Transcendental Number Theory

Description

First published in 1975, this classic book gives a systematic account of transcendental number theory, that is, the theory of those numbers that cannot be expressed as the roots of algebraic equations having rational coefficients. Their study has developed into a fertile and extensive theory, which continues to see rapid progress today. Expositions are presented of theories relating to linear forms in the logarithms of algebraic numbers, of Schmidt's generalization of the Thue-Siegel-Roth theorem, of Shidlovsky's work on Siegel's E-functions and of Sprindzuk's solution to the Mahler conjecture. This edition includes an introduction written by David Masser describing Baker's achievement, surveying the content of each chapter and explaining the main argument of Baker's method in broad strokes. A new afterword lists recent developments related to Baker's work.

Alan Baker was one of the leading British mathematicians of the past century. He took great strides in number theory by, among other achievements, obtaining a vast generalization of the Gelfond-Schneider Theorem and using it to give effective solutions to a large class of Diophantine problems. This work kicked off a new era in transcendental number theory and won Baker the Fields Medal in 1970. David Masser is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at the University of Basel. He is a leading researcher in transcendence methods and applications and helped correct the proofs of the original edition of Transcendental Number Theory as Baker's student.

'Baker's book is the book on transcendental numbers. He covers a majority of those areas that have reached definitive results, presents most of the proofs in a complete yet far more compact form than hitherto available, and covers historical and bibliographical matters with great thoroughness and impeccable scholarship. As literature, it compares well with the finest works of Landau, Rademacher, and Titchmarsh.' Kenneth B. Stolarsky, Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society