Commutative Harmonic Analysis I

This is the first volume in the subseries Commutative Harmonic Analysis of the EMS. It is intended for anyone who wants to get acquainted with the discipline. The first article is a large introduction, also serving as a guide to the rest of the volume. Starting from Fourier analysis of periodic function, then going through the Fourier transform and distributions, the exposition leads the reader to the group theoretic point of view. Numerous examples illustrate the connections to differential and integral equations, approximation theory, number theory, probability theory and physics. The article also contains a brief historical essay on the development of Fourier analysis. The second article focuses on some of the classical problems of Fourier series; it's a "mini-Zygmund" for the beginner. In particular, the convergence and summability of Fourier series, translation invariant operators and theorems on Fourier coefficients are given special attention. §The third article is the most modern of the three, concentrating on the theory of singular integral operators. The simplest such operator, the Hilbert transform, is covered in detail. There is also a thorough introduction to Calderon-Zygmund theory. §Dieser Band ist der Anfang der EMS-'Unterreihe' Commutative Harmonic Analysis, in der bisher vier Bände geplant sind. Ein historischer Überblick über Fourieranalysis ist ebenfalls eingeschlossen. Fourieranalysis findet in vielen anderen Fachgebieten der Mathematik Anwendung. This volume is the first in the series devoted to the commutative harmonic analysis, a fundamental part of the contemporary mathematics. The fundamental nature of this subject, however, has been determined so long ago, that unlike in other volumes of this publication, we have to start with simple notions which have been in constant use in mathematics and physics. Planning the series as a whole, we have assumed that harmonic analysis is based on a small number of axioms, simply and clearly formulated in terms of group theory which illustrate its sources of ideas. However, our subject cannot be completely reduced to those axioms. This part of mathematics is so well developed and has so many different sides to it that no abstract scheme is able to cover its immense concreteness completely. In particular, it relates to an enormous stock of facts accumulated by the classical "trigonometric" harmonic analysis. Moreover, subjected to a general mathematical tendency of integration and diffusion of conventional intersubject borders, harmonic analysis, in its modem form, more and more rests on non-translation invariant constructions. For example, one ofthe most signifi cant achievements of latter decades, which has substantially changed the whole shape of harmonic analysis, is the penetration in this subject of subtle techniques of singular integral operators.