In recent years important progress has been made in the study of
semi-groups of operators from the viewpoint of approximation theory.
These advances have primarily been achieved by introducing the theory of
intermediate spaces. The applications of the theory not only permit
integration of a series of diverse questions from many domains of
mathematical analysis but also lead to significant new results on
classical approximation theory, on the initial and boundary behavior of
solutions of partial differential equations, and on the theory of
singular integrals. The aim of this book is to present a systematic
treatment of semi- groups of bounded linear operators on Banach spaces
and their connec- tions with approximation theoretical questions in a
more classical setting as well as within the setting of the theory of
intermediate spaces. However, no attempt is made to present an
exhaustive account of the theory of semi-groups of operators per se,
which is the central theme of the monumental treatise by HILLE and
PHILLIPS (1957). Neither has it been attempted to give an account of the
theory of approximation as such. A number of excellent books on various
aspects of the latter theory has appeared in recent years, so for
example CHENEY (1966), DAVIS (1963), LORENTZ (1966), MEINARDUS (1964),
RICE (1964), SARD (1963). By contrast, the present book is primarily
concerned with those aspects of semi-group theory that are connected in
some way or other with approximation.