Publisher's Synopsis
The overall theme of the 2009 IAS/PCMI Graduate Summer School was connections between special values of $L$-functions and arithmetic, especially the Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer Conjecture and Stark's Conjecture. These conjectures are introduced and discussed in depth, and progress made over the last 30 years is described. This volume contains the written versions of the graduate courses delivered at the summer school. It would be a suitable text for advanced graduate topics courses on the Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer Conjecture and/or Stark's Conjecture. The book will also serve as a reference volume for experts in the field.
