Positive Polynomials

Positivity is one of the most basic mathematical concepts. In many areas of mathematics (like analysis, real algebraic geometry, functional analysis, etc.) it shows up as positivity of a polynomial on a certain subset of R^n which itself is often given by polynomial inequalities. The main objective of the book is to give useful characterizations of such polynomials. It takes as starting point Hilbert's 17th Problem from 1900 and explains how E. Artin's solution of that problem eventually led to