The history of continued fractions is certainly one of the longest among those of mathematical concepts, since it begins with Euclid's algorithm for the great est common divisor at least three centuries B.C. As it is often the case and like Monsieur Jourdain in Moliere's "Ie bourgeois gentilhomme" (who was speak ing in prose though he did not know he was doing so), continued fractions were used for many centuries before their real discovery. The history of continued fractions and Pade approximants is also quite im portant, since they played a leading role in the development of some branches of mathematics. For example, they were the basis for the proof of the tran scendence of 11' in 1882, an open problem for more than two thousand years, and also for our modern spectral theory of operators. Actually they still are of great interest in many fields of pure and applied mathematics and in numerical analysis, where they provide computer approximations to special functions and are connected to some convergence acceleration methods. Con tinued fractions are also used in number theory, computer science, automata, electronics, etc ...

Approximation methods are vital in many challenging applications of computational science and engineering. This is a collection of papers from world experts in a broad variety of relevant applications, including pattern recognition, machine learning, multiscale modelling of fluid flow, metrology, geometric modelling, tomography, signal and image processing. It documents recent theoretical developments which have lead to new trends in approximation, it gives important computational aspects and multidisciplinary applications, thus making it a perfect fit for graduate students and researchers in science and engineering who wish to understand and develop numerical algorithms for the solution of their specific problems. An important feature of the book is that it brings together modern methods from statistics, mathematical modelling and numerical simulation for the solution of relevant problems, with a wide range of inherent scales. Contributions of industrial mathematicians, including representatives from Microsoft and Schlumberger, foster the transfer of the latest approximation methods to real-world applications.

This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed papers of the 15th International Conference on Implementation and Application of Automata, CIAA 2010, held in Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada, in August 2010. The 26 revised full papers together with 6 short papers were carefully selected from 52 submissions. The papers cover various topics such as applications of automata in computer-aided verification; natural language processing; pattern matching, data storage and retrieval; bioinformatics; algebra; graph theory; and foundational work on automata theory.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 14th IAPR TC-18 International Conference on Discrete Geometry for Computer Imagery, DGCI 2008, held in Lyon, France, in April 2008. The 23 revised full papers and 22 revised poster papers presented together with 3 invited papers were carefully reviewed and selected from 76 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on models for discrete geometry, discrete and combinatorial topology, geometric transforms, discrete shape representation, recognition and analysis, discrete tomography, morphological analysis, discrete modelling and visualization, as well as discrete and combinatorial tools for image segmentation and analysis.

There is a nineteen-year recurrence in the apparent position of the sun and moon against the background of the stars, a pattern observed long ago by the Babylonians. In the course of those nineteen years the Earth experiences 235 lunar cycles. Suppose we calculate the ratio of Earth's period about the sun to the moon's period about Earth. That ratio has 235/19 as one of its early continued fraction convergents, which explains the apparent periodicity. Exploring Continued Fractions explains this and other recurrent phenomena—astronomical transits and conjunctions, lifecycles of cicadas, eclipses—by way of continued fraction expansions. The deeper purpose is to find patterns, solve puzzles, and discover some appealing number theory. The reader will explore several algorithms for computing continued fractions, including some new to the literature. He or she will also explore the surprisingly large portion of number theory connected to continued fractions: Pythagorean triples, Diophantine equations, the Stern-Brocot tree, and a number of combinatorial sequences. The book features a pleasantly discursive style with excursions into music (The Well-Tempered Clavier), history (the Ishango bone and Plimpton 322), classics (the shape of More's Utopia) and whimsy (dropping a black hole on Earth's surface). Andy Simoson has won both the Chauvenet Prize and Pólya Award for expository writing from the MAA and his Voltaire's Riddle was a Choice magazine Outstanding Academic Title. This book is an enjoyable ramble through some beautiful mathematics. For most of the journey the only necessary prerequisites are a minimal familiarity with mathematical reasoning and a sense of fun.

Padeacute; approximants and continued fractions are typical examples of old areas of mathematics (continued fractions can be traced back to Euclid's g.c.d. algorithm more than 2000 years ago) which are again very much alive. This is due to their numerous applications in number theory, cryptography, statistics, numerical analysis, special functions, digital filtering, signal processing, fractals, fluid mechanics, theoretical physics, chemistry, engineering etc. This renewal of interest is also due to their intimate connection with other important topics such as orthogonal polynomials (another old subject now again in full vitality), rational approximation, Gaussian quadratures, extrapolation and convergence acceleration methods, differential equations etc.

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The concept of continued fractions os one of the oldest in the history of mathematics. It can be traced back to Euclid's algorithm for the greatest common divisor or even earlier. Continued fractions and Pade approximants played an important role in the development of many branches of mathematics, such as the spectral theory of operators, and in the solution of famous problems, such as the quadrature of the circle.

This book is aimed at two kinds of readers: firstly, people working in or near mathematics, who are curious about continued fractions; and secondly, senior or graduate students who would like an extensive introduction to the analytic theory of continued fractions. The book contains several recent results and new angles of approach and thus should be of interest to researchers throughout the field. The first five chapters contain an introduction to the basic theory, while the last seven chapters present a variety of applications. Finally, an appendix presents a large number of special continued fraction expansions. This very readable book also contains many valuable examples and problems.

Continued Fractions consists of two volumes — Volume 1: Convergence Theory; and Volume 2: Representation of Functions (tentative title), which is expected in 2011. Volume 1 is dedicated to the convergence and computation of continued fractions, while Volume 2 will treat representations of meromorphic functions by continued fractions. Taken together, the two volumes will present the basic continued fractions theory without requiring too much previous knowledge; some basic knowledge of complex functions will suffice. Both new and advanced graduate students of continued fractions shall get a comprehensive understanding of how these infinite structures work in a number of applications, and why they work so well. A varied buffet of possible applications to whet the appetite is presented first, before the more basic but modernized theory is given. This new edition is the result of an increasing interest in computing special functions by means of continued fractions. The methods described in detail are, in many cases, very simple, yet reliable and efficient.