During the past two decades there has been active interplay between geometric measure theory and Fourier analysis. This book describes part of that development, concentrating on the relationship between the Fourier transform and Hausdorff dimension. The main topics concern applications of the Fourier transform to geometric problems involving Hausdorff dimension, such as Marstrand type projection theorems and Falconer's distance set problem, and the role of Hausdorff dimension in modern Fourier analysis, especially in Kakeya methods and Fourier restriction phenomena. The discussion includes both classical results and recent developments in the area. The author emphasises partial results of important open problems, for example, Falconer's distance set conjecture, the Kakeya conjecture and the Fourier restriction conjecture. Essentially self-contained, this book is suitable for graduate students and researchers in mathematics.
Now in paperback, the main theme of this book is the study of geometric properties of general sets and measures in euclidean spaces. Applications of this theory include fractal-type objects such as strange attractors for dynamical systems and those fractals used as models in the sciences. The author provides a firm and unified foundation and develops all the necessary main tools, such as covering theorems, Hausdorff measures and their relations to Riesz capacities and Fourier transforms. The last third of the book is devoted to the Beisovich-Federer theory of rectifiable sets, which form in a sense the largest class of subsets of euclidean space posessing many of the properties of smooth surfaces. These sets have wide application including the higher-dimensional calculus of variations. Their relations to complex analysis and singular integrals are also studied. Essentially self-contained, this book is suitable for graduate students and researchers in mathematics.