Jozsef Beck

This book provides a systematic introduction and treatment of non-integrable flat systems. More precisely, it develops analogues of the well-known Kronecker-Weyl equidistribution theorem for various non-integrable flat systems. The distribution properties of half-infinite geodesics in non-integrable flat dynamical systems are investigated, with particular emphasis on density and uniformity on various flat surfaces, as well as generalizations to higher dimensions and related problems. The approach to addressing some of these uniformity questions combines traditional ergodic theory methods, such as the Birkhoff ergodic theorem, with tools from number theory and new ideas outside the field of ergodic theory. Several non-trivial results on 3-dimensional flat systems are included, expanding upon the extensive literature on 2-dimensional non-integrable flat dynamical systems, which often focuses on plane-specific methods that do not readily adapt to 3-dimensional systems. New approaches are developed to address these challenges. A systematic study of a class of dissipative systems is also presented, where the flow is neither time-reversible nor measure-preserving. The overwhelming majority of the material in this book represents previously unpublished research.

The subject of this monograph is to describe orbits of slowly chaotic motion. The study of geodesic flow on the unit torus is motivated by the irrational rotation sequence, where the most outstanding result is the Kronecker-Weyl equidistribution theorem and its time-quantitative enhancements, including superuniformity. Another important result is the Khinchin density theorem on superdensity, a best possible form of time-quantitative density. The purpose of this monograph is to extend these classical time-quantitative results to some non-integrable flat dynamical systems. The theory of dynamical systems is on the most part about the qualitative behavior of typical orbits and not about individual orbits. Thus, our study deviates from, and indeed is in complete contrast to, what is considered the mainstream research in dynamical systems. We establish non-trivial results concerning explicit individual orbits and describe their long-term behavior in a precise time-quantitative way. Our non-ergodic approach gives rise to a few new methods. These are based on a combination of ideas in combinatorics, number theory, geometry and linear algebra. Approximately half of this monograph is devoted to a time-quantitative study of two concrete simple non-integrable flat dynamical systems. The first concerns billiard in the L-shape region which is equivalent to geodesic flow on the L-surface. The second concerns geodesic flow on the surface of the unit cube. In each, we give a complete description of time-quantitative equidistribution for every geodesic with a quadratic irrational slope.

We know very little about the time-evolution of many-particle dynamical systems, the subject of our book. Even the 3-body problem has no explicit solution (we cannot solve the corresponding system of differential equations, and computer simulation indicates hopelessly chaotic behaviour). For example, what can we say about the typical time evolution of a large system starting from a stage far from equilibrium? What happens in a realistic time scale? The reader's first reaction is probably: What about the famous Second Law (of thermodynamics)? Unfortunately, there are plenty of notorious mathematical problems surrounding the Second Law. (1) How to rigorously define entropy? How to convert the well known intuitions (like 'disorder' and 'energy spreading') into precise mathematical definitions? (2) How to express the Second Law in forms of a rigorous mathematical theorem? (3) The Second Law is a 'soft' qualitative statement about entropy increase, but does not say anything about the necessary time to reach equilibrium. The object of this book is to answer questions (1)-(2)-(3). We rigorously prove a Time-Quantitative Second Law that works on a realistic time scale. As a by product, we clarify the Loschmidt-paradox and the related reversibility/irreversibility paradox.

It is the first book about a new aspect of Uniform distribution, called Strong Uniformity. Besides developing the theory of Strong Uniformity, the book also includes novel applications in the underdeveloped field of Large Dynamical Systems.

This book gives a comprehensive treatment of random phenomena and distribution results in diophantine approximation, with a particular emphasis on quadratic irrationals. It covers classical material on the subject as well as many new results developed by the author over the past decade. A range of ideas from other areas of mathematics are brought to bear with surprising connections to topics such as formulae for class numbers, special values of L-functions, and Dedekind sums. Care is taken to elaborate difficult proofs by motivating major steps and accompanying them with background explanations, enabling the reader to learn the theory and relevant techniques. Written by one of the acknowledged experts in the field, Probabilistic Diophantine Approximation is presented in a clear and informal style with sufficient detail to appeal to both advanced students and researchers in number theory.

This book gives a comprehensive treatment of random phenomena and distribution results in diophantine approximation, with a particular emphasis on quadratic irrationals. It covers classical material on the subject as well as many new results developed by the author over the past decade. A range of ideas from other areas of mathematics are brought to bear with surprising connections to topics such as formulae for class numbers, special values of L-functions, and Dedekind sums. Care is taken to elaborate difficult proofs by motivating major steps and accompanying them with background explanations, enabling the reader to learn the theory and relevant techniques. Written by one of the acknowledged experts in the field, Probabilistic Diophantine Approximation is presented in a clear and informal style with sufficient detail to appeal to both advanced students and researchers in number theory.

Traditional game theory has been successful at developing strategy in games of incomplete information: when one player knows something that the other does not. But it has little to say about games of complete information, for example, tic-tac-toe, solitaire and hex. The main challenge of combinatorial game theory is to handle combinatorial chaos, where brute force study is impractical. In this comprehensive volume, József Beck shows readers how to escape from the combinatorial chaos via the fake probabilistic method, a game-theoretic adaptation of the probabilistic method in combinatorics. Using this, the author is able to determine the exact results about infinite classes of many games, leading to the discovery of some striking new duality principles. Available for the first time in paperback, it includes a new appendix to address the results that have appeared since the book's original publication.

Traditional game theory has been successful at developing strategy in games of incomplete information: when one player knows something that the other does not. But it has little to say about games of complete information, for example, tic-tac-toe, solitaire and hex. The main challenge of combinatorial game theory is to handle combinatorial chaos, where brute force study is impractical. In this comprehensive volume, József Beck shows readers how to escape from the combinatorial chaos via the fake probabilistic method, a game-theoretic adaptation of the probabilistic method in combinatorics. Using this, the author is able to determine the exact results about infinite classes of many games, leading to the discovery of some striking new duality principles. Available for the first time in paperback, it includes a new appendix to address the results that have appeared since the book's original publication.