This book revives and vastly expands the classical theory of resultants and discriminants. Most of the main new results of the book have been published earlier in more than a dozen joint papers of the authors. The book nicely complements these original papers with many examples illustrating both old and new results of the theory.

Mathematical Reviews

Collecting and extending the fundamental and highly original results of the authors, it presents a unique blend of classical mathematics and very recent developments in algebraic geometry, homological algebra, and combinatorial theory.

Zentralblatt Math

The definitive text on eliminator theory Revives the classical theory of resultants and discriminants Presents both old and new results of the theory

Autorentext

Israel Gelfand (1913-2009) is often considered one of the greatest mathematicians of the Twentieth Century. He published dozens of books and over 400 articles in a variety of mathematical fields, including group theory, representation theory, and functional analysis. Gelfand was known internationally as an outstanding and passionate teacher, as well as for his famous seminars in mathematics and biology, which were attended by the most prominent specialists in the field. He had a remarkable ability to adapt his presentation of difficult concepts so they would be easily understood by his audience, whether that was children or experienced professors. In 1964, he created the Correspondence School in Mathematics (ZMSH) in Moscow, and later on, the Gelfand Correspondence Program in Mathematics (GCPM) at Rutgers University, both of which made mathematics available to a broad range of students. His goal was to pass on to students his belief that mathematics is simple, beautiful, and a part of human culture which anyone can learn and enjoy, just like literature, poetry, art, and music. Tatiana Alekseyevskaya (Gelfand) graduated from the Department of Cybernetics and Applied Mathematics at Kiev State University in Ukraine. She then received her PhD in Mathematics in Moscow for her research on systems of quasi-linear equations and related geometrical constructions describing isotachophoresis, a process used in biological studies of protein molecules. She has extensive experience teaching mathematics to undergraduate students in both Russia and the United States, and worked closely with Israel Gelfand at Rutgers University, preparing assignments to be used in the GCPM.

Inhalt
General Discriminants and Resultants.- Projective Dual Varieties and General Discriminants.- The Cayley Method for Studying Discriminants.- Associated Varieties and General Resultants.- Chow Varieties.- A-Discriminants and A-Resultants.- Toric Varieties.- Newton Polytopes and Chow Polytopes.- Triangulations and Secondary Polytopes.- A-Resultants and Chow Polytopes of Toric Varieties.- A-Discriminants.- Principal A-Determinants.- Regular A-Determinants and A-Discriminants.- Classical Discriminants and Resultants.- Discriminants and Resultants for Polynomials in One Variable.- Discriminants and Resultants for Forms in Several Variables.- Hyperdeterminants.