This book contains basic information on characteristic functions and moment sequences that is frequently used in probability theory. Characteristic functions and moment sequences are viewed as special cases of positive definite functions. Positive definite functions occur in diverse parts of mathematics, e.g. in operator theory, moment problems, complex function theory, embedding problems, integral equations, and other areas. However, the area of mathematics in which the largest number of people use positive definite functions (some without knowing it) seems to be that of probability theory.

Author Biography

Torben Maack Jlisgaard and Zottan Sasvari