This book collects recent research papers by respected specialists in the field. It presents advances in the field of geometric properties for parabolic and elliptic partial differential equations, an area that has always attracted great attention. It settles the basic issues (existence, uniqueness, stability and regularity of solutions of initial/boundary value problems) before focusing on the topological and/or geometric aspects. These topics interact with many other areas of research and rely on a wide range of mathematical tools and techniques, both analytic and geometric. The Italian and Japanese mathematical schools have a long history of research on PDEs and have numerous active groups collaborating in the study of the geometric properties of their solutions.

This monograph has grown out of research we started in 1987, although the foun dations were laid in the 1970's when both of us were working on our doctoral theses, trying to generalize the now classic paper of Oleinik, Kalashnikov and Chzhou on nonlinear degenerate diffusion. Brian worked under the guidance of Bert Peletier at the University of Sussex in Brighton, England, and, later at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands on extending the earlier mathematics to include nonlinear convection; while Robert worked at Lomonosov State Univer sity in Moscow under the supervision of Anatolii Kalashnikov on generalizing the earlier mathematics to include nonlinear absorption. We first met at a conference held in Rome in 1985. In 1987 we met again in Madrid at the invitation of Ildefonso Diaz, where we were both staying at 'La Residencia'. As providence would have it, the University 'Complutense' closed down during this visit in response to student demonstra tions, and, we were very much left to our own devices. It was natural that we should gravitate to a research topic of common interest. This turned out to be the characterization of the phenomenon of finite speed of propagation for nonlin ear reaction-convection-diffusion equations. Brian had just completed some work on this topic for nonlinear diffusion-convection, while Robert had earlier done the same for nonlinear diffusion-absorption. There was no question but that we bundle our efforts on the general situation.

The theory of one-dimensional ergodic operators involves a beautiful synthesis of ideas from dynamical systems, topology, and analysis. Additionally, this setting includes many models of physical interest, including those operators that model crystals, disordered media, or quasicrystals. This field has seen substantial progress in recent decades, much of which has yet to be discussed in textbooks. Beginning with a refresher on key topics in spectral theory, this volume presents the basic theory of discrete one-dimensional Schrodinger operators with dynamically defined potentials. It also includes a self-contained introduction to the relevant aspects of ergodic theory and topological dynamics. This text is accessible to graduate students who have completed one-semester courses in measure theory and complex analysis. It is intended to serve as an introduction to the field for junior researchers and beginning graduate students as well as a reference text for people already working in this area. It is well suited for self-study and contains numerous exercises (many with hints).

Classical boundary integral equations arising from the potential theory and acoustics (Laplace and Helmholtz equations) are derived. Using the parametrization of the boundary these equations take a form of periodic pseudodifferential equations. A general theory of periodic pseudodifferential equations and methods of solving are developed, including trigonometric Galerkin and collocation methods, their fully discrete versions with fast solvers, quadrature and spline based methods. The theory of periodic pseudodifferential operators is presented in details, with preliminaries (Fredholm operators, periodic distributions, periodic Sobolev spaces) and full proofs. This self-contained monograph can be used as a textbook by graduate/postgraduate students. It also contains a lot of carefully chosen exercises.

"The Classical Theory of Integral Equations" is a thorough, concise, and rigorous treatment of the essential aspects of the theory of integral equations. The book provides the background and insight necessary to facilitate a complete understanding of the fundamental results in the field. With a firm foundation for the theory in their grasp, students will be well prepared and motivated for further study.

Included in the presentation are:

A section entitled "Tools of the Trade" at the beginning of each chapter, providing necessary background information for comprehension of the results presented in that chapter;

Thorough discussions of the analytical methods used to solve many types of integral equations;

An introduction to the numerical methods that are commonly used to produce approximate solutions to integral equations;

Over 80 illustrative examples that are explained in meticulous detail;
Nearly 300 exercises specifically constructed to enhance the understanding of both routine and challenging concepts;
"Guides to Computation" to assist the student with particularly complicated algorithmic procedures.

This unique textbook offers a comprehensive and balanced treatment of material needed for a general understanding of the theory of integral equations by using only the mathematical background that a typical undergraduate senior should have. The self-contained book will serve as a valuable resource for advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate-level students as well as for independent study. Scientists and engineers who are working in the field will also find this text to be user friendly and informative.

"

Inequalities arise as an essential component in various mathematical areas. Besides forming a highly important collection of tools, e.g. for proving analytic or stochastic theorems or for deriving error estimates in numerical mathematics, they constitute a challenging research field of their own. Inequalities also appear directly in mathematical models for applications in science, engineering, and economics.

This edited volume covers divers aspects of this fascinating field. It addresses classical inequalities related to means or to convexity as well as inequalities arising in the field of ordinary and partial differential equations, like Sobolev or Hardy-type inequalities, and inequalities occurring in geometrical contexts. Within the last five decades, the late Wolfgang Walter has made great contributions to the field of inequalities. His book on differential and integral inequalities was a real breakthrough in the 1970 s and has generated a vast variety of further research in this field. He also organized six of the seven General Inequalities Conferences held at Oberwolfach between 1976 and 1995, and co-edited their proceedings. He participated as an honorary member of the Scientific Committee in the General Inequalities 8 conference in Hungary. As a recognition of his great achievements, this volume is dedicated to Wolfgang Walter s memory. The General Inequalities meetings found their continuation in the Conferences on Inequalities and Applications which, so far, have been held twice in Hungary. This volume contains selected contributions of participants of the second conference which took place in Hajduszoboszlo in September 2010, as well as additional articles written upon invitation. These contributions reflect many theoretical and practical aspects in the field of inequalities, and will be useful for researchers and lecturers, as well as for students who want to familiarize themselves with the area.

Hysteresis effects occur in science and engineering: plasticity, ferromagnetism, ferroelectricity are well-known examples. Modelling and mathematical analysis of hysteresis phenomena have been addressed by mathematicians only recently, but are now in full development.
This volume provides a self-contained and comprehensive introduction to the analysis of hysteresis models, and illustrates several new results in this field. First the classical models of Prandtl, Ishlinskii, Preisach and Duhem are formulated and studied, using the concept of "hysteresis operator." A new model of discontinuous hysteresis is introduced. Several partial differential equations containing hysteresis operators are studied in the framework of Sobolev spaces.

In this book the author sets out to answer two important questions: 1. Which numerical methods may be combined together? 2. How can different numerical methods be matched together? In doing so the author presents a number of useful combinations, for instance, the combination of various FEMs, the combinations of FEM-FDM, REM-FEM, RGM-FDM, etc. The combined methods have many advantages over single methods: high accuracy of solutions, less CPU time, less computer storage, easy coupling with singularities as well as the complicated boundary conditions. Since coupling techniques are essential to combinations, various matching strategies among different methods are carefully discussed. The author provides the matching rules so that optimal convergence, even superconvergence, and optimal stability can be achieved, and also warns of the matching pitfalls to avoid. Audience: The book is intended for both mathematicians and engineers and may be used as text for advanced students.

On the 8th of August 1900 outstanding German mathematician David Hilbert delivered a talk "Mathematical problems" at the Second Interna tional Congress of Mathematicians in Paris. The talk covered practically all directions of mathematical thought of that time and contained a list of 23 problems which determined the further development of mathema tics in many respects (1, 119]. Hilbert's Sixteenth Problem (the second part) was stated as follows: Problem. To find the maximum number and to determine the relative position of limit cycles of the equation dy Qn(X, y) -= dx Pn(x, y)' where Pn and Qn are polynomials of real variables x, y with real coeffi cients and not greater than n degree. The study of limit cycles is an interesting and very difficult problem of the qualitative theory of differential equations. This theory was origi nated at the end of the nineteenth century in the works of two geniuses of the world science: of the Russian mathematician A. M. Lyapunov and of the French mathematician Henri Poincare. A. M. Lyapunov set forth and solved completely in the very wide class of cases a special problem of the qualitative theory: the problem of motion stability (154]. In turn, H. Poincare stated a general problem of the qualitative analysis which was formulated as follows: not integrating the differential equation and using only the properties of its right-hand sides, to give as more as possi ble complete information on the qualitative behaviour of integral curves defined by this equation (176]."

Aimed primarily at undergraduate level university students, An Illustrative Introduction to Modern Analysis provides an accessible and lucid contemporary account of the fundamental principles of Mathematical Analysis. The themes treated include Metric Spaces, General Topology, Continuity, Completeness, Compactness, Measure Theory, Integration, Lebesgue Spaces, Hilbert Spaces, Banach Spaces, Linear Operators, Weak and Weak* Topologies. Suitable both for classroom use and independent reading, this book is ideal preparation for further study in research areas where a broad mathematical toolbox is required.

The approximation of functions by linear positive operators is an important research topic in general mathematics and it also provides powerful tools to application areas suchas computer-aided geometric design, numerical analysis, and solutions of differential equations. q-Calculus is a generalization of many subjects, such as hypergeometric series, complex analysis, and particle physics. This monograph is an introduction to combining approximation theory and q-Calculus with applications, by usingwell- known operators. The presentation is systematic and the authors include a brief summary of the notations and basicdefinitions ofq-calculus before delving into more advanced material. Themany applications of q-calculus in the theory of approximation, especially onvariousoperators, which includes convergence of operators to functions in real and complex domain forms the gist of the book.

This book is suitable for researchers andstudents in mathematics, physics andengineering, and forprofessionals who would enjoy exploring the host of mathematicaltechniques and ideas that are collected and discussedin thebook."

Want to know not just what makes rockets go up but how to do it optimally? Optimal control theory has become such an important field in aerospace engineering that no graduate student or practicing engineer can afford to be without a working knowledge of it. This is the first book that begins from scratch to teach the reader the basic principles of the calculus of variations, develop the necessary conditions step-by-step, and introduce the elementary computational techniques of optimal control. This book, with problems and an online solution manual, provides the graduate-level reader with enough introductory knowledge so that he or she can not only read the literature and study the next level textbook but can also apply the theory to find optimal solutions in practice. No more is needed than the usual background of an undergraduate engineering, science, or mathematics program: namely calculus, differential equations, and numerical integration. Although finding optimal solutions for these problems is a complex process involving the calculus of variations, the authors carefully lay out step-by-step the most important theorems and concepts. Numerous examples are worked to demonstrate how to apply the theories to everything from classical problems (e.g., crossing a river in minimum time) to engineering problems (e.g., minimum-fuel launch of a satellite). Throughout the book use is made of the time-optimal launch of a satellite into orbit as an important case study with detailed analysis of two examples: launch from the Moon and launch from Earth. For launching into the field of optimal solutions, look no further!

This dictionary offers clear and reliable explanations of over 100 keywords covering the entire field of non-classical continuum mechanics and generalized mechanics, including the theory of elasticity, heat conduction, thermodynamic and electromagnetic continua, as well as applied mathematics. Every entry includes the historical background and the underlying theory, basic equations and typical applications. The reference list for each entry provides a link to the original articles and the most important in-depth theoretical works. Last but not least, ever y entry is followed by a cross-reference to other related subject entries in the dictionary.

Many special functions occuring in physics and partial differential equations can be represented by integral transformatIons: the fundamental solutions of many PDE's, Newton-Coulomb potentials, hypergeometric functions, Feynman integrals, initial data of (inverse) tomography problems, etc. The general picture of such transfor- mations is as follows. There is an analytic fibre bundle E --+ T, a differential form w on E, whose restrictions on the fibres are closed, and a family of cycles in these fibres, parametrized by the points of T and depending continuously on these points. Then the integral of the form w along these cycles is a function on the base. The analytic properties of such functions depend on the monodromy action, i.e., on the natural action of the fundamental group of the base in the homology of the fibre: this action on the integration cycles defines the ramification of the analytic continuation of our function. The study of this action (which is a purely topological problem) can answer questions about the analytic behaviour of the integral function, for instance, is this function single-valued or at least algebraic, what are the singular points of this function, and what is its asymptotics close to these points. In this book, we study such analytic properties of three famous classes of func- tions: the volume functions, which appear in the Archimedes-Newton problem on in- tegrable bodies; the Newton-Coulomb potentials, and the Green functions of hyperbolic equations (studied, in particular, in the Hada- mard-Petrovskii-Atiyah-Bott-Garding lacuna theory).

This volume of the Proceedings of the congress ISAAC '97 collects the con tributions of the four sections 1. Function theoretic and functional analytic methods for pde, 2. Applications of function theory of several complex variables to pde, 3. Integral equations and boundary value problems, 4. Partial differential equations. Most but not all of the authors have participated in the congress. Unfortunately some from Eastern Europe and Asia have not managed to come because of lack of financial support. Nevertheless their manuscripts of the proposed talks are included in this volume. The majority of the papers deal with complex methods. Among them boundary value problems in particular the Riemann-Hilbert, the Riemann (Hilbert) and related problems are treated. Boundary behaviour of vector-valued functions are studied too. The Riemann-Hilbert problem is solved for elliptic complex equations, for mixed complex equations, and for several complex variables. It is considered in a general topological setting for mappings into q;n and related to Toeplitz operators. Convolution operators are investigated for nilpotent Lie groups leading to some consequences for the null space of the tangential Cauchy Riemann operator. Some boundary value problems for overdetermined systems in balls of q;n are solved explicitly. A survey is given for the Gauss-Manin connection associated with deformations of curve singularities. Several papers deal with generalizations of analytic functions with various applications to mathematical physics. Singular integrals in quaternionic anal ysis are studied which are applied to the time-harmonic Maxwell equations."

This corrected third printing retains the authors'main emphasis on ordinary differential equations. It is most appropriate for upper level undergraduate and graduate students in the fields of mathematics, engineering, and applied mathematics, as well as the life sciences, physics and economics. The authors have taken the view that a differential equations theory defines functions; the object of the theory is to understand the behaviour of these functions. The tools the authors use include qualitative and numerical methods besides the traditional analytic methods, and the companion software, MacMath, is designed to bring these notions to life.

Boundary problems constitute an essential field of common mathematical interest. The intention of this volume is to highlight several analytic and geometric aspects of boundary problems with special emphasis on their interplay. It includes surveys on classical topics presented from a modern perspective as well as reports on current research.

The collection splits into two related groups:

- analysis and geometry of geometric operators and their index theory

- elliptic theory of boundary value problems and the Shapiro-Lopatinsky condition

In some domains of mechanics, physics and control theory boundary value problems arise for nonlinear first order PDEs. A well-known classical result states a sufficiency condition for local existence and uniqueness of twice differentiable solution. This result is based on the method of characteristics (MC). Very often, and as a rule in control theory, the continuous nonsmooth (non-differentiable) functions have to be treated as a solutions to the PDE. At the points of smoothness such solutions satisfy the equation in classical sense. But if a function satisfies this condition only, with no requirements at the points of nonsmoothness, the PDE may have nonunique solutions. The uniqueness takes place if an appropriate matching principle for smooth solution branches defined in neighboring domains is applied or, in other words, the notion of generalized solution is considered. In each field an appropriate matching principle are used. In Optimal Control and Differential Games this principle is the optimality of the cost function. In physics and mechanics certain laws must be fulfilled for correct matching. A purely mathematical approach also can be used, when the generalized solution is introduced to obtain the existence and uniqueness of the solution, without being aimed to describe (to model) some particular physical phenomenon. Some formulations of the generalized solution may meet the modelling of a given phenomenon, the others may not.

For several decades developments in porous media have taken place in almost independent areas. In civilengineering, many papers were publisheddealing with the foundations offlow and transport through porous media. The method used in most cases is called averaging, and the notion ofa representative elementary vol- ume(REV)playsanimportantrole. Inchemicalengineering,papersonconceptual models were written on the theory ofmixtures. Intheoretical physics and stochas- tic analysis, percolation theory has emerged, providing probabilistic models for systems where theconnectedness propertiesofsomecomponentdominatethebe- havior. In mathematics, atheoryhasbeendevelopedcalled homogenizationwhich deals with partial differential equations having rapidly oscillating coefficients. Early work in these and related areas was - among others - done by the fol- lowing scientists: Maxwell [Max81] and Rayleigh [Ray92] studied the effective conductivity of media with small concentrations of randomly and periodically, respectively, arranged inclusions. Einstein [Ein06] investigated the effective vis- cosityofsuspensions with hard spherical particles in compressible viscous fluids. Marchenko and Khrouslov [MK64] looked at the asymptotic nature of homog- enization; they introduced a general approach of averaging based on asymptotic tools which can handle a variety ofdifferent physical problems. Unfortunately, up to now, little efforthas been made to bridge the gap between these different fields of research. Consequently, many results were and are dis- covered independently, and scientists are almost unable to understand each other because the respective languages have been developing in different directions.

An up-to-date and unified treatment of bifurcation theory for variational inequalities in reflexive spaces and the use of the theory in a variety of applications, such as: obstacle problems from elasticity theory, unilateral problems; torsion problems; equations from fluid mechanics and quasilinear elliptic partial differential equations. The tools employed are those of modern nonlinear analysis. Accessible to graduate students and researchers who work in nonlinear analysis, nonlinear partial differential equations, and additional research disciplines that use nonlinear mathematics.

For more than 250 years partial di?erential equations have been clearly the most important tool available to mankind in order to understand a large variety of phenomena, natural at ?rst and then those originating from - man activity and technological development. Mechanics, physics and their engineering applications were the ?rst to bene't from the impact of partial di?erential equations on modeling and design, but a little less than a century ago the Schr] odinger equation was the key opening the door to the application of partial di?erential equations to quantum chemistry, for small atomic and molecular systems at ?rst, but then for systems of fast growing complexity. The place of partial di?erential equations in mathematics is a very particular one: initially, the partial di?erential equations modeling natural phenomena were derived by combining calculus with physical reasoning in order to - press conservation laws and principles in partial di?erential equation form, leading to the wave equation, the heat equation, the equations of elasticity, the Euler and Navier-Stokes equations for ?uids, the Maxwell equations of electro-magnetics, etc. It is in order to solve 'constructively' the heat equation that Fourier developed the series bearing his name in the early 19th century; Fourier series (and later integrals) have played (and still play) a fundamental roleinbothpureandappliedmathematics, includingmanyareasquiteremote from partial di?erential equations. On the other hand, several areas of mathematics such as di?erential ge- etry have bene?ted from their interactions with partial di?erential equations."

This book presents current research on Ulam stability for functional equations and inequalities. Contributions from renowned scientists emphasize fundamental and new results, methods and techniques. Detailed examples are given to theories to further understanding at the graduate level for students in mathematics, physics, and engineering. Key topics covered in this book include: Quasi means Approximate isometries Functional equations in hypergroups Stability of functional equations Fischer-Muszely equation Haar meager sets and Haar null sets Dynamical systems Functional equations in probability theory Stochastic convex ordering Dhombres functional equation Nonstandard analysis and Ulam stability This book is dedicated in memory of Stanilsaw Marcin Ulam, who posed the fundamental problem concerning approximate homomorphisms of groups in 1940; which has provided the stimulus for studies in the stability of functional equations and inequalities.

This monograph gives a systematic presentation of classical and recent results obtained in the last couple of years. It comprehensively describes the methods concerning the topological structure of fixed point sets and solution sets for differential equations and inclusions. Many of the basic techniques and results recently developed about this theory are presented, as well as the literature that is disseminated and scattered in several papers of pioneering researchers who developed the functional analytic framework of this field over the past few decades. Several examples of applications relating to initial and boundary value problems are discussed in detail. The book is intended to advanced graduate researchers and instructors active in research areas with interests in topological properties of fixed point mappings and applications; it also aims to provide students with the necessary understanding of the subject with no deep background material needed. This monograph fills the vacuum in the literature regarding the topological structure of fixed point sets and its applications.

In this book the theory of hyperbolic sets is developed, both for diffeomorphisms and flows, with an emphasis on shadowing. We show that hyperbolic sets are expansive and have the shadowing property. Then we use shadowing to prove that hyperbolic sets are robust under perturbation, that they have an asymptotic phase property and also that the dynamics near a transversal homoclinic orbit is chaotic. It turns out that chaotic dynamical systems arising in practice are not quite hyperbolic. However, they possess enough hyperbolicity to enable us to use shadowing ideas to give computer-assisted proofs that computed orbits of such systems can be shadowed by true orbits for long periods of time, that they possess periodic orbits of long periods and that it is really true that they are chaotic. Audience: This book is intended primarily for research workers in dynamical systems but could also be used in an advanced graduate course taken by students familiar with calculus in Banach spaces and with the basic existence theory for ordinary differential equations.

This monograph presents an introduction to some geometric and analytic aspects of the maximum principle. In doing so, it analyses with great detail the mathematical tools and geometric foundations needed to develop the various new forms that are presented in the first chapters of the book. In particular, a generalization of the Omori-Yau maximum principle to a wide class of differential operators is given, as well as a corresponding weak maximum principle and its equivalent open form and parabolicity as a special stronger formulation of the latter. In the second part, the attention focuses on a wide range of applications, mainly to geometric problems, but also on some analytic (especially PDEs) questions including: the geometry of submanifolds, hypersurfaces in Riemannian and Lorentzian targets, Ricci solitons, Liouville theorems, uniqueness of solutions of Lichnerowicz-type PDEs and so on. Maximum Principles and Geometric Applications is written in an easy style making it accessible to beginners. The reader is guided with a detailed presentation of some topics of Riemannian geometry that are usually not covered in textbooks. Furthermore, many of the results and even proofs of known results are new and lead to the frontiers of a contemporary and active field of research.