During the past decade the interaction between control theory and linear algebra has been ever increasing, giving rise to new results in both areas. As a natural outflow of this research, this book presents information on this interdisciplinary area. The cross-fertilization between control and linear algebra can be found in subfields such as Numerical Linear Algebra, Canonical Forms, Ring-theoretic Methods, Matrix Theory, and Robust Control. This book's editors were challenged to present the latest results in these areas and to find points of common interest. This volume reflects very nicely the interaction: the range of topics seems very wide indeed, but the basic problems and techniques are always closely connected. And the common denominator in all of this is, of course, linear algebra. This book is suitable for both mathematicians and students.

This volume is dedicated to Harry Dym, a leading expert in operator theory, on the occasion of his sixtieth birthday. The book opens with an autobiographical sketch, a list of publications and a personal account of I. Gohberg on his collaboration with Harry Dym. The mathematical papers cover Krein space operator theory, Schur analysis and interpolation, several complex variables and Riemann surfaces, matrix theory, system theory, and differential equations and mathematical physics. The book is of interest to a wide audience of pure and applied mathematicians, electrical engineers and theoretical physicists.

About one half of the papers in this volume are based on lectures which were pre sented at a conference at Leipzig University in August 1994, which was dedicated to Vladimir Petrovich Potapov. He would have been eighty years old. These have been supplemented by: (1) Historical material, based on reminiscences of former colleagues, students and associates of V.P. Potapov. (2) Translations of a number of important papers (which serve to clarify the Potapov approach to problems of interpolation and extension, as well as a number of related problems and methods) and are relatively unknown in the West. (3) Two expository papers, which have been especially written for this volume. For purposes of discussion, it is convenient to group the technical papers in this volume into six categories. We will now run through them lightly, first listing the major theme, then in parentheses the authors of the relevant papers, followed by discussion. Some supplementary references are listed at the end; OT72 which appears frequently in this volume, refers to Volume 72 in the series Operator Theory: Advances and Applications. It was dedicated to V.P. Potapov. 1. Multiplicative decompositions (Yu.P. Ginzburg; M.S. Livsic, I.V. Mikhailova; V.I. Smirnov).

Vladimir Petrovich Potapov, as remembered by colleagues, friends and former students.- On a minimum problem in function theory and the number of roots of an algebraic equation inside the unit disc.- On tangential interpolation in reproducing kernel Hilbert modules and applications.- Notes on a Nevanlinna-Pick interpolation problem for generalized Nevanlinna functions.- The indefinite metric in the Schur interpolation problem for analytic functions, IV.- Bitangential interpolation for upper triangular operators.- Bitangential interpolation for upper triangular operators when the Pick operator is strictly positive.- Integral representations of a pair of nonnegative operators and interpolation problems in the Stieltjes class.- On recovering a multiplicative integral from its modulus.- On Schur functions and Szegö orthogonal polynomials.- Hilbert spaces of entire functions as a J theory subject.- On transformations of Potapov's fundamental matrix inequality.- An abstract interpolation problem and the extension theory of isometric operators.- On the theory of matrix-valued functions belonging to the Smirnov class.- Integral representation of function of class Ka.- On the theory of entire matrix-functions of exponential type.- Analogs of Nehari and Sarason theorems for character-automorphic functions and some related questions.- The Blaschke-Potapov factorization theorem and the theory of nonselfadjoint operators.- Weyl matrix circles as a tool for uniqueness in the theory of multiplicative representation of J-inner functions.- On a criterion of positive definiteness.- Matrix boundary value problems with eigenvalue dependent boundary conditions (The linear case).- Weyl-Titchmarsh functions of the canonical periodical system of differential equations.- On boundary values of functions regular in a disk.

Handbook of Algebra defines algebra as consisting of many different ideas, concepts and results. Even the nonspecialist is likely to encounter most of these, either somewhere in the literature, disguised as a definition or a theorem or to hear about them and feel the need for more information. Each chapter of the book combines some of the features of both a graduate-level textbook and a research-level survey. This book is divided into eight sections. Section 1A focuses on linear algebra and discusses such concepts as matrix functions and equations and random matrices. Section 1B cover linear dependence and discusses matroids. Section 1D focuses on fields, Galois Theory, and algebraic number theory. Section 1F tackles generalizations of fields and related objects. Section 2A focuses on category theory, including the topos theory and categorical structures. Section 2B discusses homological algebra, cohomology, and cohomological methods in algebra. Section 3A focuses on commutative rings and algebras. Finally, Section 3B focuses on associative rings and algebras. This book will be of interest to mathematicians, logicians, and computer scientists.

Linear differential equations with periodic coefficients constitute a well developed part of the theory of ordinary differential equations [17, 94, 156, 177, 178, 272, 389]. They arise in many physical and technical applications [177, 178, 272]. A new wave of interest in this subject has been stimulated during the last two decades by the development of the inverse scattering method for integration of nonlinear differential equations. This has led to significant progress in this traditional area [27, 71, 72, 111 119, 250, 276, 277, 284, 286, 287, 312, 313, 337, 349, 354, 392, 393, 403, 404]. At the same time, many theoretical and applied problems lead to periodic partial differential equations. We can mention, for instance, quantum mechanics [14, 18, 40, 54, 60, 91, 92, 107, 123, 157-160, 192, 193, 204, 315, 367, 412, 414, 415, 417], hydrodynamics [179, 180], elasticity theory [395], the theory of guided waves [87-89, 208, 300], homogenization theory [29, 41, 348], direct and inverse scattering [175, 206, 216, 314, 388, 406-408], parametric resonance theory [122, 178], and spectral theory and spectral geometry [103 105, 381, 382, 389]. There is a sjgnificant distinction between the cases of ordinary and partial differential periodic equations. The main tool of the theory of periodic ordinary differential equations is the so-called Floquet theory [17, 94, 120, 156, 177, 267, 272, 389]. Its central result is the following theorem (sometimes called Floquet-Lyapunov theorem) [120, 267].

Discrete-time systems arise as a matter of course in modelling biological or economic processes. For systems and control theory they are of major importance, particularly in connection with digital control applications. If sampling is performed in order to control periodic processes, almost periodic systems are obtained. This is a strong motivation to investigate the discrete-time systems with time-varying coefficients. This research monograph contains a study of discrete-time nodes, the discrete counterpart of the theory elaborated by Bart, Gohberg and Kaashoek for the continuous case, discrete-time Lyapunov and Riccati equations, discrete-time Hamiltonian systems in connection with input-output operators and associated Hankel and Toeplitz operators. All these tools aim to solve the problems of stabilization and attenuation of disturbances in the framework of H2- and H-control theory. The book is the first of its kind to be devoted to these topics and consists mainly of original, recently obtained results.

The aim of the present book is to propose a new algebraic approach to the study of norm stability of operator sequences which arise, for example, via discretization of singular integral equations on composed curves. A wide variety of discretization methods, including quadrature rules and spline or wavelet approximations, is covered and studied from a unique point of view. The approach takes advantage of the fruitful interplay between approximation theory, concrete operator theory, and local Banach algebra techniques. The book is addressed to a wide audience, in particular to mathematicians working in operator theory and Banach algebras as well as to applied mathematicians and engineers interested in theoretical foundations of various methods in general use, particularly splines and wavelets. The exposition contains numerous examples and exercises. Students will find a large number of suggestions for their own investigations.