This book presents the first comprehensive introduction to free probability theory, a highly noncommutative probability theory with independence based on free products instead of tensor products. Basic examples of this kind of theory are provided by convolution operators on free groups and by the asymptotic behavior of large Gaussian random matrices. The probabilistic approach to free products has led to a recent surge of new results on the von Neumann algebras of free groups. The book is ideally suited as a textbook for an advanced graduate course and could also provide material for a seminar. In addition to researchers and graduate students in mathematics, this book will be of interest to physicists and others who use random matrices.

This book presents the first comprehensive introduction to free probability theory, a highly noncommutative probability theory with independence based on free products instead of tensor products. Basic examples of this kind of theory are provided by convolution operators on free groups and by the asymptotic behavior of large Gaussian random matrices. The probabilistic approach to free products has led to a recent surge of new results on the von Neumann algebras of free groups. The book is ideally suited as a textbook for an advanced graduate course and could also provide material for a seminar.

This volume opens the world of free probability to a wide variety of readers. From its roots in the theory of operator algebras, free probability has intertwined with non-crossing partitions, random matrices, applications in wireless communications, representation theory of large groups, quantum groups, the invariant subspace problem, large deviations, subfactors, and beyond. This book puts a special emphasis on the relation of free probability to random matrices, but also touches upon the operator algebraic, combinatorial, and analytic aspects of the theory. The book serves as a combination textbook/research monograph, with self-contained chapters, exercises scattered throughout the text, and coverage of important ongoing progress of the theory. It will appeal to graduate students and all mathematicians interested in random matrices and free probability from the point of view of operator algebras, combinatorics, analytic functions, or applications in engineering and statistical physics.

The book treats free probability theory, which has been extensively developed since the early 1980s. The emphasis is put on entropy and the random matrix model approach. The volume is a unique presentation demonstrating the extensive interrelation between the topics. Wigner's theorem and its broad generalizations, such as asymptotic freeness of independent matrices, are explained in detail. Consistent throughout the book is the parallelism between the normal and semicircle laws. Voiculescu's multivariate free entropy theory is presented with full proofs and extends the results to unitary operators. Some applications to operator algebras are also given. Based on lectures given by the authors in Hungary, Japan, and Italy, the book is a good reference for mathematicians interested in free probability theory and can serve as a text for an advanced graduate course. This book brings together both new material and recent surveys on some topics in differential equations that are either directly relevant to, or closely associated with, mathematical physics. Its topics include asymptotic formulas for the ground-state energy of fermionic gas, renormalization ideas in quantum field theory from perturbations of the free Hamiltonian on the circle, $J$-selfadjoint Dirac operators, spectral theory of Schrodinger operators, inverse problems, isoperimetric inequalities in quantum mechanics, Hardy inequalities, and non-adiabatic transitions. Excellent survey articles on Dirichlet-Neumann inverse problems on manifolds (by Uhlmann), numerical investigations associated with Laplacian eigenvalues on planar regions (by Trefethen), Snell's law and propagation of singularities in the wave equation (by Vasy), random operators on tree graphs (by Aizenmann) make this book interesting and valuable for graduate students, young mathematicians, and physicists alike.

This 2006 book is a self-contained introduction to free probability theory suitable for an introductory graduate level course.

This is a volume of papers from a workshop on Random Matrices and Operator Algebra Free Products, held at The Fields Institute for Research in the Mathematical Sciences in March 1995. Over the last few years, there has been much progress on the operator algebra and noncommutative probability sides of the subject. New links with the physics of masterfields and the combinatorics of noncrossing partitions have emerged. Moreover there is a growing free entropy theory.

Modern developments of Random Matrix Theory as well as pedagogical approaches to the standard core of the discipline are surprisingly hard to find in a well-organized, readable and user-friendly fashion. This slim and agile book, written in a pedagogical and hands-on style, without sacrificing formal rigor fills this gap. It brings Ph.D. students in Physics, as well as more senior practitioners, through the standard tools and results on random matrices, with an eye on most recent developments that are not usually covered in introductory texts. The focus is mainly on random matrices with real spectrum.The main guiding threads throughout the book are the Gaussian Ensembles. In particular, Wigner’s semicircle law is derived multiple times to illustrate several techniques (e.g., Coulomb gas approach, replica theory).Most chapters are accompanied by Matlab codes (stored in an online repository) to guide readers through the numerical check of most analytical results.