Originally published: New York: Rinehart and Winston, 1961.

Brief but intriguing monograph on the theory of elliptic functions, written by a prominent mathematician. Spotlights high points of the fundamental regions and illustrates powerful, versatile analytic methods. 1961 edition.

Theta functions were studied extensively by Ramanujan. This book provides a systematic development of Ramanujan’s results and extends them to a general theory. The author’s treatment of the subject is comprehensive, providing a detailed study of theta functions and modular forms for levels up to 12. Aimed at advanced undergraduates, graduate students, and researchers, the organization, user-friendly presentation, and rich source of examples, lends this book to serve as a useful reference, a pedagogical tool, and a stimulus for further research. Topics, especially those discussed in the second half of the book, have been the subject of much recent research; many of which are appearing in book form for the first time. Further results are summarized in the numerous exercises at the end of each chapter.

This volume is the first of three in a series surveying the theory of theta functions. Based on lectures given by the author at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Bombay, these volumes constitute a systematic exposition of theta functions, beginning with their historical roots as analytic functions in one variable (Volume I), touching on some of the beautiful ways they can be used to describe moduli spaces (Volume II), and culminating in a methodical comparison of theta functions in analysis, algebraic geometry, and representation theory (Volume III).

This book gives a complete proof of the Verlinde formula and of its connection to generalized theta functions.

A unique synthesis of the three existing Fourier-analytictreatments of quadratic reciprocity. The relative quadratic case was first settled by Hecke in 1923,then recast by Weil in 1964 into the language of unitary grouprepresentations. The analytic proof of the general n-th order caseis still an open problem today, going back to the end of Hecke'sfamous treatise of 1923. The Fourier-Analytic Proof of QuadraticReciprocity provides number theorists interested in analyticmethods applied to reciprocity laws with a unique opportunity toexplore the works of Hecke, Weil, and Kubota. This work brings together for the first time in a single volume thethree existing formulations of the Fourier-analytic proof ofquadratic reciprocity. It shows how Weil's groundbreakingrepresentation-theoretic treatment is in fact equivalent to Hecke'sclassical approach, then goes a step further, presenting Kubota'salgebraic reformulation of the Hecke-Weil proof. Extensivecommutative diagrams for comparing the Weil and Kubotaarchitectures are also featured. The author clearly demonstrates the value of the analytic approach,incorporating some of the most powerful tools of modern numbertheory, including adèles, metaplectric groups, andrepresentations. Finally, he points out that the critical commonfactor among the three proofs is Poisson summation, whosegeneralization may ultimately provide the resolution for Hecke'sopen problem.

This book presents several results on elliptic functions and Pi, using Jacobi's triple product identity as a tool to show suprising connections between different topics within number theory such as theta functions, Eisenstein series, the Dedekind delta function, and Ramanujan's work on Pi. The included exercises make it ideal for both classroom use and self-study.