This volume contains the original lecture notes presented by A. Weil in which the concept of adeles was first introduced, in conjunction with various aspects of C.L. Siegel’s work on quadratic forms. Serving as an introduction to the subject, these notes may also provide stimulation for further research.

This milestone work on the arithmetic theory of linear algebraic groups is now available in English for the first time. Algebraic Groups and Number Theory provides the first systematic exposition in mathematical literature of the junction of group theory, algebraic geometry, and number theory. The exposition of the topic is built on a synthesis of methods from algebraic geometry, number theory, analysis, and topology, and the result is a systematic overview ofalmost all of the major results of the arithmetic theory of algebraic groups obtained to date.

This volume investigates the interplay between the classical theory of automorphic forms and the modern theory of representations of adele groups. Interpreting important recent contributions of Jacquet and Langlands, the author presents new and previously inaccessible results, and systematically develops explicit consequences and connections with the classical theory. The underlying theme is the decomposition of the regular representation of the adele group of GL(2). A detailed proof of the celebrated trace formula of Selberg is included, with a discussion of the possible range of applicability of this formula. Throughout the work the author emphasizes new examples and problems that remain open within the general theory. TABLE OF CONTENTS: 1. The Classical Theory 2. Automorphic Forms and the Decomposition of L2(PSL(2,R) 3. Automorphic Forms as Functions on the Adele Group of GL(2) 4. The Representations of GL(2) over Local and Global Fields 5. Cusp Forms and Representations of the Adele Group of GL(2) 6. Hecke Theory for GL(2) 7. The Construction of a Special Class of Automorphic Forms 8. Eisenstein Series and the Continuous Spectrum 9. The Trace Formula for GL(2) 10. Automorphic Forms on a Quaternion Algebr?

The first volume of a two-volume book offering a comprehensive account of the arithmetic theory of algebraic groups.