Rankin–Selberg method

In mathematics, the Rankin–Selberg method, introduced by (Rankin 1939) and Selberg (1940), also known as the theory of integral representations of L-functions, is a technique for directly constructing and analytically continuing several important examples of automorphic L-functions. Some authors reserve the term for a special type of integral representation, namely those that involve an Eisenstein series. It has been one of the most powerful techniques for studying the Langlands program.