Finite Dimensional Vector Spaces (Annals of Mathematics Studies, 7) - Softcover

Halmos, Paul R.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0691090955 ISBN 13: 9780691090955

Publisher: Princeton University Press, 1947

Synopsis

As a newly minted Ph.D., Paul Halmos came to the Institute for Advanced Study in 1938--even though he did not have a fellowship--to study among the many giants of mathematics who had recently joined the faculty. He eventually became John von Neumann's research assistant, and it was one of von Neumann's inspiring lectures that spurred Halmos to write Finite Dimensional Vector Spaces. The book brought him instant fame as an expositor of mathematics.

Finite Dimensional Vector Spaces combines algebra and geometry to discuss the three-dimensional area where vectors can be plotted. The book broke ground as the first formal introduction to linear algebra, a branch of modern mathematics that studies vectors and vector spaces. The book continues to exert its influence sixty years after publication, as linear algebra is now widely used, not only in mathematics but also in the natural and social sciences, for studying such subjects as weather problems, traffic flow, electronic circuits, and population genetics.

In 1983 Halmos received the coveted Steele Prize for exposition from the American Mathematical Society for "his many graduate texts in mathematics dealing with finite dimensional vector spaces, measure theory, ergodic theory, and Hilbert space."

About this title

Review

“This is a classic but still useful introduction to modern linear algebra. It is primarily about linear transformations ... . It’s also extremely well-written and logical, with short and elegant proofs. ... The exercises are very good, and are a mixture of proof questions and concrete examples. The book ends with a few applications to analysis ... and a brief summary of what is needed to extend this theory to Hilbert spaces.” (Allen Stenger, MAA Reviews, maa.org, May, 2016)

“The theory is systematically developed by the axiomatic method that has, since von Neumann, dominated the general approach to linear functional analysis and that achieves here a high degree of lucidity and clarity. The presentation is never awkward or dry, as it sometimes is in other “modern” textbooks; it is as unconventional as one has come to expect from the author. The book contains about 350 well placed and instructive problems, which cover a considerable part of the subject. All in all this is an excellent work, of equally high value for both student and teacher.” Zentralblatt für Mathematik

Edition details

• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Publication date: 1947
• ISBN 10: 0691090955
• ISBN 13: 9780691090955
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 196