The ''Princeton Lectures in Analysis'' is a series of four
mathematics textbooks, each covering a different area of
mathematical analysis
Analysis is the branch of mathematics dealing with continuous functions, limit (mathematics), limits, and related theories, such as Derivative, differentiation, Integral, integration, measure (mathematics), measure, infinite sequences, series (m ...
. They were written by
Elias M. Stein
Elias Menachem Stein (January 13, 1931 – December 23, 2018) was an American mathematician who was a leading figure in the field of harmonic analysis. He was the Albert Baldwin Dod Professor of Mathematics, Emeritus, at Princeton University, wh ...
and Rami Shakarchi and published by
Princeton University Press
Princeton University Press is an independent Academic publishing, publisher with close connections to Princeton University. Its mission is to disseminate scholarship within academia and society at large.
The press was founded by Whitney Darrow, ...
between 2003 and 2011. They are, in order, ''Fourier Analysis: An Introduction''; ''Complex Analysis''; ''Real Analysis: Measure Theory, Integration, and Hilbert Spaces''; and ''Functional Analysis: Introduction to Further Topics in Analysis''.
Stein and Shakarchi wrote the books based on a sequence of intensive undergraduate courses Stein began teaching in the spring of 2000 at
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the n ...
. At the time Stein was a mathematics professor at Princeton and Shakarchi was a graduate student in mathematics. Though Shakarchi graduated in 2002, the collaboration continued until the final volume was published in 2011. The series emphasizes the unity among the branches of analysis and the applicability of analysis to other areas of mathematics.
The ''Princeton Lectures in Analysis'' has been identified as a well written and influential series of textbooks, suitable for advanced undergraduates and beginning graduate students in mathematics.
History

The first author,
Elias M. Stein
Elias Menachem Stein (January 13, 1931 – December 23, 2018) was an American mathematician who was a leading figure in the field of harmonic analysis. He was the Albert Baldwin Dod Professor of Mathematics, Emeritus, at Princeton University, wh ...
, was a
mathematician
A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems.
Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...
who made significant research contributions to the field of
mathematical analysis
Analysis is the branch of mathematics dealing with continuous functions, limit (mathematics), limits, and related theories, such as Derivative, differentiation, Integral, integration, measure (mathematics), measure, infinite sequences, series (m ...
. Before 2000 he had authored or co-authored several influential advanced textbooks on analysis.
Beginning in the spring of 2000, Stein taught a sequence of four intensive undergraduate courses in analysis at
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the n ...
, where he was a mathematics professor. At the same time he collaborated with Rami Shakarchi, then a graduate student in Princeton's math department studying under
Charles Fefferman
Charles Louis Fefferman (born April 18, 1949) is an American mathematician at Princeton University, where he is currently the Herbert E. Jones, Jr. '43 University Professor of Mathematics. He was awarded the Fields Medal in 1978 for his contrib ...
, to turn each of the courses into a textbook. Stein taught
Fourier analysis in that first semester, and by the fall of 2000 the first manuscript was nearly finished. That fall Stein taught the course in
complex analysis
Complex analysis, traditionally known as the theory of functions of a complex variable, is the branch of mathematical analysis that investigates functions of complex numbers. It is helpful in many branches of mathematics, including algebra ...
while he and Shakarchi worked on the corresponding manuscript. Paul Hagelstein, then a
postdoctoral scholar in the Princeton math department, was a teaching assistant for this course. In spring 2001, when Stein moved on to the
real analysis
In mathematics, the branch of real analysis studies the behavior of real numbers, sequences and series of real numbers, and real functions. Some particular properties of real-valued sequences and functions that real analysis studies include con ...
course, Hagelstein started the sequence anew, beginning with the Fourier analysis course. Hagelstein and his students used Stein and Shakarchi's drafts as texts, and they made suggestions to the authors as they prepared the manuscripts for publication.
The project received financial support from Princeton University and from the
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National ...
.
[Page ix of all four Stein & Shakarchi volumes.]
Shakarchi earned his Ph.D. from Princeton in 2002
and moved to
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
to work in finance. Nonetheless he continued working on the books, even as his employer,
Lehman Brothers
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. ( ) was an American global financial services firm founded in 1847. Before filing for bankruptcy in 2008, Lehman was the fourth-largest investment bank in the United States (behind Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, a ...
,
collapsed
''Into the Rush'' is the debut studio album by American pop rock duo Aly & AJ. The album was released on August 16, 2005, by Disney-owned label Hollywood Records. The album features 14 tracks, including the singles "Rush" and " Do You Believe in ...
in 2008.
[ The first two volumes were published in 2003. The third followed in 2005, and the fourth in 2011. ]Princeton University Press
Princeton University Press is an independent Academic publishing, publisher with close connections to Princeton University. Its mission is to disseminate scholarship within academia and society at large.
The press was founded by Whitney Darrow, ...
published all four.[
]
Contents
The volumes are split into seven to ten chapters each. Each chapter begins with an epigraph providing context for the material and ends with a list of challenges for the reader, split into Exercises, which range in difficulty, and more difficult Problems. Throughout the authors emphasize the unity among the branches of analysis, often referencing one branch within another branch's book. They also provide applications of the theory to other fields of mathematics, particularly partial differential equation
In mathematics, a partial differential equation (PDE) is an equation which imposes relations between the various partial derivatives of a multivariable function.
The function is often thought of as an "unknown" to be solved for, similarly to ...
s and number theory
Number theory (or arithmetic or higher arithmetic in older usage) is a branch of pure mathematics devoted primarily to the study of the integers and integer-valued functions. German mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777–1855) said, "Math ...
.[
''Fourier Analysis'' covers the ]discrete
Discrete may refer to:
*Discrete particle or quantum in physics, for example in quantum theory
*Discrete device, an electronic component with just one circuit element, either passive or active, other than an integrated circuit
*Discrete group, a ...
, continuous
Continuity or continuous may refer to:
Mathematics
* Continuity (mathematics), the opposing concept to discreteness; common examples include
** Continuous probability distribution or random variable in probability and statistics
** Continuous g ...
, and finite
Finite is the opposite of infinite. It may refer to:
* Finite number (disambiguation)
* Finite set, a set whose cardinality (number of elements) is some natural number
* Finite verb
Traditionally, a finite verb (from la, fīnītus, past partici ...
Fourier transform
A Fourier transform (FT) is a mathematical transform that decomposes functions into frequency components, which are represented by the output of the transform as a function of frequency. Most commonly functions of time or space are transformed, ...
s and their properties, including inversion. It also presents applications to partial differential equations, Dirichlet's theorem on arithmetic progressions
In number theory, Dirichlet's theorem, also called the Dirichlet prime number theorem, states that for any two positive coprime integers ''a'' and ''d'', there are infinitely many primes of the form ''a'' + ''nd'', where ''n'' is al ...
, and other topics.[Stein & Shakarchi, ''Fourier Analysis''.] Because Lebesgue integration
In mathematics, the integral of a non-negative function of a single variable can be regarded, in the simplest case, as the area between the graph of that function and the -axis. The Lebesgue integral, named after French mathematician Henri Le ...
is not introduced until the third book, the authors use Riemann integration
In the branch of mathematics known as real analysis, the Riemann integral, created by Bernhard Riemann, was the first rigorous definition of the integral of a function on an interval. It was presented to the faculty at the University of G ...
in this volume.[ They begin with Fourier analysis because of its central role within the historical development and contemporary practice of analysis.][
''Complex Analysis'' treats the standard topics of a course in complex variables as well as several applications to other areas of mathematics.][ The chapters cover the ]complex plane
In mathematics, the complex plane is the plane formed by the complex numbers, with a Cartesian coordinate system such that the -axis, called the real axis, is formed by the real numbers, and the -axis, called the imaginary axis, is formed by th ...
, Cauchy's integral theorem
In mathematics, the Cauchy integral theorem (also known as the Cauchy–Goursat theorem) in complex analysis, named after Augustin-Louis Cauchy (and Édouard Goursat), is an important statement about line integrals for holomorphic functions in ...
, meromorphic function
In the mathematical field of complex analysis, a meromorphic function on an open subset ''D'' of the complex plane is a function that is holomorphic on all of ''D'' ''except'' for a set of isolated points, which are poles of the function. ...
s, connections to Fourier analysis, entire function
In complex analysis, an entire function, also called an integral function, is a complex-valued function that is holomorphic on the whole complex plane. Typical examples of entire functions are polynomials and the exponential function, and any fin ...
s, the gamma function
In mathematics, the gamma function (represented by , the capital letter gamma from the Greek alphabet) is one commonly used extension of the factorial function to complex numbers. The gamma function is defined for all complex numbers except th ...
, the Riemann zeta function, conformal map
In mathematics, a conformal map is a function that locally preserves angles, but not necessarily lengths.
More formally, let U and V be open subsets of \mathbb^n. A function f:U\to V is called conformal (or angle-preserving) at a point u_0\in ...
s, elliptic function
In the mathematical field of complex analysis, elliptic functions are a special kind of meromorphic functions, that satisfy two periodicity conditions. They are named elliptic functions because they come from elliptic integrals. Originally those i ...
s, and theta function
In mathematics, theta functions are special functions of several complex variables. They show up in many topics, including Abelian varieties, moduli spaces, quadratic forms, and solitons. As Grassmann algebras, they appear in quantum field ...
s.[Stein & Shakarchi, ''Complex Analysis''.]
''Real Analysis'' begins with measure theory, Lebesgue integration, and differentiation
Differentiation may refer to:
Business
* Differentiation (economics), the process of making a product different from other similar products
* Product differentiation, in marketing
* Differentiated service, a service that varies with the identity ...
in Euclidean space
Euclidean space is the fundamental space of geometry, intended to represent physical space. Originally, that is, in Euclid's ''Elements'', it was the three-dimensional space of Euclidean geometry, but in modern mathematics there are Euclidean sp ...
. It then covers Hilbert space
In mathematics, Hilbert spaces (named after David Hilbert) allow generalizing the methods of linear algebra and calculus from (finite-dimensional) Euclidean vector spaces to spaces that may be infinite-dimensional. Hilbert spaces arise natu ...
s before returning to measure and integration in the context of abstract measure spaces. It concludes with a chapter on Hausdorff measure
In mathematics, Hausdorff measure is a generalization of the traditional notions of area and volume to non-integer dimensions, specifically fractals and their Hausdorff dimensions. It is a type of outer measure, named for Felix Hausdorff, that a ...
and fractal
In mathematics, a fractal is a geometric shape containing detailed structure at arbitrarily small scales, usually having a fractal dimension strictly exceeding the topological dimension. Many fractals appear similar at various scales, as il ...
s.[Stein & Shakarchi, ''Real Analysis''.]
''Functional Analysis'' has chapters on several advanced topics in analysis: L''p'' spaces, distributions Distribution may refer to:
Mathematics
*Distribution (mathematics), generalized functions used to formulate solutions of partial differential equations
*Probability distribution, the probability of a particular value or value range of a varia ...
, the Baire category theorem
The Baire category theorem (BCT) is an important result in general topology and functional analysis. The theorem has two forms, each of which gives sufficient conditions for a topological space to be a Baire space (a topological space such that the ...
, probability theory
Probability theory is the branch of mathematics concerned with probability. Although there are several different probability interpretations, probability theory treats the concept in a rigorous mathematical manner by expressing it through a set o ...
including Brownian motion
Brownian motion, or pedesis (from grc, πήδησις "leaping"), is the random motion of particles suspended in a medium (a liquid or a gas).
This pattern of motion typically consists of random fluctuations in a particle's position insi ...
, several complex variables
The theory of functions of several complex variables is the branch of mathematics dealing with complex number, complex-valued functions. The name of the field dealing with the properties of function of several complex variables is called several ...
, and oscillatory integral
In mathematical analysis an oscillatory integral is a type of distribution. Oscillatory integrals make rigorous many arguments that, on a naive level, appear to use divergent integrals. It is possible to represent approximate solution operators for ...
s.[Stein & Shakarchi, ''Functional Analysis''.]
Reception
The books "received rave reviews indicating they are all outstanding works written with remarkable clarity and care."[ Reviews praised the exposition,][ identified the books as accessible and informative for advanced undergraduates or graduate math students,] and predicted they would grow in influence as they became standard references for graduate courses. William Ziemer wrote that the third book omitted material he expected to see in an introductory graduate text but nonetheless recommended it as a reference.
Peter Duren compared Stein and Shakarchi's attempt at a unified treatment favorably with Walter Rudin
Walter may refer to:
People
* Walter (name), both a surname and a given name
* Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968)
* Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 1 ...
's textbook ''Real and Complex Analysis'', which Duren calls too terse. On the other hand, Duren noted that this sometimes comes at the expense of topics that reside naturally within only one branch. He mentioned in particular geometric aspects of complex analysis covered in Lars Ahlfors
Lars Valerian Ahlfors (18 April 1907 – 11 October 1996) was a Finnish mathematician, remembered for his work in the field of Riemann surfaces and his text on complex analysis.
Background
Ahlfors was born in Helsinki, Finland. His mother, Si ...
's textbook but noted that Stein and Shakarchi also treat some topics Ahlfors skips.[
]
List of books
*
*
*
*
References
{{reflist
External links
Book I
at Princeton University Press
at Princeton University Press
at Princeton University Press
at Princeton University Press
Series of mathematics books
Princeton University Press books
2003 non-fiction books
2005 non-fiction books
2011 non-fiction books
Mathematics textbooks
Books of lectures