Courses
This book can be used as a basis for two types of one-semester courses. The first is an introduction to the theory of large deviations, through jump Markov processes. This course should cover most of Chapters 1, 2, 5, 6, possibly the advanced material in Chapter 8, and Appendix A. Such a course would prepare the student to read the more mathematical theory, and to fully appreciate the applications worked out in the rest of the book. It would be wise (in our opinion) to sprinkle such a theory-oriented course with some of the applications.
The second course is application-oriented. Such a course should probably start with Chapter 1 (at least Sections 1 through 3), so that some flavor of the theory is provided. Many results can then be stated without proof, with or without intuitive explanations. Some basic tools from the calculus of variations, at least as summarized in Appendix C, should be covered. Then applications can be presented.
Here is how
one group used the book.
If you use it as a text, please
let
me know.
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