Idempotency(PublicationsoftheNewtonInstitute)

Certainnonlinearoptimizationproblemsarisinginsuchdisparateareasasthetheoryofcomputation,pureandappliedprobabilityandmathematicalphysics,canbesolvedbylinearmethods,providedonereplacestheusualnumbersystemwithoneinwhichadditionsatisfiestheidempotentlaw.Thissystematicstudyofthesubjecthasemerged,triggeredinpartbyaworkshoporganizedbyHewlett-Packard'sBasicResearchInstituteintheMathematicalSciences(BRIMS),whichbroughttogethermanyleadingresearchersinthearea.Thisvolumeisarecordofthatworkshop,butitalsoincludesotherinvitedcontributions,abroadIntroductiontoIdempotency,writtenspeciallyforthebook,andabibliographyofthesubject.Insum,thearticlescoverbothpracticalandmoretheoreticalconsiderations,makingitessentialreadingforallworkersinthearea.