Tavare, Simon, Zeitouni, Ofer Picard, Jean (Ed.)

Lectures on Probability Theory and Statistics
Ecole d'Ete de Probabilites de Saint-Flour XXXI - 2001

Series: Lecture Notes in Mathematics, Vol. 1837
2004, VII,315p., Softcover
ISBN: 3-540-20832-1

About this book

This volume contains lectures given at the 31st Probability Summer School in Saint-Flour (July 8-25, 2001). Simon Tavare?s lectures serve as an introduction to the coalescent, and to inference for ancestral processes in population genetics. The stochastic computation methods described include rejection methods, importance sampling, Markov chain Monte Carlo, and approximate Bayesian methods. Ofer Zeitouni?s course on "Random Walks in Random Environment" presents systematically the tools that have been introduced to study the model. A fairly complete description of available results in dimension 1 is given. For higher dimension, the basic techniques and a discussion of some of the available results are provided. The contribution also includes an updated annotated bibliography and suggestions for further reading. Olivier Catoni's course appears separately as Vol. 179 of the Lecture Notes in Statistics.

Written for:
Researchers and advanced students

Table of contents


Ganesh, Ayalvadi, O'Connell, Neil, Wischik, Damon

Big Queues

Series: Lecture Notes in Mathematics, Vol. 1838
2004, XI, 254 p., Softcover
ISBN: 3-540-20912-3

About this book
Big Queues aims to give a simple and elegant account of how large deviations theory can be applied to queueing problems. Large deviations theory is a collection of powerful results and general techniques for studying rare events, and has been applied to queueing problems in a variety of ways. The strengths of large deviations theory are these: it is powerful enough that one can answer many questions which are hard to answer otherwise, and it is general enough that one can draw broad conclusions without relying on special case calculations.

Written for:
Researchers and graduate students in probability and mathematically inclined students in engineering

Keywords:
Queues
applied probability
large deviations

Table of contents


Gohm, Rolf

Noncommutative Stationary Processes

Series: Lecture Notes in Mathematics, Vol. 1839
2004, VIII, 170 p., Softcover
ISBN: 3-540-20926-3

About this book

Quantum probability and the theory of operator algebras are both concerned with the study of noncommutative dynamics. Focusing on stationary processes with discrete-time parameter, this book presents (without many prerequisites) some basic problems of interest to both fields, on topics including extensions and dilations of completely positive maps, Markov property and adaptedness, endomorphisms of operator algebras and the applications arising from the interplay of these themes. Much of the material is new, but many interesting questions are accessible even to the reader equipped only with basic knowledge of quantum probability and operator algebras.

Written for:

Researchers and graduate students

Keywords:
46L53, 46L55, 47B65, 60G10, 60J05
adapted endomorphism
completely positive
dilation
extension

Table of contents
http://www.springeronline.com/sgw/cda/pageitems/document/cda_downloaddocument/0,10900,0-0-45-107821-0,00.pdf

Del Moral, Pierre

Feynman-Kac Formulae
Genealogical and Interacting Particle Systems with Applications

Series: Probability and its Applications
2004, Approx. 585 p., Hardcover
ISBN: 0-387-20268-4

About this book

This book contains a systematic and self-contained treatment of Feynman-Kac path measures, their genealogical and interacting particle interpretations, and their applications to a variety of problems arising in statistical physics, biology, and advanced engineering sciences. Topics include spectral analysis of Feynman-Kac-Schrodinger operators, Dirichlet problems with boundary conditions, finance, molecular analysis, rare events and directed polymers simulation, genetic algorithms, Metropolis-Hastings type models, as well as filtering problems and hidden Markov chains. This text takes readers in a clear and progressive format from simple to recent and advanced topics in pure and applied probability such as contraction and annealed properties of non-linear semi-groups, functional entropy inequalities, empirical process convergence, increasing propagations of chaos, central limit, and Berry Esseen type theorems as well as large deviations principles for strong topologies on path-distribution spaces. Topics also include a body of powerful branching and interacting particle methods and worked out illustrations of the key aspect of the theory. With practical and easy to use references as well as deeper and modern mathematics studies, the book will be of use to engineers and researchers in pure and applied mathematics, statistics, physics, biology, and operation research who have a background in probability and Markov chain theory. Pierre Del Moral is a research fellow in mathematics at the C.N.R.S. (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) at the Laboratoire de Statistique et Probabilites of Paul Sabatier University in Toulouse. He received his Ph.D. in signal processing at the LAAS-CNRS (Laboratoire d'Analyse et Architecture des Systemes) of Toulouse. He is one of the principal designers of the modern and recently developing theory on particle methods in filtering theory. He served as a research engineer in the company Steria-Digilog from 1992 to 1995 and he has been a visiting professor at Purdue University and Princeton University. He is a former associate editor of the journal "Stochastic Analysis and Applications".

Table of contents

Introduction.- Feynman-Kac Formulae.- Genealogical and Interacting Particle Models.- Stability of Feynman-Kac Semi-groups.- Invariant Measures and Related Topics.- Annealing Properties.- Asymptotic Behavior.- Propagations of Chaos.- Central Limit Theorems.- Large Deviations Principles.- Feynman-Kac and Interacting Particle Recipes.- Applications.

Hida, Haruzo

p-Adic Automorphic Forms on Shimura Varieties

Series: Springer Monographs in Mathematics
2004, Approx. 400 p., Hardcover
ISBN: 0-387-20711-2


About this book

This book covers the following three topics in a manner accessible to graduate students who have an understanding of algebraic number theory and scheme theoretic algebraic geometry: 1. An elementary construction of Shimura varieties as moduli of abelian schemes 2. p-adic deformation theory of automorphic forms on Shimura varieties 3. A simple proof of irreducibility of the generalized Igusa tower over the Shimura variety The book starts with a detailed study of elliptic and Hilbert modular forms and reaches to the forefront of research of Shimura varieties associated with general classical groups. The method of constructing p-adic analytic families and the proof of irreducibility was recently discovered by the author. The area covered in this book is now a focal point of research worldwide with many far-reaching applications that have led to solutions of longstanding problems and conjectures. Specifically, the use of p-adic elliptic and Hilbert modular forms have proven essential in recent breakthroughs in number theory (for example, the proof of Fermat's Last Theorem and the Shimura-Taniyama conjecture by A. Wiles and others). Haruzo Hida is Professor of Mathematics at University of California, Los Angeles. His previous books include Modular Forms and Galois Cohomology (Cambridge University Press 2000) and Geometric Modular Forms and Elliptic Curves (World Scientific Publishing Company 2000).

Table of contents

Introduction.- Geometric Reciprocity Laws.- Modular Curves.- Hilbert Modular Varieties.- Generalized Eichler-Shimura Map.- Moduli Schemes.- Shimura Varieties.- p-Adic Automorphic Forms.- Bibliography.