Many of our daily-life problems can be written in the form of an optimization problem. Therefore, solution methods are needed to solve such problems. Due to the complexity of the problems, it is not always easy to find the exact solution. However, approximate solutions can be found. The theory of the best approximation is applicable in a variety of problems arising in nonlinear functional analysis and optimization. This book highlights interesting aspects of nonlinear analysis and optimization together with many applications in the areas of physical and social sciences including engineering. It is immensely helpful for young graduates and researchers who are pursuing research in this field, as it provides abundant research resources for researchers and post-doctoral fellows. This will be a valuable addition to the library of anyone who works in the field of applied mathematics, economics and engineering.

This book simultaneously presents the theory and the numerical treatment of elliptic boundary value problems, since an understanding of the theory is necessary for the numerical analysis of the discretisation. It first discusses the Laplace equation and its finite difference discretisation before addressing the general linear differential equation of second order. The variational formulation together with the necessary background from functional analysis provides the basis for the Galerkin and finite-element methods, which are explored in detail. A more advanced chapter leads the reader to the theory of regularity. Individual chapters are devoted to singularly perturbed as well as to elliptic eigenvalue problems. The book also presents the Stokes problem and its discretisation as an example of a saddle-point problem taking into account its relevance to applications in fluid dynamics.

A presentation of general results for discussing local optimality and computation of the expansion of value function and approximate solution of optimization problems, followed by their application to various fields, from physics to economics. The book is thus an opportunity for popularizing these techniques among researchers involved in other sciences, including users of optimization in a wide sense, in mechanics, physics, statistics, finance and economics. Of use to research professionals, including graduate students at an advanced level.

Are you looking for new lectures for your course on algorithms, combinatorial optimization, or algorithmic game theory? Maybe you need a convenient source of relevant, current topics for a graduate student or advanced undergraduate student seminar? Or perhaps you just want an enjoyable look at some beautiful mathematical and algorithmic results, ideas, proofs, concepts, and techniques in discrete mathematics and theoretical computer science? Gems of Combinatorial Optimization and Graph Algorithms is a handpicked collection of up-to-date articles, carefully prepared by a select group of international experts, who have contributed some of their most mathematically or algorithmically elegant ideas. Topics include longest tours and Steiner trees in geometric spaces, cartograms, resource buying games, congestion games, selfish routing, revenue equivalence and shortest paths, scheduling, linear structures in graphs, contraction hierarchies, budgeted matching problems, and motifs in networks. This volume is aimed at readers with some familiarity of combinatorial optimization, and appeals to researchers, graduate students, and advanced undergraduate students alike.

This book provides a comprehensive presentation of classical and advanced topics in estimation and control of dynamical systems with an emphasis on stochastic control. Many aspects which are not easily found in a single text are provided, such as connections between control theory and mathematical finance, as well as differential games. The book is self-contained and prioritizes concepts rather than full rigor, targeting scientists who want to use control theory in their research in applied mathematics, engineering, economics, and management science. Examples and exercises are included throughout, which will be useful for PhD courses and graduate courses in general.Dr. Alain Bensoussan is Lars Magnus Ericsson Chair at UT Dallas and Director of the International Center for Decision and Risk Analysis which develops risk management research as it pertains to large-investment industrial projects that involve new technologies, applications and markets. He is also Chair Professor at City University Hong Kong.

This book is designed primarily for undergraduates in mathematics, engineering, and the physical sciences. Rather than concentrating on technical skills, it focuses on a deeper understanding of the subject by providing many unusual and challenging examples. The basic topics of vector geometry, differentiation and integration in several variables are explored. It also provides numerous computer illustrations and tutorials using MATLAB (R) and Maple (R), that bridge the gap between analysis and computation. Features: Includes numerous computer illustrations and tutorials using MATLAB (R) and Maple (R) Covers the major topics of vector geometry, differentiation, and integration in several variables Instructors' ancillaries available upon adoption

The book focuses on symplectic pseudospectral methods for nonlinear optimal control problems and their applications. Both the fundamental principles and engineering practice are addressed. Symplectic pseudospectral methods for nonlinear optimal control problems with complicated factors (i.e., inequality constraints, state-delay, unspecific terminal time, etc.) are solved under the framework of indirect methods. The methods developed here offer a high degree of computational efficiency and accuracy when compared with popular direct pseudospectral methods. The methods are applied to solve optimal control problems arising in various engineering fields, particularly in path planning problems for autonomous vehicles. Given its scope, the book will benefit researchers, engineers and graduate students in the fields of automatic control, path planning, ordinary differential equations, etc.

This book offers a timely snapshot of soft computing methodologies and their applications to various problems related to sustainability, including electric energy consumption; fault diagnosis; vessel fuel consumption; determining the best sites for new malls; maritime port projects; and ad-hoc vehicular networks. Further, it demonstrates how metaheuristics and machine learning methods, fuzzy linear programming, neural networks, computing with words, linguistic models and other soft computing methods can be efficiently used to solve real-world problems. Intended as a practice-oriented guide for students, researchers, and professionals working at the interface between computer science, industrial engineering, naval engineering, agriculture, and sustainable development / climate change research, it provides readers with a set of intelligent solutions, helping them answer a range of emerging questions related to sustainability.

This book gathers nineteen papers presented at the first NLAGA-BIRS Symposium, which was held at the Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar, Senegal, on June 24-28, 2019. The four-day symposium brought together African experts on nonlinear analysis and geometry and their applications, as well as their international partners, to present and discuss mathematical results in various areas. The main goal of the NLAGA project is to advance and consolidate the development of these mathematical fields in West and Central Africa with a focus on solving real-world problems such as coastal erosion, pollution, and urban network and population dynamics problems. The book addresses a range of topics related to partial differential equations, geometrical analysis of optimal shapes, geometric structures, optimization and optimal transportation, control theory, and mathematical modeling.

The book is devoted to recent research in the global variational theory on smooth manifolds. Its main objective is an extension of the classical variational calculus on Euclidean spaces to (topologically nontrivial) finite-dimensional smooth manifolds; to this purpose the methods of global analysis of differential forms are used. Emphasis is placed on the foundations of the theory of variational functionals on fibered manifolds - relevant geometric structures for variational principles in geometry, physical field theory and higher-order fibered mechanics. The book chapters include: - foundations of jet bundles and analysis of differential forms and vector fields on jet bundles, - the theory of higher-order integral variational functionals for sections of a fibred space, the (global) first variational formula in infinitesimal and integral forms- extremal conditions and the discussion of Noether symmetries and generalizations,- the inverse problems of the calculus of variations of Helmholtz type- variational sequence theory and its consequences for the global inverse problem (cohomology conditions)- examples of variational functionals of mathematical physics. Complete formulations and proofs of all basic assertions are given, based on theorems of global analysis explained in the Appendix.

This book explores the design of optimal trajectories for space maneuver vehicles (SMVs) using optimal control-based techniques. It begins with a comprehensive introduction to and overview of three main approaches to trajectory optimization, and subsequently focuses on the design of a novel hybrid optimization strategy that combines an initial guess generator with an improved gradient-based inner optimizer. Further, it highlights the development of multi-objective spacecraft trajectory optimization problems, with a particular focus on multi-objective transcription methods and multi-objective evolutionary algorithms. In its final sections, the book studies spacecraft flight scenarios with noise-perturbed dynamics and probabilistic constraints, and designs and validates new chance-constrained optimal control frameworks. The comprehensive and systematic treatment of practical issues in spacecraft trajectory optimization is one of the book's major features, making it particularly suited for readers who are seeking practical solutions in spacecraft trajectory optimization. It offers a valuable asset for researchers, engineers, and graduate students in GNC systems, engineering optimization, applied optimal control theory, etc.

The focus of this book is the large-scale statistical behavior of solutions of divergence-form elliptic equations with random coefficients, which is closely related to the long-time asymptotics of reversible diffusions in random media and other basic models of statistical physics. Of particular interest is the quantification of the rate at which solutions converge to those of the limiting, homogenized equation in the regime of large scale separation, and the description of their fluctuations around this limit. This self-contained presentation gives a complete account of the essential ideas and fundamental results of this new theory of quantitative stochastic homogenization, including the latest research on the topic, and is supplemented with many new results. The book serves as an introduction to the subject for advanced graduate students and researchers working in partial differential equations, statistical physics, probability and related fields, as well as a comprehensive reference for experts in homogenization. Being the first text concerned primarily with stochastic (as opposed to periodic) homogenization and which focuses on quantitative results, its perspective and approach are entirely different from other books in the literature.

This is the first book to systematically present control theory for stochastic distributed parameter systems, a comparatively new branch of mathematical control theory. The new phenomena and difficulties arising in the study of controllability and optimal control problems for this type of system are explained in detail. Interestingly enough, one has to develop new mathematical tools to solve some problems in this field, such as the global Carleman estimate for stochastic partial differential equations and the stochastic transposition method for backward stochastic evolution equations. In a certain sense, the stochastic distributed parameter control system is the most general control system in the context of classical physics. Accordingly, studying this field may also yield valuable insights into quantum control systems. A basic grasp of functional analysis, partial differential equations, and control theory for deterministic systems is the only prerequisite for reading this book.

"Nonconvex Optimal Control and Variational Problems "is an important contribution to the existing literature in the field and is devoted to the presentation of progress made in the last 15 years of research in the area of optimal control and the calculus of variations. This volume contains a number of results concerning well-posedness of optimal control and variational problems, nonoccurrence of the Lavrentiev phenomenon for optimal control and variational problems, and turnpike properties of approximate solutions of variational problems.

Chapter 1 contains an introduction as well as examples of select topics. Chapters 2-5 consider the well-posedness condition using fine tools of general topology and porosity. Chapters 6-8 are devoted to the nonoccurrence of the Lavrentiev phenomenon and contain original results. Chapter 9 focuses on infinite-dimensional linear control problems, and Chapter 10 deals with good functions and explores new understandings on the questions of optimality and variational problems. Finally, Chapters 11-12 are centered around the turnpike property, a particular area of expertise for the author.

This volume is intended for mathematicians, engineers, and scientists interested in the calculus of variations, optimal control, optimization, and applied functional analysis, as well as both undergraduate and graduate students specializing in those areas. The text devoted to Turnpike properties may be of particular interest to the economics community."

Initial training in pure and applied sciences tends to present problem-solving as the process of elaborating explicit closed-form solutions from basic principles, and then using these solutions in numerical applications. This approach is only applicable to very limited classes of problems that are simple enough for such closed-form solutions to exist. Unfortunately, most real-life problems are too complex to be amenable to this type of treatment. "Numerical Methods a Consumer Guide "presents methods for dealing with them.

Shifting the paradigm from formal calculus to numerical computation, the text makes it possible for the reader to

. discover how to escape the dictatorship of those particular cases that are simple enough to receive a closed-form solution, and thus gain the ability to solve complex, real-life problems;

. understand the principles behind recognized algorithms used in state-of-the-art numerical software;

. learn the advantages and limitations of these algorithms, to facilitate the choice of which pre-existing bricks to assemble for solving a given problem; and

. acquire methods that allow a critical assessment of numerical results.

"Numerical Methods a Consumer Guide "will be of interest to engineers and researchers who solve problems numerically with computers or supervise people doing so, and to students of both engineering and applied mathematics. "

This new edition, like the first, presents a thorough introduction to differential and integral calculus, including the integration of differential forms on manifolds. However, an additional chapter on elementary topology makes the book more complete as an advanced calculus text, and sections have been added introducing physical applications in thermodynamics, fluid dynamics, and classical rigid body mechanics.

Viability theory designs and develops mathematical and algorithmic methods for investigating the adaptation to viability constraints of evolutions governed by complex systems under uncertainty that are found in many domains involving living beings, from biological evolution to economics, from environmental sciences to financial markets, from control theory and robotics to cognitive sciences. It involves interdisciplinary investigations spanning fields that have traditionally developed in isolation. The purpose of this book is to present an initiation to applications of viability theory, explaining and motivating the main concepts and illustrating them with numerous numerical examples taken from various fields.

This is a book on optimal control problems (OCPs) for partial differential equations (PDEs) that evolved from a series of courses taught by the authors in the last few years at Politecnico di Milano, both at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The book covers the whole range spanning from the setup and the rigorous theoretical analysis of OCPs, the derivation of the system of optimality conditions, the proposition of suitable numerical methods, their formulation, their analysis, including their application to a broad set of problems of practical relevance. The first introductory chapter addresses a handful of representative OCPs and presents an overview of the associated mathematical issues. The rest of the book is organized into three parts: part I provides preliminary concepts of OCPs for algebraic and dynamical systems; part II addresses OCPs involving linear PDEs (mostly elliptic and parabolic type) and quadratic cost functions; part III deals with more general classes of OCPs that stand behind the advanced applications mentioned above. Starting from simple problems that allow a "hands-on" treatment, the reader is progressively led to a general framework suitable to face a broader class of problems. Moreover, the inclusion of many pseudocodes allows the reader to easily implement the algorithms illustrated throughout the text. The three parts of the book are suitable to readers with variable mathematical backgrounds, from advanced undergraduate to Ph.D. levels and beyond. We believe that applied mathematicians, computational scientists, and engineers may find this book useful for a constructive approach toward the solution of OCPs in the context of complex applications.

In recent years, extensive research has been conducted by eminent mathematicians and engineers whose results and proposed problems are presented in this new volume. It is addressed to graduate students, research mathematicians, physicists, and engineers. Individual contributions are devoted to topics of approximation theory, functional equations and inequalities, fixed point theory, numerical analysis, theory of wavelets, convex analysis, topology, operator theory, differential operators, fractional integral operators, integro-differential equations, ternary algebras, super and hyper relators, variational analysis, discrete mathematics, cryptography, and a variety of applications in interdisciplinary topics. Several of these domains have a strong connection with both theories and problems of linear and nonlinear optimization. The combination of results from various domains provides the reader with a solid, state-of-the-art interdisciplinary reference to theory and problems. Some of the works provide guidelines for further research and proposals for new directions and open problems with relevant discussions.

This book surveys new algorithmic approaches and applications to natural and man-made disasters such as oil spills, hurricanes, earthquakes and wildfires. Based on the "Third International Conference on Dynamics of Disasters" held in Kalamata, Greece, July 2017, this Work includes contributions in evacuation logistics, disaster communications between first responders, disaster relief, and a case study on humanitarian logistics. Multi-disciplinary theories, tools, techniques and methodologies are linked with disasters from mitigation and preparedness to response and recovery. The interdisciplinary approach to problems in economics, optimization, government, management, business, humanities, engineering, medicine, mathematics, computer science, behavioral studies, emergency services, and environmental studies will engage readers from a wide variety of fields and backgrounds.

This book focuses on the latest applications of nonlinear approaches in different disciplines of engineering and to a range of scientific problems. For each selected topic, detailed concept development, derivations and relevant knowledge are provided for the convenience of the readers. The topics range from dynamic systems and control to optimal approaches in nonlinear dynamics. The volume further includes invited chapters from world class experts in the field. The selected topics are of great interest in the fields of engineering and physics and this book is ideal for engineers and researchers working in a broad range of practical topics and approaches.

This textbook is distinguished from other texts on the subject by the depth of the presentation and the discussion of the calculus of moving surfaces, which is an extension of tensor calculus to deforming manifolds.

Designed for advanced undergraduate and graduate students, this text invites its audience to take a fresh look at previously learned material through the prism of tensor calculus. Once the framework is mastered, the student is introduced to new material which includes differential geometry on manifolds, shape optimization, boundary perturbation and dynamic fluid film equations.

The language of tensors, originally championed by Einstein, is as fundamental as the languages of calculus and linear algebra and is one that every technical scientist ought to speak. The tensor technique, invented at the turn of the 20th century, is now considered classical. Yet, as the author shows, it remains remarkably vital and relevant. The author s skilled lecturing capabilities are evident by the inclusion of insightful examples and a plethora of exercises. A great deal of material is devoted to the geometric fundamentals, the mechanics of change of variables, the proper use of the tensor notation and the discussion of the interplay between algebra and geometry. The early chapters have many words and few equations. The definition of a tensor comes only in Chapter 6 when the reader is ready for it. While this text maintains a consistent level of rigor, it takes great care to avoid formalizing the subject.

The last part of the textbook is devoted to the Calculus of Moving Surfaces. It is the first textbook exposition of this important technique and is one of the gems of this text. A number of exciting applications of the calculus are presented including shape optimization, boundary perturbation of boundary value problems and dynamic fluid film equations developed by the author in recent years. Furthermore, the moving surfaces framework is used to offer new derivations of classical results such as the geodesic equation and the celebrated Gauss-Bonnet theorem."

This book presents the proceedings of the International Conference "Stability, Control, Differential Games" (SCDG2019, September 16 - 20, 2019, Yekaterinburg, Russia), organized by the Krasovskii Institute of Mathematics and Mechanics of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Discussing the latest advances in the theory of optimal control, stability theory and differential games, it also demonstrates the application of new techniques and numerical algorithms to solve problems in robotics, mechatronics, power and energy systems, economics and ecology. Further, the book includes fundamental results in control theory, stability theory and differential games presented at the conference, as well as a number of chapters focusing on novel approaches in solving important applied problems in control and optimization. Lastly, it evaluates recent major accomplishments, and forecasts developments in various up-and-coming areas, such as hybrid systems, model predictive control, Hamilton-Jacobi equations and advanced estimation algorithms.

This monograph has two main purposes, first to act as a companion volume to more advanced texts by gathering together the principal mathematical topics commonly used in developing scattering theories and, in so doing, provide a reasonable, self-contained introduction to linear and nonlinear scattering theory for those who might wish to begin working in the area. Secondly, to indicate how these various aspects might be applied to problems in mathematical physics and the applied sciences. Of particular interest will be the influence of boundary conditions.

No pleasure lasts long unless there is variety in it. Publilius Syrus, Moral Sayings We've been very fortunate to receive fantastic feedback from our readers during the last four years, since the first edition of How to Solve It: Modern Heuristics was published in 1999. It's heartening to know that so many people appreciated the book and, even more importantly, were using the book to help them solve their problems. One professor, who published a review of the book, said that his students had given the best course reviews he'd seen in 15 years when using our text. There can be hardly any better praise, except to add that one of the book reviews published in a SIAM journal received the best review award as well. We greatly appreciate your kind words and personal comments that you sent, including the few cases where you found some typographical or other errors. Thank you all for this wonderful support.