Spectral Theory offers a uniquely accessible introduction to ideas that invite further study in any number of different directions. A background in real and complex analysis is assumed; the author presents the requisite tools from functional analysis within the text. This introductory treatment would suit a functional analysis course intended as a pathway to linear PDE theory. Independent later chapters allow for flexibility in selecting applications to suit specific interests within a one-semester course.
David Borthwick is Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Mathematics at Emory University, Georgia, USA. His research interests are in spectral theory, global and geometric analysis, and mathematical physics. His monograph Spectral Theory of Infinite-Area Hyperbolic Surfaces appears in Birkhäuser’s Progress in Mathematics, and his Introduction to Partial Differential Equations is published in Universitext.