Algebraic Numbers and Harmonic Analysis

Diophantine approximations to real numbers. Some classical results in diophantine approximations. Measure-teoretical methods in diophantine approximations. Diophantine approximations and additive problems in locally compact abelian groups. Uniqueness of representation by trigonometric series. Problems on a-periodic trigonometric sums. Special trigonometric series (complex methods). Special trigonometric series (group-theoretic methods). Pisot numbers and spectral synthesis. Ultra-thin symmetric sets.

A modern approach to number theory through a blending of complementary algebraic and analytic perspectives, emphasising harmonic analysis on topological groups. The main goal is to cover John Tates visionary thesis, giving virtually all of the necessary analytic details and topological preliminaries -- technical prerequisites that are often foreign to the typical, more algebraically inclined number theorist. While most of the existing treatments of Tates thesis are somewhat terse and less than complete, the intent here is to be more leisurely, more comprehensive, and more comprehensible. While the choice of objects and methods is naturally guided by specific mathematical goals, the approach is by no means narrow. In fact, the subject matter at hand is germane not only to budding number theorists, but also to students of harmonic analysis or the representation theory of Lie groups. The text addresses students who have taken a year of graduate-level course in algebra, analysis, and topology. Moreover, the work will act as a good reference for working mathematicians interested in any of these fields.

The text that comprises this volume is a collection of surveys and original works from experts in the fields of algebraic number theory, analytic number theory, harmonic analysis, and hyperbolic geometry. A portion of the collected contributions have been developed from lectures given at the "International Conference on the Occasion of the 60th Birthday of S. J. Patterson", held at the University Göttingen, July 27-29 2009. Many of the included chapters have been contributed by invited participants. This volume presents and investigates the most recent developments in various key topics in analytic number theory and several related areas of mathematics. The volume is intended for graduate students and researchers of number theory as well as applied mathematicians interested in this broad field.