This book covers topics in portfolio management and multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA), presenting a transparent and unified methodology for the portfolio construction process. The most important feature of the book includes the proposed methodological framework that integrates two individual subsystems, the portfolio selection subsystem and the portfolio optimization subsystem. An additional highlight of the book includes the detailed, step-by-step implementation of the proposed multicriteria algorithms in Python. The implementation is presented in detail; each step is elaborately described, from the input of the data to the extraction of the results. Algorithms are organized into small cells of code, accompanied by targeted remarks and comments, in order to help the reader to fully understand their mechanics. Readers are provided with a link to access the source code through GitHub. This Work may also be considered as a reference which presents the state-of-art research on portfolio construction with multiple and complex investment objectives and constraints. The book consists of eight chapters. A brief introduction is provided in Chapter 1. The fundamental issues of modern portfolio theory are discussed in Chapter 2. In Chapter 3, the various multicriteria decision aid methods, either discrete or continuous, are concisely described. In Chapter 4, a comprehensive review of the published literature in the field of multicriteria portfolio management is considered. In Chapter 5, an integrated and original multicriteria portfolio construction methodology is developed. Chapter 6 presents the web-based information system, in which the suggested methodological framework has been implemented. In Chapter 7, the experimental application of the proposed methodology is discussed and in Chapter 8, the authors provide overall conclusions. The readership of the book aims to be a diverse group, including fund managers, risk managers, investment advisors, bankers, private investors, analytics scientists, operations researchers scientists, and computer engineers, to name just several. Portions of the book may be used as instructional for either advanced undergraduate or post-graduate courses in investment analysis, portfolio engineering, decision science, computer science, or financial engineering.

The present book includes a set of selected papers from the tenth "International Conference on Informatics in Control Automation and Robotics" (ICINCO 2013), held in Reykjavik, Iceland, from 29 to 31 July 2013. The conference was organized in four simultaneous tracks: "Intelligent Control Systems and Optimization", "Robotics and Automation", "Signal Processing, Sensors, Systems Modeling and Control" and "Industrial Engineering, Production and Management". The book is based on the same structure. ICINCO 2013 received 255 paper submissions from 50 countries, in all continents. After a double blind paper review performed by the Program Committee only 30% were published and presented orally. A further refinement was made after the conference, based also on the assessment of presentation quality, so that this book includes the extended and revised versions of the very best papers of ICINCO 2013.

This book is focused on the nonlinear theoretical and mathematical problems associated with ultrafast intense laser pulse propagation in gases and in particular, in air. With the aim of understanding the physics of filamentation in gases, solids, the atmosphere, and even biological tissue, specialists in nonlinear optics and filamentation from both physics and mathematics attempt to rigorously derive and analyze relevant non-perturbative models. Modern laser technology allows the generation of ultrafast (few cycle) laser pulses, with intensities exceeding the internal electric field in atoms and molecules (E=5x109 V/cm or intensity I = 3.5 x 1016 Watts/cm2 ). The interaction of such pulses with atoms and molecules leads to new, highly nonlinear nonperturbative regimes, where new physical phenomena, such as High Harmonic Generation (HHG), occur, and from which the shortest (attosecond - the natural time scale of the electron) pulses have been created. One of the major experimental discoveries in this nonlinear nonperturbative regime, Laser Pulse Filamentation, was observed by Mourou and Braun in 1995, as the propagation of pulses over large distances with narrow and intense cones. This observation has led to intensive investigation in physics and applied mathematics of new effects such as self-transformation of these pulses into white light, intensity clamping, and multiple filamentation, as well as to potential applications to wave guide writing, atmospheric remote sensing, lightning guiding, and military long-range weapons. The increasing power of high performance computers and the mathematical modelling and simulation of photonic systems has enabled many new areas of research. With contributions by theorists and mathematicians, supplemented by active experimentalists who are experts in the field of nonlinear laser molecule interaction and propagation, Laser Filamentation sheds new light on scientific and industrial applications of modern lasers.

This is the first monograph dedicated entirely to problems of stability and chaotic behaviour in planetary systems and its subsystems. The author explores the three rapidly developing interplaying fields of resonant and chaotic dynamics of Hamiltonian systems, the dynamics of Solar system bodies, and the dynamics of exoplanetary systems. The necessary concepts, methods and tools used to study dynamical chaos (such as symplectic maps, Lyapunov exponents and timescales, chaotic diffusion rates, stability diagrams and charts) are described and then used to show in detail how the observed dynamical architectures arise in the Solar system (and its subsystems) and in exoplanetary systems. The book concentrates, in particular, on chaotic diffusion and clearing effects. The potential readership of this book includes scientists and students working in astrophysics, planetary science, celestial mechanics, and nonlinear dynamics.

This monograph presents the latest findings from a long-term research project intended to identify the physics behind Quantum Mechanics. A fundamental theory for quantum mechanics is constructed from first physical principles, revealing quantization as an emergent phenomenon arising from a deeper stochastic process. As such, it offers the vibrant community working on the foundations of quantum mechanics an alternative contribution open to discussion. The book starts with a critical summary of the main conceptual problems that still beset quantum mechanics. The basic consideration is then introduced that any material system is an open system in permanent contact with the random zero-point radiation field, with which it may reach a state of equilibrium. Working from this basis, a comprehensive and self-consistent theoretical framework is then developed. The pillars of the quantum-mechanical formalism are derived, as well as the radiative corrections of nonrelativistic QED, while revealing the underlying physical mechanisms. The genesis of some of the central features of quantum theory is elucidated, such as atomic stability, the spin of the electron, quantum fluctuations, quantum nonlocality and entanglement. The theory developed here reaffirms fundamental scientific principles such as realism, causality, locality and objectivity.

This volume is an excellent resource for professionals in various areas of applications of mathematics, modeling, and computational science. It focuses on recent progress and modern challenges in these areas. The volume provides a balance between fundamental theoretical and applied developments, emphasizing the interdisciplinary nature of modern trends and detailing state-of-the-art achievements in Applied Mathematics, Modeling, and Computational Science. The chapters have been authored by international experts in their respective fields, making this book ideal for researchers in academia, practitioners, and graduate students. It can also serve as a reference in the diverse selected areas of applied mathematics, modelling, and computational sciences, and is ideal for interdisciplinary collaborations.

This thesis demonstrates the first use of high-speed ultrasound imaging to non-invasively probe how the interior of a dense suspension responds to impact. Suspensions of small solid particles in a simple liquid can generate a rich set of dynamic phenomena that are of fundamental scientific interest because they do not conform to the typical behavior expected of either solids or liquids. Most remarkable is the highly counter-intuitive ability of concentrated suspensions to strongly thicken and even solidify when sheared or impacted. The understanding of the mechanism driving this solidification is, however, still limited, especially for the important transient stage while the response develops as a function of time. In this thesis, high-speed ultrasound imaging is introduced to track, for the first time, the transition from the flowing to the solidified state and directly observe the shock-like shear fronts that accompany this transition. A model is developed that agrees quantitatively with the experimental measurements. The combination of imaging techniques, experimental design, and modeling in this thesis represents a major breakthrough for the understanding of the dynamic response of dense suspensions, with important implications for a wide range of applications ranging from the handling of slurries to additive manufacturing.

Exploring the Riemann Zeta Function: 190 years from Riemann's Birth presents a collection of chapters contributed by eminent experts devoted to the Riemann Zeta Function, its generalizations, and their various applications to several scientific disciplines, including Analytic Number Theory, Harmonic Analysis, Complex Analysis, Probability Theory, and related subjects. The book focuses on both old and new results towards the solution of long-standing problems as well as it features some key historical remarks. The purpose of this volume is to present in a unified way broad and deep areas of research in a self-contained manner. It will be particularly useful for graduate courses and seminars as well as it will make an excellent reference tool for graduate students and researchers in Mathematics, Mathematical Physics, Engineering and Cryptography.

The book presents the challenges inherent in the paradigm shift of network systems from static to highly dynamic distributed systems - it proposes solutions that the symbiotic nature of biological systems can provide into altering networking systems to adapt to these changes. The author discuss how biological systems - which have the inherent capabilities of evolving, self-organizing, self-repairing and flourishing with time - are inspiring researchers to take opportunities from the biology domain and map them with the problems faced in network domain. The book revolves around the central idea of bio-inspired systems -- it begins by exploring why biology and computer network research are such a natural match. This is followed by presenting a broad overview of biologically inspired research in network systems -- it is classified by the biological field that inspired each topic and by the area of networking in which that topic lies. Each case elucidates how biological concepts have been most successfully applied in various domains. Nevertheless, it also presents a case study discussing the security aspects of wireless sensor networks and how biological solution stand out in comparison to optimized solutions. Furthermore, it also discusses novel biological solutions for solving problems in diverse engineering domains such as mechanical, electrical, civil, aerospace, energy and agriculture. The readers will not only get proper understanding of the bio inspired systems but also better insight for developing novel bio inspired solutions.

This book starts with a discussion of nonlinear ordinary differential equations, bifurcation theory and Hamiltonian dynamics. It then embarks on a systematic discussion of the traditional topics of modern nonlinear dynamics -- integrable systems, Poincare maps, chaos, fractals and strange attractors. The Baker s transformation, the logistic map and Lorenz system are discussed in detail in view of their central place in the subject. There is a detailed discussion of solitons centered around the Korteweg-deVries equation in view of its central place in integrable systems. Then, there is a discussion of the Painleve property of nonlinear differential equations which seems to provide a test of integrability. Finally, there is a detailed discussion of the application of fractals and multi-fractals to fully-developed turbulence -- a problem whose understanding has been considerably enriched by the application of the concepts and methods of modern nonlinear dynamics. On the application side, there is a special emphasis on some aspects of fluid dynamics and plasma physics reflecting the author s involvement in these areas of physics. A few exercises have been provided that range from simple applications to occasional considerable extension of the theory. Finally, the list of references given at the end of the book contains primarily books and papers used in developing the lecture material this volume is based on.

This book has grown out of the author s lecture notes for an interdisciplinary graduate-level course on nonlinear dynamics. The basic concepts, language and results of nonlinear dynamical systems are described in a clear and coherent way. In order to allow for an interdisciplinary readership, an informal style has been adopted and the mathematical formalism has been kept to a minimum.

This book is addressed to first-year graduate students in applied mathematics, physics, and engineering, and is useful also to any theoretically inclined researcher in the physical sciences and engineering.

This second edition constitutes an extensive rewrite of the text involving refinement and enhancement of the clarity and precision, updating and amplification of several sections, addition of new material like theory of nonlinear differential equations, solitons, Lagrangian chaos in fluids, and critical phenomena perspectives on the fluid turbulence problem and many new exercises."

The theory of probability and mathematical statistics is becoming an indispensable discipline in many branches of science and engineering. This is caused by increasing significance of various uncertainties affecting performance of complex technological systems. Fundamental concepts and procedures used in analysis of these systems are often based on the theory of probability and mathematical statistics. The book sets out fundamental principles of the probability theory, supplemented by theoretical models of random variables, evaluation of experimental data, sampling theory, distribution updating and tests of statistical hypotheses. Basic concepts of Bayesian approach to probability and two-dimensional random variables, are also covered. Examples of reliability analysis and risk assessment of technological systems are used throughout the book to illustrate basic theoretical concepts and their applications. The primary audience for the book includes undergraduate and graduate students of science and engineering, scientific workers and engineers and specialists in the field of reliability analysis and risk assessment. Except basic knowledge of undergraduate mathematics no special prerequisite is required.

This book employs computer simulations of 'artificial' Universes to investigate the properties of two popular alternatives to the standard candidates for dark matter (DM) and dark energy (DE). It confronts the predictions of theoretical models with observations using a sophisticated semi-analytic model of galaxy formation. Understanding the nature of dark matter (DM) and dark energy (DE) are two of the most central problems in modern cosmology. While their important role in the evolution of the Universe has been well established-namely, that DM serves as the building blocks of galaxies, and that DE accelerates the expansion of the Universe-their true nature remains elusive. In the first half, the authors consider 'sterile neutrino' DM, motivated by recent claims that these particles may have finally been detected. Using sophisticated models of galaxy formation, the authors find that future observations of the high redshift Universe and faint dwarf galaxies in the Local Group can place strong constraints on the sterile neutrino scenario. In the second half, the authors propose and test novel numerical algorithms for simulating Universes with a 'modified' theory of gravity, as an alternative explanation to accelerated expansion. The authors' techniques improve the efficiency of these simulations by more than a factor of 20 compared to previous methods, inviting the readers into a new era for precision cosmological tests of gravity.

The book is about user interfaces to applications that have been designed for social and physical interaction. The interfaces are 'playful', that is, users feel challenged to engage in social and physical interaction because that will be fun. The topics that will be present in this book are interactive playgrounds, urban games using mobiles, sensor-equipped environments for playing, child-computer interaction, tangible game interfaces, interactive tabletop technology and applications, full-body interaction, exertion games, persuasion, engagement, evaluation and user experience. Readers of the book will not only get a survey of state-of-the-art research in these areas, but the chapters in this book will also provide a vision of the future where playful interfaces will be ubiquitous, that is, present and integrated in home, office, recreational, sports and urban environments, emphasizing that in the future in these environments game elements will be integrated and welcomed.

Due to their high stiffness and strength and their good processing properties short fibre reinforced thermoplastics are well-established construction materials. Up to now, simulation of engineering parts consisting of short fibre reinforced thermoplastics has often been based on macroscopic phenomenological models, but deformations, damage and failure of composite materials strongly depend on their microstructure. The typical modes of failure of short fibre thermoplastics enriched with glass fibres are matrix failure, rupture of fibres and delamination, and pure macroscopic consideration is not sufficient to predict those effects. The typical predictive phenomenological models are complex and only available for very special failures. A quantitative prediction on how failure will change depending on the content and orientation of the fibres is generally not possible, and the direct involvement of the above effects in a numerical simulation requires multi-scale modelling. One the one hand, this makes it possible to take into account the properties of the matrix material and the fibre material, the microstructure of the composite in terms of fibre content, fibre orientation and shape as well as the properties of the interface between fibres and matrix. On the other hand, the multi-scale approach links these local properties to the global behaviour and forms the basis for the dimensioning and design of engineering components. Furthermore, multi-scale numerical simulations are required to allow efficient solution of the models when investigating three-dimensional problems of dimensioning engineering parts. Bringing together mathematical modelling, materials mechanics, numerical methods and experimental engineering, this book provides a unique overview of multi-scale modelling approaches, multi-scale simulations and experimental investigations of short fibre reinforced thermoplastics. The first chapters focus on two principal subjects: the mathematical and mechanical models governing composite properties and damage description. The subsequent chapters present numerical algorithms based on the Finite Element Method and the Boundary Element Method, both of which make explicit use of the composite's microstructure. Further, the results of the numerical simulations are shown and compared to experimental results. Lastly, the book investigates deformation and failure of composite materials experimentally, explaining the applied methods and presenting the results for different volume fractions of fibres. This book is a valuable resource for applied mathematics, theoretical and experimental mechanical engineers as well as engineers in industry dealing with modelling and simulation of short fibre reinforced composites.

Neural field theory has a long-standing tradition in the mathematical and computational neurosciences. Beginning almost 50 years ago with seminal work by Griffiths and culminating in the 1970ties with the models of Wilson and Cowan, Nunez and Amari, this important research area experienced a renaissance during the 1990ties by the groups of Ermentrout, Robinson, Bressloff, Wright and Haken. Since then, much progress has been made in both, the development of mathematical and numerical techniques and in physiological refinement und understanding. In contrast to large-scale neural network models described by huge connectivity matrices that are computationally expensive in numerical simulations, neural field models described by connectivity kernels allow for analytical treatment by means of methods from functional analysis. Thus, a number of rigorous results on the existence of bump and wave solutions or on inverse kernel construction problems are nowadays available. Moreover, neural fields provide an important interface for the coupling of neural activity to experimentally observable data, such as the electroencephalogram (EEG) or functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). And finally, neural fields over rather abstract feature spaces, also called dynamic fields, found successful applications in the cognitive sciences and in robotics. Up to now, research results in neural field theory have been disseminated across a number of distinct journals from mathematics, computational neuroscience, biophysics, cognitive science and others. There is no comprehensive collection of results or reviews available yet. With our proposed book Neural Field Theory, we aim at filling this gap in the market. We received consent from some of the leading scientists in the field, who are willing to write contributions for the book, among them are two of the founding-fathers of neural field theory: Shun-ichi Amari and Jack Cowan.

"Understanding Complex Urban Systems" takes as its point of departure the insight that the challenges of global urbanization and the complexity of urban systems cannot be understood let alone managed by sectoral and disciplinary approaches alone. But while there has recently been significant progress in broadening and refining the methodologies for the quantitative modeling of complex urban systems, in deepening the theoretical understanding of cities as complex systems, or in illuminating the implications for urban planning, there is still a lack of well-founded conceptual thinking on the methodological foundations and the strategies of modeling urban complexity across the disciplines.

Bringing together experts from the fields of urban and spatial planning, ecology, urban geography, real estate analysis, organizational cybernetics, stochastic optimization, and literary studies, as well as specialists in various systems approaches and in transdisciplinary methodologies of urban analysis, the volume seeks to advance the discussion on multidisciplinary approaches to urban modeling. While engaging with the state of the art in their respective fields, the contributions are specifically written for both experts from a broad range of disciplines as well as for urban practitioners who feel the need for new approaches given the uncertainty of current developments.

Using phase-plane analysis, findings from the theory of topological horseshoes and linked-twist maps, this book presents a novel method to prove the existence of chaotic dynamics. In dynamical systems, complex behavior in a map can be indicated by showing the existence of a Smale-horseshoe-like structure, either for the map itself or its iterates. This usually requires some assumptions about the map, such as a diffeomorphism and some hyperbolicity conditions. In this text, less stringent definitions of a horseshoe have been suggested so as to reproduce some geometrical features typical of the Smale horseshoe, while leaving out the hyperbolicity conditions associated with it. This leads to the study of the so-called topological horseshoes. The presence of chaos-like dynamics in a vertically driven planar pendulum, a pendulum of variable length, and in other more general related equations is also proved.

By establishing an alternative foundation of control theory, this thesis represents a significant advance in the theory of control systems, of interest to a broad range of scientists and engineers. While common control strategies for dynamical systems center on the system state as the object to be controlled, the approach developed here focuses on the state trajectory. The concept of precisely realizable trajectories identifies those trajectories that can be accurately achieved by applying appropriate control signals. The resulting simple expressions for the control signal lend themselves to immediate application in science and technology. The approach permits the generalization of many well-known results from the control theory of linear systems, e.g. the Kalman rank condition to nonlinear systems. The relationship between controllability, optimal control and trajectory tracking are clarified. Furthermore, the existence of linear structures underlying nonlinear optimal control is revealed, enabling the derivation of exact analytical solutions to an entire class of nonlinear optimal trajectory tracking problems. The clear and self-contained presentation focuses on a general and mathematically rigorous analysis of controlled dynamical systems. The concepts developed are visualized with the help of particular dynamical systems motivated by physics and chemistry.

The volume contains latest research on software reliability assessment, testing, quality management, inventory management, mathematical modeling, analysis using soft computing techniques and management analytics. It links researcher and practitioner perspectives from different branches of engineering and management, and from around the world for a bird's eye view on the topics. The interdisciplinarity of engineering and management research is widely recognized and considered to be the most appropriate and significant in the fast changing dynamics of today's times. With insights from the volume, companies looking to drive decision making are provided actionable insight on each level and for every role using key indicators, to generate mobile-enabled scorecards, time-series based analysis using charts, and dashboards. At the same time, the book provides scholars with a platform to derive maximum utility in the area by subscribing to the idea of managing business through performance and business analytics.

This book - specifically developed as a novel textbook on elementary classical mechanics - shows how analytical and numerical methods can be seamlessly integrated to solve physics problems. This approach allows students to solve more advanced and applied problems at an earlier stage and equips them to deal with real-world examples well beyond the typical special cases treated in standard textbooks. Another advantage of this approach is that students are brought closer to the way physics is actually discovered and applied, as they are introduced right from the start to a more exploratory way of understanding phenomena and of developing their physical concepts. While not a requirement, it is advantageous for the reader to have some prior knowledge of scientific programming with a scripting-type language. This edition of the book uses Matlab, and a chapter devoted to the basics of scientific programming with Matlab is included. A parallel edition using Python instead of Matlab is also available. Last but not least, each chapter is accompanied by an extensive set of course-tested exercises and solutions.

This book presents original studies describing the latest research and developments in the area of reliability and systems engineering. It helps the reader identifying gaps in the current knowledge and presents fruitful areas for further research in the field. Among others, this book covers reliability measures, reliability assessment of multi-state systems, optimization of multi-state systems, continuous multi-state systems, new computational techniques applied to multi-state systems and probabilistic and non-probabilistic safety assessment.

Extra dimensions ? beyond space and time ? are the best methods for unifying gravity with particle physics. The basic extension is to five dimensions (5D), as in the induced-matter and membrane theory. This descriptive text gives an up-to-date account of the classical and quantum consequences of 5D physics. It includes topics that range from Einstein's original theory of relativity to modern views on matter. The book is mathematically precise and focuses on new ideas which appeal to readers. Examples of new ideas are: The big-bang universe, which is curved by matter in 4D, may be viewed as a smooth and empty world in 5D; the uncertainty of quantum interactions in spacetime may be regarded as the consequence of deterministic laws in higher dimensions. This book will interest people who think about the ?meaning of things?.

This book constitutes the proceedings of the 2000 Howard conference on "Infinite Dimensional Lie Groups in Geometry and Representation Theory." It presents some important recent developments in this area. It opens with a topological characterization of regular groups, treats among other topics the integrability problem of various infinite dimensional Lie algebras, presents substantial contributions to important subjects in modern geometry, and concludes with interesting applications to representation theory. The book should be a new source of inspiration for advanced graduate students and established researchers in the field of geometry and its applications to mathematical physics.

This book examines the digital transformation of identity in the age of artificial intelligence. It articulates the nature of identity of human beings, based on cutting-edge knowledge in the field of AI and big-data sciences, and discusses identity by drawing on comprehensive investigations in digital social sciences and exploring wider disciplines related to philosophy, ethics, sociology, STS, computer sciences, engineering, and medical sciences. Reviewing contemporary conditions proliferated by advanced technological trends and unveiling social mechanisms of human identity, this book appeals to undergraduate and graduate students as well as academic researchers.

This Festschrift resulted from a workshop on "Advanced Modelling in Mathematical Finance" held in honour of Ernst Eberlein's 70th birthday, from 20 to 22 May 2015 in Kiel, Germany. It includes contributions by several invited speakers at the workshop, including several of Ernst Eberlein's long-standing collaborators and former students. Advanced mathematical techniques play an ever-increasing role in modern quantitative finance. Written by leading experts from academia and financial practice, this book offers state-of-the-art papers on the application of jump processes in mathematical finance, on term-structure modelling, and on statistical aspects of financial modelling. It is aimed at graduate students and researchers interested in mathematical finance, as well as practitioners wishing to learn about the latest developments.