A Brief Introduction to Theta Functions

Brief but intriguing, this monograph on the theory of elliptic functions was written by one of America's most prominent and widely read mathematicians. Richard Bellman encompasses a wealth of material in a succession of short chapters, spotlighting high points of the fundamental regions of elliptic functions and illustrating powerful and versatile analytic methods.


Suitable for advanced undergraduates and graduate students in mathematics, this introductory treatment is largely self-contained. Topics include Fourier series, sufficient conditions, the Laplace transform, results of Doetsch and Kober-Erdelyi, Gaussian sums, and Euler's formulas and functional equations. Additional subjects include partial fractions, mock theta functions, Hermite's method, convergence proof, elementary functional relations, multidimensional Poisson summation formula, the modular transformation, and many other areas.