorithm involving the nearest integer part. We describe its Markov properties and we suggest a possible procedure for proving the existence of a finite ergodic invariant measure absolutely continuous with respect to Lebesgue measure.Comment: 30 pages, 4 figure

Number Theory, Analysis and Geometry: In Memory of Serge Lang

Serge Lang was an iconic figure in mathematics, both for his own important work and for the indelible impact he left on the field of mathematics, on his students, and on his colleagues. Over the course of his career, Lang traversed a tremendous amount of mathematical ground. As he moved from subject to subject, he found analogies that led to important questions in such areas as number theory, arithmetic geometry and the theory of negatively curved spaces. Lang's conjectures will keep many mathematicians occupied far into the future. In the spirit of Lang’s vast contribution to mathematics, this memorial volume contains articles by prominent mathematicians in a variety of areas, namely number theory, analysis and geometry, representing Lang’s own breadth of interests. A special introduction by John Tate includes a brief and engaging account of Serge Lang’s life

Quaternion Algebras

This open access textbook presents a comprehensive treatment of the arithmetic theory of quaternion algebras and orders, a subject with applications in diverse areas of mathematics. Written to be accessible and approachable to the graduate student reader, this text collects and synthesizes results from across the literature. Numerous pathways offer explorations in many different directions, while the unified treatment makes this book an essential reference for students and researchers alike. Divided into five parts, the book begins with a basic introduction to the noncommutative algebra underlying the theory of quaternion algebras over fields, including the relationship to quadratic forms. An in-depth exploration of the arithmetic of quaternion algebras and orders follows. The third part considers analytic aspects, starting with zeta functions and then passing to an idelic approach, offering a pathway from local to global that includes strong approximation. Applications of unit groups of quaternion orders to hyperbolic geometry and low-dimensional topology follow, relating geometric and topological properties to arithmetic invariants. Arithmetic geometry completes the volume, including quaternionic aspects of modular forms, supersingular elliptic curves, and the moduli of QM abelian surfaces. Quaternion Algebras encompasses a vast wealth of knowledge at the intersection of many fields. Graduate students interested in algebra, geometry, and number theory will appreciate the many avenues and connections to be explored. Instructors will find numerous options for constructing introductory and advanced courses, while researchers will value the all-embracing treatment. Readers are assumed to have some familiarity with algebraic number theory and commutative algebra, as well as the fundamentals of linear algebra, topology, and complex analysis. More advanced topics call upon additional background, as noted, though essential concepts and motivation are recapped throughout

Multi-Dimensional Sigma-Functions

In 1997 the present authors published a review (Ref. BEL97 in the present manuscript) that recapitulated and developed classical theory of Abelian functions realized in terms of multi-dimensional sigma-functions. This approach originated by K.Weierstrass and F.Klein was aimed to extend to higher genera Weierstrass theory of elliptic functions based on the Weierstrass $\sigma$-functions. Our development was motivated by the recent achievements of mathematical physics and theory of integrable systems that were based of the results of classical theory of multi-dimensional theta functions. Both theta and sigma-functions are integer and quasi-periodic functions, but worth to remark the fundamental difference between them. While theta-function are defined in the terms of the Riemann period matrix, the sigma-function can be constructed by coefficients of polynomial defining the curve. Note that the relation between periods and coefficients of polynomials defining the curve is transcendental. Since the publication of our 1997-review a lot of new results in this area appeared (see below the list of Recent References), that promoted us to submit this draft to ArXiv without waiting publication a well-prepared book. We complemented the review by the list of articles that were published after 1997 year to develop the theory of $\sigma$-functions presented here. Although the main body of this review is devoted to hyperelliptic functions the method can be extended to an arbitrary algebraic curve and new material that we added in the cases when the opposite is not stated does not suppose hyperellipticity of the curve considered.Comment: 267 pages, 4 figure