A leading authority sheds light on a variety of interesting topics in which probability theory plays a key role.

This study discusses the history of the central limit theorem and related probabilistic limit theorems from about 1810 through 1950. In this context the book also describes the historical development of analytical probability theory and its tools, such as characteristic functions or moments. The central limit theorem was originally deduced by Laplace as a statement about approximations for the distributions of sums of independent random variables within the framework of classical probability, which focused upon specific problems and applications. Making this theorem an autonomous mathematical object was very important for the development of modern probability theory.

A collection of research level surveys on certain topics in probability theory by a well-known group of researchers. The book will be of interest to graduate students and researchers.

Sinai's book leads the student through the standard material for ProbabilityTheory, with stops along the way for interesting topics such as statistical mechanics, not usually included in a book for beginners. The first part of the book covers discrete random variables, using the same approach, basedon Kolmogorov's axioms for probability, used later for the general case. The text is divided into sixteen lectures, each covering a major topic. The introductory notions and classical results are included, of course: random variables, the central limit theorem, the law of large numbers, conditional probability, random walks, etc. Sinai's style is accessible and clear, with interesting examples to accompany new ideas. Besides statistical mechanics, other interesting, less common topics found in the book are: percolation, the concept of stability in the central limit theorem and the study of probability of large deviations. Little more than a standard undergraduate course in analysis is assumed of the reader. Notions from measure theory and Lebesgue integration are introduced in the second half of the text. The book is suitable for second or third year students in mathematics, physics or other natural sciences. It could also be usedby more advanced readers who want to learn the mathematics of probability theory and some of its applications in statistical physics.

The Heisenberg group comes from quantum mechanics and is the simplest non-commutative Lie group. While it belongs to the class of simply connected nilpotent Lie groups, it turns out that its special structure yields many results which (up to now) have not carried over to this larger class. This book is a survey of probabilistic results on the Heisenberg group. The emphasis lies on limit theorems and their relation to Brownian motion. Besides classical probability tools, non-commutative Fourier analysis and functional analysis (operator semigroups) comes in. The book is intended for probabilists and analysts interested in Lie groups, but given the many applications of the Heisenberg group, it will also be useful for theoretical phycisists specialized in quantum mechanics and for engineers.

Martingale Limit Theory and Its Application discusses the asymptotic properties of martingales, particularly as regards key prototype of probabilistic behavior that has wide applications. The book explains the thesis that martingale theory is central to probability theory, and also examines the relationships between martingales and processes embeddable in or approximated by Brownian motion. The text reviews the martingale convergence theorem, the classical limit theory and analogs, and the martingale limit theorems viewed as the rate of convergence results in the martingale convergence theorem. The book explains the square function inequalities, weak law of large numbers, as well as the strong law of large numbers. The text discusses the reverse martingales, martingale tail sums, the invariance principles in the central limit theorem, and also the law of the iterated logarithm. The book investigates the limit theory for stationary processes via corresponding results for approximating martingales and the estimation of parameters from stochastic processes. The text can be profitably used as a reference for mathematicians, advanced students, and professors of higher mathematics or statistics.

This is a textbook for a one-semester graduate course in measure-theoretic probability theory, but with ample material to cover an ordinary year-long course at a more leisurely pace. Khoshnevisan's approach is to develop the ideas that are absolutely central to modern probability theory, and to showcase them by presenting their various applications. As a result, a few of the familiar topics are replaced by interesting non-standard ones. The topics range from undergraduate probability and classical limit theorems to Brownian motion and elements of stochastic calculus. Throughout, the reader will find many exciting applications of probability theory and probabilistic reasoning. There are numerous exercises, ranging from the routine to the very difficult. Each chapter concludes with historical notes.