Terence Tao

Authored by a leading name in mathematics, this engaging and clearly presented text leads the reader through the tactics involved in solving mathematical problems at the Mathematical Olympiad level. With numerous exercises and assuming only basic mathematics, this text is ideal for students of 14 years and above in pure mathematics.

A Personal Perspective

Solving Mathematical Problems

Analysis I

Analysis II

There are many bits and pieces of folklore in mathematics that are passed down from advisor to student, or from collaborator to collaborator, but which are too fuzzy and non-rigorous to be discussed in the formal literature. Traditionally, it was a matter of luck and location as to who learned such folklore mathematics. But today, such bits and pieces can be communicated effectively and efficiently via the semiformal medium of research blogging. This book grew from such a blog.In 2007, Terry Tao began a mathematical blog, as an outgrowth of his own website at UCLA. This book is based on a selection of articles from the first year of that blog. These articles discuss a wide range of mathematics and its applications, ranging from expository articles on quantum mechanics, Einstein's equation E = mc2, or compressed sensing, to open problems in analysis, combinatorics, geometry, number theory, and algebra, to lecture series on random matrices, Fourier analysis, or the dichotomy between structure and randomness that is present in many subfields of mathematics, to more philosophical discussions on such topics as the interplay between finitary and infinitary in analysis.Some selected commentary from readers of the blog has also been included at the end of each article. While the articles vary widely in subject matter and level, they should be broadly accessible to readers with a general graduate mathematics background; the focus in many articles is on the 'big picture' and on informal discussion, with technical details largely being left to the referenced literature.

Pages from Year One of a Mathematical Blog

Structure and Randomness

The field of random matrix theory has seen an explosion of activity in recent years, with connections to many areas of mathematics and physics. However, this makes the current state of the field almost too large to survey in a single book. In this graduate text, we focus on one specific sector of the field, namely the spectral distribution of random Wigner matrix ensembles (such as the Gaussian Unitary Ensemble), as well as iid matrix ensembles. The text is largely self-contained and starts with a review of relevant aspects of probability theory and linear algebra. With over 200 exercises, the book is suitable as an introductory text for beginning graduate students seeking to enter the field.

Topics in Random Matrix Theory

This is part one of a two-volume book on real analysis and is intended for senior undergraduate students of mathematics who have already been exposed to calculus. The emphasis is on rigour and foundations of analysis. Beginning with the construction of the number systems and set theory, the book discusses the basics of analysis (limits, series, continuity, differentiation, Riemann integration), through to power series, several variable calculus and Fourier analysis, and then finally the Lebesgue integral. These are almost entirely set in the concrete setting of the real line and Euclidean spaces, although there is some material on abstract metric and topological spaces. The book also has appendices on mathematical logic and the decimal system. The entire text (omitting some less central topics) can be taught in two quarters of 25–30 lectures each. The course material is deeply intertwined with the exercises, as it is intended that the student actively learn the material (and practice thinking and writing rigorously) by proving several of the key results in the theory.

Third Edition

This text, derived from third-year postings from Terence Tao's blog, presents a second graduate course in real analysis in a writing style that is accessible and enlightening. Topics include fundamentals of functional analysis, point-set topology, abstract harmonic analysis, and the theory of Sobolev spaces and distributions. The writing provides not only tools of analysis, but also insight into how to think about mathematics.

Epsilon of Room, One

This is part two of a two-volume book on real analysis and is intended for senior undergraduate students of mathematics who have already been exposed to calculus. The emphasis is on rigour and foundations of analysis. Beginning with the construction of the number systems and set theory, the book discusses the basics of analysis (limits, series, continuity, differentiation, Riemann integration), through to power series, several variable calculus and Fourier analysis, and then finally the Lebesgue integral. These are almost entirely set in the concrete setting of the real line and Euclidean spaces, although there is some material on abstract metric and topological spaces. The book also has appendices on mathematical logic and the decimal system. The entire text (omitting some less central topics) can be taught in two quarters of 25–30 lectures each. The course material is deeply intertwined with the exercises, as it is intended that the student actively learn the material (and practice thinking and writing rigorously) by proving several of the key results in the theory.

This is a graduate text introducing the fundamentals of measure theory and integration theory, which is the foundation of modern real analysis. The text focuses first on the concrete setting of Lebesgue measure and the Lebesgue integral (which in turn is motivated by the more classical concepts of Jordan measure and the Riemann integral), before moving on to abstract measure and integration theory, including the standard convergence theorems, Fubini's theorem, and the Caratheodory extension theorem. Classical differentiation theorems, such as the Lebesgue and Rademacher differentiation theorems, are also covered, as are connections with probability theory. The material is intended to cover a quarter or semester's worth of material for a first graduate course in real analysis. There is an emphasis in the text on tying together the abstract and the concrete sides of the subject, using the latter to illustrate and motivate the former. The central role of key principles (such as Littlewood's three principles) as providing guiding intuition to the subject is also emphasized. There are a large number of exercises throughout that develop key aspects of the theory, and are thus an integral component of the text. As a supplementary section, a discussion of general problem-solving strategies in analysis is also given. The last three sections discuss optional topics related to the main matter of the book.

An Introduction to Measure Theory

Suitable for undergraduates who have already been exposed to calculus, this title includes material that starts at the very beginning - the construction of number systems and set theory, then goes on to the basics of analysis, through to power series, several variable calculus and Fourier analysis, and finally to the Lebesgue integral.

Analysis

In 2007 Terry Tao began a mathematical blog to cover a variety of topics, ranging from his own research and other recent developments in mathematics, to lecture notes for his classes, to nontechnical puzzles and expository articles. The first two years of the blog have already been published by the American Mathematical Society. The posts from the third year are being published in two volumes. The present volume consists of a second course in real analysis, together with related material from the blog. The real analysis course assumes some familiarity with general measure theory, as well as fundamental notions from undergraduate analysis. The text then covers more advanced topics in measure theory, notably the Lebesgue-Radon-Nikodym theorem and the Riesz representation theorem, topics in functional analysis, such as Hilbert spaces and Banach spaces, and the study of spaces of distributions and key function spaces, including Lebesgue's $L^p$ spaces and Sobolev spaces. There is also a discussion of the general theory of the Fourier transform. The second part of the book addresses a number of auxiliary topics, such as Zorn's lemma, the Carathéodory extension theorem, and the Banach-Tarski paradox. Tao also discusses the epsilon regularisation argument—a fundamental trick from soft analysis, from which the book gets its title. Taken together, the book presents more than enough material for a second graduate course in real analysis. The second volume consists of technical and expository articles on a variety of topics and can be read independently.

pages from year three of a mathematical blog

An Epsilon of Room, I: Real Analysis

Jan de Gier

Cheryl E. Praeger

MATRIX is Australia’s international, residential mathematical research institute. It facilitates new collaborations and mathematical advances through intensive residential research programs, each lasting 1-4 weeks. This book is a scientific record of the five programs held at MATRIX in its first year, 2016: - Higher Structures in Geometry and Physics - Winter of Disconnectedness - Approximation and Optimisation - Refining C*-Algebraic Invariants for Dynamics using KK-theory - Interactions between Topological Recursion, Modularity, Quantum Invariants and Low- dimensional Topology The MATRIX Scientific Committee selected these programs based on their scientific excellence and the participation rate of high-profile international participants. Each program included ample unstructured time to encourage collaborative research; some of the longer programs also included an embedded conference or lecture series. The articles are grouped into peer-reviewed contributions and other contributions. The peer-reviewed articles present original results or reviews on selected topics related to the MATRIX program; the remaining contributions are predominantly lecture notes based on talks or activities at MATRIX.

2016 MATRIX Annals

There are many bits and pieces of folklore in mathematics that are passed down from advisor to student, or from collaborator to collaborator, but which are too fuzzy and non-rigorous to be discussed in the formal literature. Traditionally, it was a matter of luck and location as to who learned such folklore mathematics. But today, such bits and pieces can be communicated effectively and efficiently via the semiformal medium of research blogging. This book grew from such a blog. In 2007, Terry Tao began a mathematical blog to cover a variety of topics, ranging from his own research and other recent developments in mathematics, to lecture notes for his classes, to non-technical puzzles and expository articles. The articles from the first year of that blog have already been published by the AMS. The posts from 2008 are being published in two volumes. This book is Part I of the second-year posts, focusing on ergodic theory, combinatorics, and number theory. Chapter 2 consists of lecture notes from Tao's course on topological dynamics and ergodic theory. By means of various correspondence principles, recurrence theorems about dynamical systems are used to prove some deep theorems in combinatorics and other areas of mathematics. The lectures are as self-contained as possible, focusing more on the ``big picture'' than on technical details. In addition to these lectures, a variety of other topics are discussed, ranging from recent developments in additive prime number theory to expository articles on individual mathematical topics such as the law of large numbers and the Lucas-Lehmer test for Mersenne primes. Some selected comments and feedback from blog readers have also been incorporated into the articles. The book is suitable for graduate students and research mathematicians interested in broad exposure to mathematical topics.

Pages from Year Two of a Mathematical Blog

Poincaré's Legacies

Real Analysis

Portrait Sitter File

Traditional Fourier analysis, which has been remarkably effective in many contexts, uses linear phase functions to study functions. Some questions, such as problems involving arithmetic progressions, naturally lead to the use of quadratic or higher order phases. Higher order Fourier analysis is a subject that has become very active only recently. Gowers, in groundbreaking work, developed many of the basic concepts of this theory in order to give a new, quantitative proof of Szemeredi's theorem on arithmetic progressions. However, there are also precursors to this theory in Weyl's classical theory of equidistribution, as well as in Furstenberg's structural theory of dynamical systems. This book, which is the first monograph in this area, aims to cover all of these topics in a unified manner, as well as to survey some of the most recent developments, such as the application of the theory to count linear patterns in primes. The book serves as an introduction to the field, giving the beginning graduate student in the subject a high-level overview of the field. The text focuses on the simplest illustrative examples of key results, serving as a companion to the existing literature on the subject. There are numerous exercises with which to test one's knowledge.

Higher Order Fourier Analysis

Expander graphs are an important tool in theoretical computer science, geometric group theory, probability, and number theory. Furthermore, the techniques used to rigorously establish the expansion property of a graph draw from such diverse areas of mathematics as representation theory, algebraic geometry, and arithmetic combinatorics. This text focuses on the latter topic in the important case of Cayley graphs on finite groups of Lie type, developing tools such as Kazhdan's property (T), quasirandomness, product estimates, escape from subvarieties, and the Balog-Szemerédi-Gowers lemma. Applications to the affine sieve of Bourgain, Gamburd, and Sarnak are also given. The material is largely self-contained, with additional sections on the general theory of expanders, spectral theory, Lie theory, and the Lang-Weil bound, as well as numerous exercises and other optional material.

Expansion in Finite Simple Groups of Lie Type

Van H. Vu

Additive combinatorics is the theory of counting additive structures in sets. This theory has seen exciting developments and dramatic changes in direction in recent years thanks to its connections with areas such as number theory, ergodic theory and graph theory. This graduate-level 2006 text will allow students and researchers easy entry into this fascinating field. Here, the authors bring together in a self-contained and systematic manner the many different tools and ideas that are used in the modern theory, presenting them in an accessible, coherent, and intuitively clear manner, and providing immediate applications to problems in additive combinatorics. The power of these tools is well demonstrated in the presentation of recent advances such as Szemerédi's theorem on arithmetic progressions, the Kakeya conjecture and Erdos distance problems, and the developing field of sum-product estimates. The text is supplemented by a large number of exercises and new results.

Terence Tao

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