Linear Differential Equations and Group Theory from Riemann to Poincare [Hardcover]

Jeremy J. Gray (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 13, 2000 | ISBN-10: 0817638377 | ISBN-13: 978-0817638375 | Edition: 2nd

This book is a study of how a particular vision of the unity of mathematics, often called geometric function theory, was created in the 19^th century. The central focus is on the convergence of three mathematical topics: the hypergeometric and related linear differential equations, group theory, and on-Euclidean geometry.

The text for this second edition has been greatly expanded and revised, and the existing appendices enriched with historical accounts of the Riemann–Hilbert problem, the uniformization theorem, Picard–Vessiot theory, and the hypergeometric equation in higher dimensions. The exercises have been retained, making it possible to use the book as a companion to mathematics courses at the graduate level.

"If you want to know what mathematicians like Gauss, Euler and Dirichlet were doing...this book could be for you. It fills in many historical gaps, in a story which is largely unknown...This book is the result of work done by a serious historian of mathematics...If you are intrigued by such topics studied years ago but now largely forgotten...then read this book."--The Mathematical Gazette (on the second edition)

"One among the most interesting books on the history of mathematics... Very stimulating reading for both historians of modern mathematics and mathematicians as well."--Mathematical Reviews (on the first edition)

"The book contains an amazing wealth of material relating to the algebra, geometry, and analysis of the nineteenth century.... Written with accurate historical perspective and clear exposition, this book is truly hard to put down."--Zentralblatt fur Mathematik (review of 1st edition)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"If you want to know what mathematicians like Gauss, Euler and Dirichlet were doing...this book could be for you. It fills in many historical gaps, in a story which is largely unknown...This book is the result of work done by a serious historian of mathematics...If you are intrigued by such topics studied years ago but now largely forgotten...then read this book."

-The Mathematical Gazette (on the second edition)

"...must reading for every serious student of nineteenth century mathematics...represents a substantial contribution toward filling what is generally acknowledged to be an immense gap in the historical literature."

-ISIS (on the first edition)

"One among the most interesting books on the history of mathematics... Very stimulating reading for both historians of modern mathematics and mathematicians as well."

--Mathematical Reviews (on the first edition)

"The book contains an amazing wealth of material relating to the algebra, geometry, and analysis of the nineteenth century.... Written with accurate historical perspective and clear exposition, this book is truly hard to put down."

--Zentralblatt fur Mathematik (review of 1st edition)

From the Back Cover

This book is a study of how a particular vision of the unity of mathematics, often called geometric function theory, was created in the 19th century. The central focus is on the convergence of three mathematical topics: the hypergeometric and related linear differential equations, group theory, and on-Euclidean geometry. The text for this second edition has been greatly expanded and revised, and the existing appendices enriched with historical accounts of the Riemann–Hilbert problem, the uniformization theorem, Picard–Vessiot theory, and the hypergeometric equation in higher dimensions. The exercises have been retained, making it possible to use the book as a companion to mathematics courses at the graduate level. "If you want to know what mathematicians like Gauss, Euler and Dirichlet were doing...this book could be for you. It fills in many historical gaps, in a story which is largely unknown...This book is the result of work done by a serious historian of mathematics...If you are intrigued by such topics studied years ago but now largely forgotten...then read this book."--The Mathematical Gazette (on the second edition) "One among the most interesting books on the history of mathematics... Very stimulating reading for both historians of modern mathematics and mathematicians as well."--Mathematical Reviews (on the first edition) "The book contains an amazing wealth of material relating to the algebra, geometry, and analysis of the nineteenth century.... Written with accurate historical perspective and clear exposition, this book is truly hard to put down."--Zentralblatt fur Mathematik (review of 1st edition) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 338 pages
• Publisher: Birkhäuser Boston; 2nd edition (April 13, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0817638377
• ISBN-13: 978-0817638375
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,314,543 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A deep and important heritage, February 28, 2006

By 

Viktor Blasjo - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Linear Differential Equations and Group Theory from Riemann to Poincare (Hardcover)

The story begins with the hypergeometric series, studied by Euler and Gauss. This is a power series in x depending on three parameters. It is deeply rooted in classical analysis and it solves a linear differential equation, the hypergeometric equation.

Kummer pushed the classical approach to its end by finding the 24 explicit solutions to this equation. These solutions are intricately related to each other; and one solution is defined here, another there, and so on. In short, the situation is clamouring for a Riemann to explain that all of this makes perfect sense complexly in terms of analytic continuation and monodromy relations. This is the way to go. Fuchs developed a general theory of linear differential equations along these lines.

Then it's back to the hypergeometric series for more inspiration. For which parameter values is the hypergeometric series an algebraic function? Schwarz discovered that this condition on the three parameters may be expressed as that they correspond to a triangular tessellation. What is this clamouring for if not group theory? Well, that's easy for us to say. Actually, generalising Schwarz's results became a battle between the old and the new. Fuchs and Gordan went at it with invariant theory, but Klein carried the day with group theory and geometry.

And the victorious march of these ideas was only just beginning. Dedekind and Klein used them to transform the theory of elliptic modular functions, which old fossils like Fuchs and Hermite had only been able to approach via elliptic functions. Indeed, the basic idea, that of periodicity with respect to a group, "was to prove to be the way historically towards the 'right' generalization of elliptic functions", namely automorphic functions. This is the culmination of the book, and here the story is told with more zeal, through correspondence highlights and so on.

Poincare's interest in differential equations lead him to Fuchs's work. Despite "ignorance, even quite astounding ignorance", of much of the above literature, he still immediately discovered the connection with hyperbolic geometry (while boarding a bus, no less). This naturally caught the eye of Klein, who, being "deliberately well-read", felt that he had to inform Poincare about these works and his own perspective "that the task of modern analysis was to find all functions invariant under linear transformations". The famous competition that followed was really "more of a cooperative effort". Eventually Poincare's papers concluded this whole remarkable development, through which solid problems of classical analysis prompted a beautiful theory of complex functions deeply unified with group theory and geometry.