This book is based on lecture notes from a second-year graduate course, and is a greatly expanded version of our previous monograph [K8]. We expose some aspects of the theory of semigroups of linear operators, mostly (but not only) from the point of view of its meeting with that part of spectral theory which is concerned with the integral representation of families of operators. This approach and selection of topics di?erentiate this book from others in the general area, and re?ect the author's own research directions. There is no attempt therefore to cover thoroughly the theory of semigroups of operators. This theory and its applications are extensively exposed in many books, from theclassicHille-Phillipsmonograph[HP]tothemostrecenttextbookofEngel and Nagel [EN2] (see [A], [BB], [Cl], [D3], [EN1], [EN2], [Fat], [G], [HP], [P], [Vr], and others), as well as in chapters in more general texts on Functional Analysis and the theory of linear operators (cf. [D5], [DS I-III], [Kat1], [RS], [Y], and many others).
