This book is devoted to a systematic analysis of asymptotic behavior of distributions of various typical functionals of Gaussian random variables and fields. The text begins with an extended introduction, which explains fundamental ideas and sketches the basic methods fully presented later in the book. Good approximate formulas and sharp estimates of the remainders are obtained for a large class of Gaussian and similar processes. The author devotes special attention to the development of asymptotic analysis methods, emphasizing the method of comparison, the double-sum method and the method of moments. The author has added an extended introduction and has significantly revised the text for this translation, particularly the material on the double-sum method.

Traditions of the 150-year-old St. Petersburg School of Probability and Statis tics had been developed by many prominent scientists including P. L. Cheby chev, A. M. Lyapunov, A. A. Markov, S. N. Bernstein, and Yu. V. Linnik. In 1948, the Chair of Probability and Statistics was established at the Department of Mathematics and Mechanics of the St. Petersburg State University with Yu. V. Linik being its founder and also the first Chair. Nowadays, alumni of this Chair are spread around Russia, Lithuania, France, Germany, Sweden, China, the United States, and Canada. The fiftieth anniversary of this Chair was celebrated by an International Conference, which was held in St. Petersburg from June 24-28, 1998. More than 125 probabilists and statisticians from 18 countries (Azerbaijan, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Lithuania, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, Taiwan, Turkey, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and the United States) participated in this International Conference in order to discuss the current state and perspectives of Probability and Mathematical Statistics. The conference was organized jointly by St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg branch of Mathematical Institute, and the Euler Institute, and was partially sponsored by the Russian Foundation of Basic Researches. The main theme of the Conference was chosen in the tradition of the St.

"Twenty Lectures ..." is based on a course that Professor Piterbarg, a founder of the asymptotic theory of Gaussian processes and fields, teaches to higher-level undergraduate and graduate students at the Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics, Lomonosov Moscow State University. Written in a clear and succinct style, the book provides a wide-ranging introduction to the field. The first half of the book is devoted to the general theory of Gaussian distributions in both finite- and infinite-dimensional vector spaces. Fundamental results, such as Slepian's, Fernique-Sudakov's and Berman's inequalities, among many others, are clearly explained from a modern, unified point of view. The second half of the book focuses on asymptotic methods, in particular on distributions of high extrema of Gaussian processes and fields. Foundational tools such as the Double Sum Method, the Method of Moments, and the Comparison Method, invented and popularized by the author, are prominently featured. This part adapts material from Professor Piterbarg's famous monograph to make it more accessible to a wider audience. No previous knowledge of stochastic processes is assumed, as all results are derived from a few basic facts of calculus and functional analysis. Written by a world-renowned expert in the field, "Twenty Lectures ..." is a must-read for students and experienced researchers alike - or anyone with an interest in Gaussian processes and fields. The text provides an excellent basis for a full-length graduate course. Albert N. Shiryaev, Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Chair of the Department of Probability Theory, Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics, Lomonosov Moscow State University, says: "Professor Piterbarg's lectures are finally available in English and there is simply no other book on the subject that compares. Having contributed so much to the development of the asymptotic theory of Gaussian processes, the author manages to keep his lectures accessible yet rigorous. The lectures cover such a wide range of results and tools that this book is absolutely indispensable to anyone with an interest in the subject."

A timely and comprehensive treatment of random field theory with applications across diverse areas of study Level Sets and Extrema of Random Processes and Fields discusses how to understand the properties of the level sets of paths as well as how to compute the probability distribution of its extremal values, which are two general classes of problems that arise in the study of random processes and fields and in related applications. This book provides a unified and accessible approach to these two topics and their relationship to classical theory and Gaussian processes and fields, and the most modern research findings are also discussed. The authors begin with an introduction to the basic concepts of stochastic processes, including a modern review of Gaussian fields and their classical inequalities. Subsequent chapters are devoted to Rice formulas, regularity properties, and recent results on the tails of the distribution of the maximum. Finally, applications of random fields to various areas of mathematics are provided, specifically to systems of random equations and condition numbers of random matrices. Throughout the book, applications are illustrated from various areas of study such as statistics, genomics, and oceanography while other results are relevant to econometrics, engineering, and mathematical physics. The presented material is reinforced by end-of-chapter exercises that range in varying degrees of difficulty. Most fundamental topics are addressed in the book, and an extensive, up-to-date bibliography directs readers to existing literature for further study. Level Sets and Extrema of Random Processes and Fields is an excellent book for courses on probability theory, spatial statistics, Gaussian fields, and probabilistic methods in real computation at the upper-undergraduate and graduate levels. It is also a valuable reference for professionals in mathematics and applied fields such as statistics, engineering, econometrics, mathematical physics, and biology.

Presents a collection of 18 papers, many of which are surveys, on asymptotic theory in probability and statistics, with applications to a variety of problems. This volume comprises three parts: limit theorems, statistics and applications, and mathematical finance and insurance. It is suitable for graduate students in probability and statistics.

Equations of parabolic type are encountered in many areas of mathematics and mathematical physics, and those encountered most frequently are linear and quasi-linear parabolic equations of the second order. In this volume, boundary value problems for such equations are studied from two points of view: solvability, unique or otherwise, and the effect of smoothness properties of the functions entering the initial and boundary conditions on the smoothness of the solutions.