Topics in Operator Theory Systems and Networks

This volume contains the proceedings of the Workshop on app1ications of linear operator theory to systems and networks, which was held at the Weizmann Institute of Science in the third week of June, 19S3,just be fore the MTNS Conference in Beersheva. For a 10ng time these subjects were studied indepen- dent1y by mathematica1 ana1ysts and e1ectrica1 engineers. Never- the1ess, in spite of the lack of communication, these two groups often deve10ped parallel theories, though in different languages, at different levels of genera1ity and typica11y quite different motivations. In the last severa1 years each side has become aware of the work of the other and there is a seeming1y ever- increasing invo1vement of the abstract theories of factorization, extension and interpolation of operators (and operator/matrix va1ued functions) to the design and analysis of systems and net- works. Moreover, the problems encountered in e1ectrica1 engineering have genera ted new mathematica1 problems, new approaches, and usefu1 new formu1ations.The papers contained in this volume constitute a more than representative se1ection of the presented talks and dis- cussion at the workshop, and hopefu11y will also serve to give a reasonably accurate picture of the problems which are under active study today and the techniques which are used to deal with them.