PHYSICAL MATHEMATICS SEMINAR

                   Massachusetts Institute of Technology
                         Department of Mathematics
                           Cambridge, MA  02139


TOPIC:          MOBIUS SERIES INVERSION REDISCOVERED

SPEAKER:        DR. MARTIN Z. BAZANT
                Department of Physics
                Harvard University

ABSTRACT:

After more than a century confined to pure mathematics, the Mobius
Inversion Formula of number theory and combinatorics is now finding
applications in science.  In this talk the rich nineteenth century
literature on Mobius inversion is reviewed, including seminal
contributions by A. F. Mobius (1832), P. L. Chebychev (1851), E. Cesaro
(1885) and others. Some surprising historical facts are revealed. The
juxtaposition of venerable knowledge in mathematics with recent insights
from physics leads naturally to (i) a generalized ``Mobius Series
Inversion Formula'' containing all the previous cases and (ii) methods to
overcome various limitations of the old theory for physical applications. 

No knowledge of number theory is assumed. The key ideas will be introduced
via the original papers of Mobius, Chebychev and Cesaro. Applications will
be taken from statistical and solid state physics. 


DATE:           TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 1998

TIME:           2:30 P.M.

LOCATION:       Building 2, Room 338

Refreshments will be served at 3:30 p.m. in Building 2, Room 349.