An accessible and broad account of the approximation and classification of real numbers suited for graduate courses on Diophantine approximation (some 40 exercises are supplied), or as an introduction for non-experts. Specialists will appreciate the collection of over 50 open problems and the comprehensive list of more than 600 references.
The theory of transcendental numbers is closely related to the study of diophantine approximation. This book deals with values of the usual exponential function ez: a central open problem is the conjecture on algebraic independence of logarithms of algebraic numbers. Two chapters provide complete and simplified proofs of zero estimates (due to Philippon) on linear algebraic groups.
A treatment of cutting-edge research on the distribution modulo one of sequences and related topics, much of it from the last decade. There are numerous exercises to aid student understanding of the topic, and researchers will appreciate the notes at the end of each chapter, extensive references and open problems.
"In 1970, at the U. of Colorado, the author delivered a course of lectures on his famous generalization, then just established, relating to Roth's theorem on rational approxi- mations to algebraic numbers. The present volume is an ex- panded and up-dated version of the original mimeographed notes on the course. As an introduction to the author's own remarkable achievements relating to the Thue-Siegel-Roth theory, the text can hardly be bettered and the tract can already be regarded as a classic in its field."(Bull.LMS) "Schmidt's work on approximations by algebraic numbers belongs to the deepest and most satisfactory parts of number theory. These notes give the best accessible way to learn the subject. ... this book is highly recommended." (Mededelingen van het Wiskundig Genootschap)
"This book by a leading researcher and masterly expositor of the subject studies diophantine approximations to algebraic numbers and their applications to diophantine equations. The methods are classical, and the results stressed can be obtained without much background in algebraic geometry. In particular, Thue equations, norm form equations and S-unit equations, with emphasis on recent explicit bounds on the number of solutions, are included. The book will be useful for graduate students and researchers." (L'Enseignement Mathematique) "The rich Bibliography includes more than hundred references. The book is easy to read, it may be a useful piece of reading not only for experts but for students as well." Acta Scientiarum Mathematicarum
The approximation of a continuous function by either an algebraic polynomial, a trigonometric polynomial, or a spline, is an important issue in application areas like computer-aided geometric design and signal analysis. This book is an introduction to the mathematical analysis of such approximation, and, with the prerequisites of only calculus and linear algebra, the material is targeted at senior undergraduate level, with a treatment that is both rigorous and self-contained. The topics include polynomial interpolation; Bernstein polynomials and the Weierstrass theorem; best approximations in the general setting of normed linear spaces and inner product spaces; best uniform polynomial approximation; orthogonal polynomials; Newton-Cotes , Gauss and Clenshaw-Curtis quadrature; the Euler-Maclaurin formula ; approximation of periodic functions; the uniform convergence of Fourier series; spline approximation,with an extensive treatment of local spline interpolation,and its application in quadrature. Exercises are provided at the end of each chapter
Primarily an advanced study of the modern theory of transcendental and algebraic numbers, this treatment by a distinguished Soviet mathematician focuses on the theory's fundamental methods. The text also chronicles the historical development of the theory's methods and explores the connections with other problems in number theory. The problem of approximating algebraic numbers is also studied as a case in the theory of transcendental numbers. Topics include the Thue-Siegel theorem, the Hermite-Lindemann theorem on the transcendency of the exponential function, and the work of C. Siegel on the transcendency of the Bessel functions and of the solutions of other differential equations. The final chapter considers the Gelfond-Schneider theorem on the transcendency of alpha to the power beta. Each proof is prefaced by a brief discussion of its scheme, which provides a helpful guide to understanding the proof's progression.
