History of Functional Analysis presents functional analysis as a rather complex blend of algebra and topology, with its evolution influenced by the development of these two branches of mathematics. The book adopts a narrower definition—one that is assumed to satisfy various algebraic and topological conditions. A moment of reflections shows that this already covers a large part of modern analysis, in particular, the theory of partial differential equations. This volume comprises nine chapters, the first of which focuses on linear differential equations and the Sturm-Liouville problem. The succeeding chapters go on to discuss the ""crypto-integral"" equations, including the Dirichlet principle and the Beer-Neumann method; the equation of vibrating membranes, including the contributions of Poincare and H.A. Schwarz's 1885 paper; and the idea of infinite dimension. Other chapters cover the crucial years and the definition of Hilbert space, including Fredholm's discovery and the contributions of Hilbert; duality and the definition of normed spaces, including the Hahn-Banach theorem and the method of the gliding hump and Baire category; spectral theory after 1900, including the theories and works of F. Riesz, Hilbert, von Neumann, Weyl, and Carleman; locally convex spaces and the theory of distributions; and applications of functional analysis to differential and partial differential equations. This book will be of interest to practitioners in the fields of mathematics and statistics.

Written by a distinguished specialist in functional analysis, this book presents a comprehensive treatment of the history of Banach spaces and (abstract bounded) linear operators. Banach space theory is presented as a part of a broad mathematics context, using tools from such areas as set theory, topology, algebra, combinatorics, probability theory, logic, etc. Equal emphasis is given to both spaces and operators. The book may serve as a reference for researchers and as an introduction for graduate students who want to learn Banach space theory with some historical flavor.

Analysis as an independent subject was created as part of the scientific revolution in the seventeenth century. Kepler, Galileo, Descartes, Fermat, Huygens, Newton, and Leibniz, to name but a few, contributed to its genesis. Since the end of the seventeenth century, the historical progress of mathematical analysis has displayed unique vitality and momentum. No other mathematical field has so profoundly influenced the development of modern scientific thinking. Describing this multidimensional historical development requires an in-depth discussion which includes a reconstruction of general trends and an examination of the specific problems. This volume is designed as a collective work of authors who are proven experts in the history of mathematics. It clarifies the conceptual change that analysis underwent during its development while elucidating the influence of specific applications and describing the relevance of biographical and philosophical backgrounds. The first ten chapters of the book outline chronological development and the last three chapters survey the history of differential equations, the calculus of variations, and functional analysis. Special features are a separate chapter on the development of the theory of complex functions in the nineteenth century and two chapters on the influence of physics on analysis. One is about the origins of analytical mechanics, and one treats the development of boundary-value problems of mathematical physics (especially potential theory) in the nineteenth century. The book presents an accurate and very readable account of the history of analysis. Each chapter provides a comprehensive bibliography. Mathematical examples have been carefully chosen so that readers with a modest background in mathematics can follow them. It is suitable for mathematical historians and a general mathematical audience.

This textbook presents the principles of functional analysis in a clear and concise way. The first three chapters describe the general notions of distance, integral, and norm, as well as their relations. Fundamental examples are provided in the three chapters that follow: Lebesgue spaces, dual spaces, and Sobolev spaces. Two subsequent chapters develop applications to capacity theory and elliptic problems. In particular, the isoperimetric inequality and the Pólya-Szegő and Faber-Krahn inequalities are proved by purely functional methods. The epilogue contains a sketch of the history of functional analysis in relation to integration and differentiation. Starting from elementary analysis and introducing relevant research, this work is an excellent resource for students in mathematics and applied mathematics. The second edition of Functional Analysis includes several improvements as well as the addition of supplementary material. Specifically, the coverage of advanced calculus and distribution theory has been completely rewritten and expanded. New proofs, theorems, and applications have been added as well for readers to explore.

"The book contains an enormous amount of information — mathematical, bibliographical and historical — interwoven with some outstanding heuristic discussions." — Mathematical Reviews. In this massive graduate-level study, Emeritus Professor Edwards (Australian National University, Canberra) presents a balanced account of both the abstract theory and the applications of linear functional analysis. Written for readers with a basic knowledge of set theory, general topology, and vector spaces, the book includes an abundance of carefully chosen illustrative examples and excellent exercises at the end of each chapter. Beginning with a chapter of preliminaries on set theory and topology, Dr. Edwards then presents detailed, in-depth discussions of vector spaces and topological vector spaces, the Hahn-Banach theorem (including applications to potential theory, approximation theory, game theory, and other fields) and fixed-point theorems. Subsequent chapters focus on topological duals of certain spaces: radon measures, distribution and linear partial differential equations, open mapping and closed graph theorems, boundedness principles, duality theory, the theory of compact operators and the Krein-Milman theorem and its applications to commutative harmonic analysis. Clearly and concisely written, Dr. Edwards's book offers rewarding reading to mathematicians and physicists with an interest in the important field of functional analysis. Because of the broad scope of its coverage, this volume will be especially valuable to the reader with a basic knowledge of functional analysis who wishes to learn about parts of the subject other than his own specialties. A comprehensive 32-page bibliography supplies a rich source of references to the basic literature.

Even the simplest mathematical abstraction of the phenomena of reality the real line-can be regarded from different points of view by different mathematical disciplines. For example, the algebraic approach to the study of the real line involves describing its properties as a set to whose elements we can apply" operations," and obtaining an algebraic model of it on the basis of these properties, without regard for the topological properties. On the other hand, we can focus on the topology of the real line and construct a formal model of it by singling out its" continuity" as a basis for the model. Analysis regards the line, and the functions on it, in the unity of the whole system of their algebraic and topological properties, with the fundamental deductions about them obtained by using the interplay between the algebraic and topological structures. The same picture is observed at higher stages of abstraction. Algebra studies linear spaces, groups, rings, modules, and so on. Topology studies structures of a different kind on arbitrary sets, structures that give mathe matical meaning to the concepts of a limit, continuity, a neighborhood, and so on. Functional analysis takes up topological linear spaces, topological groups, normed rings, modules of representations of topological groups in topological linear spaces, and so on. Thus, the basic object of study in functional analysis consists of objects equipped with compatible algebraic and topological structures.

The unifying approach of functional analysis is to view functions as points in abstract vector space and the differential and integral operators as linear transformations on these spaces. The author's goal is to present the basics of functional analysis in a way that makes them comprehensible to a student who has completed courses in linear algebra and real analysis, and to develop the topics in their historical contexts.