The book contains the main results of class field theory and Artin L functions, both for number fields and function fields, together with the necessary foundations concerning topological groups, cohomology, and simple algebras. While the first three chapters presuppose only basic algebraic and topological knowledge, the rest of the books assumes knowledge of the basic theory of algebraic numbers and algebraic functions, such as those contained in my previous book, An Invitation to Algebraic Numbers and Algebraic Functions (CRC Press, 2020). The main features of the book are: A detailed study of Pontrjagin’s dualtiy theorem. A thorough presentation of the cohomology of profinite groups. A introduction to simple algebras. An extensive discussion of the various ray class groups, both in the divisor-theoretic and the idelic language. The presentation of local and global class field theory in the algebra-theoretic concept of H. Hasse. The study of holomorphy domains and their relevance for class field theory. Simple classical proofs of the functional equation for L functions both for number fields and function fields. A self-contained presentation of the theorems of representation theory needed for Artin L functions. Application of Artin L functions for arithmetical results.

The author offers a thorough presentation of the classical theory of algebraic numbers and algebraic functions which both in its conception and in many details differs from the current literature on the subject. The basic features are: Field-theoretic preliminaries and a detailed presentation of Dedekind’s ideal theory including non-principal orders and various types of class groups; the classical theory of algebraic number fields with a focus on quadratic, cubic and cyclotomic fields; basics of the analytic theory including the prime ideal theorem, density results and the determination of the arithmetic by the class group; a thorough presentation of valuation theory including the theory of difference, discriminants, and higher ramification. The theory of function fields is based on the ideal and valuation theory developed before; it presents the Riemann-Roch theorem on the basis of Weil differentials and highlights in detail the connection with classical differentials. The theory of congruence zeta functions and a proof of the Hasse-Weil theorem represent the culminating point of the volume. The volume is accessible with a basic knowledge in algebra and elementary number theory. It empowers the reader to follow the advanced number-theoretic literature, and is a solid basis for the study of the forthcoming volume on the foundations and main results of class field theory. Key features: • A thorough presentation of the theory of Algebraic Numbers and Algebraic Functions on an ideal and valuation-theoretic basis. • Several of the topics both in the number field and in the function field case were not presented before in this context. • Despite presenting many advanced topics, the text is easily readable. Franz Halter-Koch is professor emeritus at the university of Graz. He is the author of “Ideal Systems” (Marcel Dekker,1998), “Quadratic Irrationals” (CRC, 2013), and a co-author of “Non-Unique Factorizations” (CRC 2006).

This volume is a collection of articles contributed by the speakers at the Mathematical Society of Japan's Seventh International Research Institute entitled, ``Class Field Theory-Its Centenary and Prospect'', held in Tokyo in June 1998. Some of the articles are expository; they discuss important interesting aspects of class field theory and contain full references. Other articles are historical; they vividly explain how leading number theorists in Europe and Japan developed and exchanged their mathematical ideas.

Class field theory, which is so immediately compelling in its main assertions, has, ever since its invention, suffered from the fact that its proofs have required a complicated and, by comparison with the results, rather imper spicuous system of arguments which have tended to jump around all over the place. My earlier presentation of the theory [41] has strengthened me in the belief that a highly elaborate mechanism, such as, for example, cohomol ogy, might not be adequate for a number-theoretical law admitting a very direct formulation, and that the truth of such a law must be susceptible to a far more immediate insight. I was determined to write the present, new account of class field theory by the discovery that, in fact, both the local and the global reciprocity laws may be subsumed under a purely group theoretical principle, admitting an entirely elementary description. This de scription makes possible a new foundation for the entire theory. The rapid advance to the main theorems of class field theory which results from this approach has made it possible to include in this volume the most important consequences and elaborations, and further related theories, with the excep tion of the cohomology version which I have this time excluded. This remains a significant variant, rich in application, but its principal results should be directly obtained from the material treated here.

This book explores the development of number theory, and class field theory in particular, as it passed through the hands of Emil Artin, Claude Chevalley, and Robert Langlands in the middle of the twentieth century. The volume consists of individual essays by the authors and two contributors, James Cogdell and Robert Langlands, and contains relevant archival material. Among these, the letter from Claude Chevalley to Helmut Hasse in 1935 is included, in which he introduces the notion of ideles and explores their significance, along with the previously unpublished thesis by Margaret Matchett and the seminal letter of Robert Langlands to Andre Weil of 1967 in which he lays out his ideas regarding a non-abelian class field theory. Taken together, these chapters offer a view of both the life of Artin in the 1930s and 1940s and the development of class field theory at that time. They also provide insight into the transmission of mathematical ideas, the careful steps required to preserve a life in mathematics at a difficult moment in history, and the interplay between mathematics and politics (in more ways than one). Some of the technical points in this volume require a sophisticated understanding of algebra and number theory. The broader topics, however, will appeal to a wider audience that extends beyond mathematicians and historians of mathematics to include historically minded individuals, particularly those with an interest in the time period.

Since the pioneering work of Euler, Dirichlet, and Riemann, the analytic properties of L-functions have been used to study the distribution of prime numbers. With the advent of the Langlands Program, L-functions have assumed a greater role in the study of the interplay between Diophantine questions about primes and representation theoretic properties of Galois representations. This book provides a complete introduction to the most significant class of L-functions: the Artin-Hecke L-functions associated to finite-dimensional representations of Weil groups and to automorphic L-functions of principal type on the general linear group. In addition to establishing functional equations, growth estimates, and non-vanishing theorems, a thorough presentation of the explicit formulas of Riemann type in the context of Artin-Hecke and automorphic L-functions is also given. The survey is aimed at mathematicians and graduate students who want to learn about the modern analytic theory of L-functions and their applications in number theory and in the theory of automorphic representations. The requirements for a profitable study of this monograph are a knowledge of basic number theory and the rudiments of abstract harmonic analysis on locally compact abelian groups.