Mathematical Analysis: Functions of One Variable

For more than two thousand years some familiarity with mathematics has been regarded as an indispensable part of the intellectual equipment of every cultured person. Today the traditional place of mathematics in education is in grave danger. Unfortunately, professional representatives of mathematics share in the reponsibiIity. The teaching of mathematics has sometimes degen­ erated into empty drill in problem solving, which may develop formal ability but does not lead to real understanding or to greater intellectual indepen­ dence. Mathematical research has shown a tendency toward overspecialization and over-emphasis on abstraction. Applications and connections with other fields have been neglected . . . But . . . understanding of mathematics cannot be transmitted by painless entertainment any more than education in music can be brought by the most brilliant journalism to those who never have lis­ tened intensively. Actual contact with the content of living mathematics is necessary. Nevertheless technicalities and detours should be avoided, and the presentation of mathematics should be just as free from emphasis on routine as from forbidding dogmatism which refuses to disclose motive or goal and which is an unfair obstacle to honest effort. (From the preface to the first edition of What is Mathematics? by Richard Courant and Herbert Robbins, 1941.

This self-contained work on linear and metric structures focuses on studying continuity and its applications to finite- and infinite-dimensional spaces.

The book is divided into three parts. The first part introduces the basic ideas of linear and metric spaces, including the Jordan canonical form of matrices and the spectral theorem for self-adjoint and normal operators. The second part examines the role of general topology in the context of metric spaces and includes the notions of homotopy and degree. The third and final part is a discussion on Banach spaces of continuous functions, Hilbert spaces and the spectral theory of compact operators.

Mathematical Analysis: Linear and Metric Structures and Continuity motivates the study of linear and metric structures with examples, observations, exercises, and illustrations. It may be used in the classroom setting or for self-study by advanced undergraduate and graduate students and as a valuable reference for researchers in mathematics, physics, and engineering.

Other books recently published by the authors include: Mathematical Analysis: Functions of One Variable, and Mathematical Analysis: Approximation and Discrete Processes. This book builds upon the discussion in these books to provide the reader with a strong foundation in modern-day analysis.