This is the second revised and extended edition of the successful book on the algebraic structure of the Stone-Čech compactification of a discrete semigroup and its combinatorial applications, primarily in the field known as Ramsey Theory. There has been very active research in the subject dealt with by the book in the 12 years which is now included in this edition. This book is a self-contained exposition of the theory of compact right semigroups for discrete semigroups and the algebraic properties of these objects. The methods applied in the book constitute a mosaic of infinite combinatorics, algebra, and topology. The reader will find numerous combinatorial applications of the theory, including the central sets theorem, partition regularity of matrices, multidimensional Ramsey theory, and many more.

Recent research has produced a large number of results concerning the Stone-Cech compactification or involving it in a central manner. The goal of this volume is to make many of these results easily accessible by collecting them in a single source together with the necessary introductory material. The author's interest in this area had its origin in his fascination with the classic text Rings of Continuous Functions by Leonard Gillman and Meyer Jerison. This excellent synthesis of algebra and topology appeared in 1960 and did much to draw attention to the Stone-Cech compactification {3X as a tool to investigate the relationships between a space X and the rings C(X) and C*(X) of real-valued continuous functions. Although in the approach taken here {3X is viewed as the object of study rather than as a tool, the influence of Rings of Continuous Functions is clearly evident. Three introductory chapters make the book essentially self-contained and the exposition suitable for the student who has completed a first course in topology at the graduate level. The development of the Stone Cech compactification and the more specialized topological prerequisites are presented in the first chapter. The necessary material on Boolean algebras, including the Stone Representation Theorem, is developed in Chapter 2. A very basic introduction to category theory is presented in the beginning of Chapter 10 and the remainder of the chapter is an introduction to the methods of categorical topology as it relates to the Stone-Cech compactification.

The aim of the series is to present new and important developments in pure and applied mathematics. Well established in the community over two decades, it offers a large library of mathematics including several important classics. The volumes supply thorough and detailed expositions of the methods and ideas essential to the topics in question. In addition, they convey their relationships to other parts of mathematics. The series is addressed to advanced readers wishing to thoroughly study the topic. Editorial Board Lev Birbrair, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, Brasil Victor P. Maslov, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia Walter D. Neumann, Columbia University, New York, USA Markus J. Pflaum, University of Colorado, Boulder, USA Dierk Schleicher, Jacobs University, Bremen, Germany

Designed as a text as well as a treatise, the first systematic account of the theory of rings of continuous functions remains the basic graduate-level book in this area. 1960 edition.

This should be a revelation for mathematics undergraduates. Having evolved from Runde’s notes for an introductory topology course at the University of Alberta, this essential text provides a concise introduction to set-theoretic topology, as well as some algebraic topology. It is accessible to undergraduates from the second year on, and even beginning graduate students can benefit from some sections. The well-chosen selection of examples is accessible to students who have a background in calculus and elementary algebra, but not necessarily in real or complex analysis. In places, Runde’s text treats its material differently to other books on the subject, providing a fresh perspective.

Over 140 examples, preceded by a succinct exposition of general topology and basic terminology. Each example treated as a whole. Numerous problems and exercises correlated with examples. 1978 edition. Bibliography.

Mathematics of Fuzzy Sets: Logic, Topology and Measure Theory is a major attempt to provide much-needed coherence for the mathematics of fuzzy sets. Much of this book is new material required to standardize this mathematics, making this volume a reference tool with broad appeal as well as a platform for future research. Fourteen chapters are organized into three parts: mathematical logic and foundations (Chapters 1-2), general topology (Chapters 3-10), and measure and probability theory (Chapters 11-14). Chapter 1 deals with non-classical logics and their syntactic and semantic foundations. Chapter 2 details the lattice-theoretic foundations of image and preimage powerset operators. Chapters 3 and 4 lay down the axiomatic and categorical foundations of general topology using lattice-valued mappings as a fundamental tool. Chapter 3 focuses on the fixed-basis case, including a convergence theory demonstrating the utility of the underlying axioms. Chapter 4 focuses on the more general variable-basis case, providing a categorical unification of locales, fixed-basis topological spaces, and variable-basis compactifications. Chapter 5 relates lattice-valued topologies to probabilistic topological spaces and fuzzy neighborhood spaces. Chapter 6 investigates the important role of separation axioms in lattice-valued topology from the perspective of space embedding and mapping extension problems, while Chapter 7 examines separation axioms from the perspective of Stone-Cech-compactification and Stone-representation theorems. Chapters 8 and 9 introduce the most important concepts and properties of uniformities, including the covering and entourage approaches and the basic theory of precompact or complete [0,1]-valued uniform spaces. Chapter 10 sets out the algebraic, topological, and uniform structures of the fundamentally important fuzzy real line and fuzzy unit interval. Chapter 11 lays the foundations of generalized measure theory and representation by Markov kernels. Chapter 12 develops the important theory of conditioning operators with applications to measure-free conditioning. Chapter 13 presents elements of pseudo-analysis with applications to the Hamilton–Jacobi equation and optimization problems. Chapter 14 surveys briefly the fundamentals of fuzzy random variables which are [0,1]-valued interpretations of random sets.