The idea for this text emerged over several years as the authors participated in research projects related to analysis of data from NASA's RHESSI Small Explorer mission. The data produced over the operational lifetime of this mission inspired many investigations related to a specific science question: the when, where, and how of electron acceleration during solar flares in the stressed magnetic environment of the active Sun. A vital key to unlocking this science problem is the ability to produce high-quality images of hard X-rays produced by bremsstrahlung radiation from electrons accelerated during a solar flare. The only practical way to do this within the technological and budgetary limitations of the RHESSI era was to opt for indirect modalities in which imaging information is encoded as a set of two-dimensional spatial Fourier components. Radio astronomers had employed Fourier imaging for many years. However, differently than for radio astronomy, X-ray images produced by RHESSI had to be constructed from a very limited number of sparsely distributed and very noisy Fourier components. Further, Fourier imaging is hardly intuitive, and extensive validation of the methods was necessary to ensure that they produced images with sufficient accuracy and fidelity for scientific applications. This book summarizes the results of this development of imaging techniques specifically designed for this form of data. It covers a set of published works that span over two decades, during which various imaging methods were introduced, validated, and applied to observations. Also considering that a new Fourier-based telescope, STIX, is now entering its nominal phase on-board the ESA Solar Orbiter, it became more and more apparent to the authors that it would be a good idea to put together a compendium of these imaging methods and their applications. Hence the book you are now reading.

Quantum groups have been studied intensively in mathematics and have found many valuable applications in theoretical and mathematical physics since their discovery in the mid-1980s. Roughly speaking, there are two prototype examples of quantum groups, denoted by Uq and Aq. The former is a deformation of the universal enveloping algebra of a Kac-Moody Lie algebra, whereas the latter is a deformation of the coordinate ring of a Lie group. Although they are dual to each other in principle, most of the applications so far are based on Uq, and the main targets are solvable lattice models in 2-dimensions or quantum field theories in 1+1 dimensions. This book aims to present a unique approach to 3-dimensional integrability based on Aq. It starts from the tetrahedron equation, a 3-dimensional analogue of the Yang-Baxter equation, and its solution due to work by Kapranov-Voevodsky (1994). Then, it guides readers to its variety of generalizations, relations to quantum groups, and applications. They include a connection to the Poincare-Birkhoff-Witt basis of a unipotent part of Uq, reductions to the solutions of the Yang-Baxter equation, reflection equation, G2 reflection equation, matrix product constructions of quantum R matrices and reflection K matrices, stationary measures of multi-species simple-exclusion processes, etc. These contents of the book are quite distinct from conventional approaches and will stimulate and enrich the theories of quantum groups and integrable systems.

A self-contained and coherent account of probabilistic techniques, covering: distance measures, kernel rules, nearest neighbour rules, Vapnik-Chervonenkis theory, parametric classification, and feature extraction. Each chapter concludes with problems and exercises to further the readers understanding. Both research workers and graduate students will benefit from this wide-ranging and up-to-date account of a fast- moving field.

This book aims to gather the insight of leading experts on corruption and anti-corruption studies working at the scientific frontier of this phenomenon using the multidisciplinary tools of data and network science, in order to present current theoretical, empirical, and operational efforts being performed in order to curb this problem. The research results strengthen the importance of evidence-based approaches in the fight against corruption in all its forms, and foster the discussion about the best ways to convert the obtained knowledge into public policy. The contributed chapters provide comprehensive and multidisciplinary approaches to handle the non-trivial structural and dynamical aspects that characterize the modern social, economic, political and technological systems where corruption takes place. This book will serve a broad multi-disciplinary audience from natural to social scientists, applied mathematicians, including law and policymakers.

This book covers the main topics concerned with interpolation and approximation by polynomials. This subject can be traced back to the precalculus era but has enjoyed most of its growth and development since the end of the nineteenth century and is still a lively and flourishing part of mathematics. In addition to coverage of univariate interpolation and approximation, the text includes material on multivariate interpolation and multivariate numerical integration, a generalization of the Bernstein polynomials that has not previously appeared in book form, and a greater coverage of Peano kernel theory than is found in most textbooks. There are many worked examples and each section ends with a number of carefully selected problems that extend the student's understanding of the text. George Phillips has lectured and researched in mathematics at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland. His most recent book, Two Millenia of Mathematics: From Archimedes to Gauss (Springer 2000), received enthusiastic reviews in the USA, Britain and Canada. He is well known for his clarity of writing and his many contributions as a researcher in approximation theory.

This book covers the essential elements of parallel processing and parallel algorithms. It is unique in that it is a self-contained book covering everything fundamental of parallel processing from computer architecture to parallel programming and parallel algorithms. It is designed to function as a text for an undergraduate course in parallel processing, but also works well as a comprehensive reference for professionals interested in all phases of parallel processing and parallel programming.

This book deals with the interdisciplinary areas of nuclear physics, supernovae and neutron star physics. It addresses the physics and astrophysics of the spectacular supernova explosions, starting with the collapse of massive stars and ending with the birth of neutron stars or black holes. Recent progress in the understanding of core collapse supernova (CCSN) and observational aspects of future detections of neutrinos from CCSN explosions are discussed. The other main focus in this text is the novel phases of dense nuclear matter, its compositions and equation of state (EoS) from low to very high baryon density relevant to supernovae and neutron stars. The multi-messenger astrophysics of binary neutron star merger GW170817 and its relation to EoS through tidal deformability are also presented in detail. The synthesis of elements heavier than iron in the supernova and neutron star environment by the rapid (r)-process are treated here with special emphasis on the nucleosynthesis in the ejected material from GW170817. This monograph is written for graduate students and researchers in the field of nuclear astrophysics.

This interdisciplinary book argues that the economy has an underlying non-linear structure and that business cycles are endogenous, which allows a greater explanatory power with respect to the traditional assumption that dynamics are stochastic and shocks are exogenous. The first part of this work is formal-methodological and provides the mathematical background needed for the remainder, while the second part presents the view that signal processing involves construction and deconstruction of information and that the efficacy of this process can be measured. The third part focuses on economics and provides the related background and literature on economic dynamics and the fourth part is devoted to new perspectives in understanding nonlinearities in economic dynamics: growth and cycles. By pursuing this approach, the book seeks to (1) determine whether, and if so where, common features exist, (2) discover some hidden features of economic dynamics, and (3) highlight specific indicators of structural changes in time series. Accordingly, it is a must read for everyone interested in a better understanding of economic dynamics, business cycles, econometrics and complex systems, as well as non-linear dynamics and chaos theory.

Over the course of a scientific career spanning more than fifty years, Alex Grossmann (1930-2019) made many important contributions to a wide range of areas including, among others, mathematics, numerical analysis, physics, genetics, and biology.  His lasting influence can be seen not only in his research and numerous publications, but also through the relationships he cultivated with his collaborators and students.  This edited volume features chapters written by some of these colleagues, as well as researchers whom Grossmann’s work and way of thinking has impacted in a decisive way.  Reflecting the diversity of his interests and their interdisciplinary nature, these chapters explore a variety of current topics in quantum mechanics, elementary particles, and theoretical physics; wavelets and mathematical analysis; and genomics and biology.  A scientific biography of Grossmann, along with a more personal biography written by his son, serve as an introduction.  Also included are the introduction to his PhD thesis and an unpublished paper coauthored by him.  Researchers working in any of the fields listed above will find this volume to be an insightful and informative work.

Ecological research is becoming increasingly quantitative, yet students often opt out of courses in mathematics and statistics, unwittingly limiting their ability to carry out research in the future. This textbook provides a practical introduction to quantitative ecology for students and practitioners who have realised that they need this opportunity.

The text is addressed to readers who haven't used mathematics since school, who were perhaps more confused than enlightened by their undergraduate lectures in statistics and who have never used a computer for much more than word processing and data entry. From this starting point, it slowly but surely instils an understanding of mathematics, statistics and programming, sufficient for initiating research in ecology. The book's practical value is enhanced by extensive use of biological examples and the computer language R for graphics, programming and data analysis.

Key Features: Provides a complete introduction to mathematics statistics and computing for ecologists.Presents a wealth of ecological examples demonstrating the applied relevance of abstract mathematical concepts, showing how a little technique can go a long way in answering interesting ecological questions.Covers elementary topics, including the rules of algebra, logarithms, geometry, calculus, descriptive statistics, probability, hypothesis testing and linear regression.Explores more advanced topics including fractals, non-linear dynamical systems, likelihood and Bayesian estimation, generalised linear, mixed and additive models, and multivariate statistics.R boxes provide step-by-step recipes for implementing the graphical and numerical techniques outlined in each section.

"How to be a Quantitative Ecologist" provides a comprehensive introduction to mathematics, statistics and computing and is the ideal textbook for late undergraduate and postgraduate courses in environmental biology.

"With a book like this, there is no excuse for people to be afraid of maths, and to be ignorant of what it can do."
--Professor Tim Benton, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, UK

This book is a comprehensive collection of main mathematical concepts: definitions, theorems, tables, and formulas that the students of science and engineering encounter in their studies and later on in their professional careers. The aim is to introduce mathematics in an up-to-date text that supports the reader/target group to see, easily accessible, ways to approach their questions/problems, meanwhile getting familiar with, often short, mathematical/logical reasoning. The layout is designed so that the theory, applications, and examples are in correlation with each other. The book covers crucial concepts of whole calculus, linear and abstract algebra, as well as analysis, applied math, mathematical statistics, and numerical analysis. Most of the complex theorems appear in a simplified form without affecting their context. There are appendices with Mathematica and MatLab programming, which contain programs of simple character for educational purposes, as well as some more involved ones designed to solve problems of more real application.

General Relativity is a beautiful geometric theory, simple in its mathematical formulation but leading to numerous consequences with striking physical interpretations: gravitational waves, black holes, cosmological models, and so on. This introductory textbook is written for mathematics students interested in physics and physics students interested in exact mathematical formulations (or for anyone with a scientific mind who is curious to know more of the world we live in), recent remarkable experimental and observational results which confirm the theory are clearly described and no specialised physics knowledge is required. The mathematical level of Part A is aimed at undergraduate students and could be the basis for a course on General Relativity. Part B is more advanced, but still does not require sophisticated mathematics. Based on Yvonne Choquet-Bruhat's more advanced text, General Relativity and the Einstein Equations, the aim of this book is to give with precision, but as simply as possible, the foundations and main consequences of General Relativity. The first five chapters from General Relativity and the Einstein Equations have been updated with new sections and chapters on black holes, gravitational waves, singularities, and the Reissner-Nordstroem and interior Schwarzchild solutions. The rigour behind this book will provide readers with the perfect preparation to follow the great mathematical progress in the actual development, as well as the ability to model, the latest astrophysical and cosmological observations. The book presents basic General Relativity and provides a basis for understanding and using the fundamental theory.

This volume provides a detailed description of some of the most active areas in astrophysics from the largest scales probed by the Planck satellite to massive black holes that lie at the heart of galaxies and up to the much awaited but stunning discovery of thousands of exoplanets. It contains the following chapters: * Jean-Philippe UZAN, The Big-Bang Theory: Construction, Evolution and Status * Jean-Loup PUGET, The Planck Mission and the Cosmic Microwave Background * Reinhard GENZEL, Massive Black Holes: Evidence, Demographics and Cosmic Evolution * Arnaud CASSAN, New Worlds Ahead: The Discovery of Exoplanets Reinhard Genzel and Andrea Ghez shared the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics "for the discovery of a supermassive compact object at the centre of our galaxy'", alongside Roger Penrose "for the discovery that black hole formation is a robust prediction of the general theory of relativity". The book corresponds to the twentieth Poincare Seminar, held on November 21, 2015, at Institut Henri Poincare in Paris. Originally written as lectures to a broad scientific audience, these four chapters are of high value and will be of general interest to astrophysicists, physicists, mathematicians and historians.

Spaces of homogeneous type were introduced as a generalization to the Euclidean space and serve as a suffi cient setting in which one can generalize the classical isotropic Harmonic analysis and function space theory. This setting is sometimes too general, and the theory is limited. Here, we present a set of fl exible ellipsoid covers of n that replace the Euclidean balls and support a generalization of the theory with fewer limitations.

This book presents quantum theory as a theory based on new relationships among matter, thought, and experimental technology, as against those previously found in physics, relationships that also redefine those between mathematics and physics in quantum theory. The argument of the book is based on its title concept, reality without realism (RWR), and in the corresponding view, the RWR view, of quantum theory. The book considers, from this perspective, the thinking of Bohr, Heisenberg, Schroedinger, and Dirac, with the aim of bringing together the philosophy and history of quantum theory. With quantum theory, the book argues, the architecture of thought in theoretical physics was radically changed by the irreducible role of experimental technology in the constitution of physical phenomena, accordingly, no longer defined independently by matter alone, as they were in classical physics or relativity. Or so it appeared. For, quantum theory, the book further argues, made us realize that experimental technology, beginning with that of our bodies, irreducibly shapes all physical phenomena, and thus makes us rethink the relationships among matter, thought, and technology in all of physics.

This book contains manuscripts of topics related to numerical modeling in Civil Engineering (Volume 1) as part of the proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Numerical Modeling in Engineering (NME 2018), which was held in the city of Ghent, Belgium. The overall objective of the conference is to bring together international scientists and engineers in academia and industry in fields related to advanced numerical techniques, such as FEM, BEM, IGA, etc., and their applications to a wide range of engineering disciplines. This volume covers industrial engineering applications of numerical simulations to Civil Engineering, including: Bridges and dams, Cyclic loading, Fluid dynamics, Structural mechanics, Geotechnical engineering, Thermal analysis, Reinforced concrete structures, Steel structures, Composite structures.

This book explores the possibility of using azimuthal Walsh filters as an effective tool for manipulating far-field diffraction characteristics near the focal plane of rotationally symmetric imaging systems. It discusses the generation and synthesis of azimuthal Walsh filters, and explores the inherent self-similarity presented in various orders of these filters, classifying them into self-similar groups and sub-groups. Further, it demonstrates that azimuthal Walsh filters possess a unique rotational self-similarity exhibited among adjacent orders. Serving as an atlas of diffraction phenomena with pupil functions represented by azimuthal Walsh filters of different orders, this book describes how orthogonality and self-similarity of these filters could be harnessed to sculpture 2D and 3D light distributions near the focus.

This book provides an introduction to the mathematical theory of optimization. It emphasizes the convergence theory of nonlinear optimization algorithms and applications of nonlinear optimization to combinatorial optimization. Mathematical Theory of Optimization includes recent developments in global convergence, the Powell conjecture, semidefinite programming, and relaxation techniques for designs of approximation solutions of combinatorial optimization problems.

This book follows a conversational approach in five dozen stories that provide an insight into the colorful world of financial mathematics and financial markets in a relaxed, accessible and entertaining form. The authors present various topics such as returns, real interest rates, present values, arbitrage, replication, options, swaps, the Black-Scholes formula and many more. The readers will learn how to discover, analyze, and deal with the many financial mathematical decisions the daily routine constantly demands. The book covers a wide field in terms of scope and thematic diversity. Numerous stories are inspired by the fields of deterministic financial mathematics, option valuation, portfolio optimization and actuarial mathematics. The book also contains a collection of basic concepts and formulas of financial mathematics and of probability theory. Thus, also readers new to the subject will be provided with all the necessary information to verify the calculations.

This book develops alternative methods to estimate the unknown parameters in stochastic volatility models, offering a new approach to test model accuracy. While there is ample research to document stochastic differential equation models driven by Brownian motion based on discrete observations of the underlying diffusion process, these traditional methods often fail to estimate the unknown parameters in the unobserved volatility processes. This text studies the second order rate of weak convergence to normality to obtain refined inference results like confidence interval, as well as nontraditional continuous time stochastic volatility models driven by fractional Levy processes. By incorporating jumps and long memory into the volatility process, these new methods will help better predict option pricing and stock market crash risk. Some simulation algorithms for numerical experiments are provided.

This book reports on the latest knowledge concerning critical phenomena arising in fluid-structure interaction due to movement and/or deformation of bodies. The focus of the book is on reporting progress in understanding turbulence and flow control to improve aerodynamic / hydrodynamic performance by reducing drag, increasing lift or thrust and reducing noise under critical conditions that may result in massive separation, strong vortex dynamics, amplification of harmful instabilities (flutter, buffet), and flow -induced vibrations. Theory together with large-scale simulations and experiments have revealed new features of turbulent flow in the boundary layer over bodies and in thin shear layers immediately downstream of separation. New insights into turbulent flow interacting with actively deformable structures, leading to new ways of adapting and controlling the body shape and vibrations to respond to these critical conditions, are investigated. The book covers new features of turbulent flows in boundary layers over wings and in shear layers immediately downstream: studies of natural and artificially generated fluctuations; reduction of noise and drag; and electromechanical conversion topics. Smart actuators as well as how smart designs lead to considerable benefits compared with conventional methods are also extensively discussed. Based on contributions presented at the IUTAM Symposium "Critical Flow Dynamics involving Moving/Deformable Structures with Design applications", held in June 18-22, 2018, in Santorini, Greece, the book provides readers with extensive information about current theories, methods and challenges in flow and turbulence control, and practical knowledge about how to use this information together with smart and bio-inspired design tools to improve aerodynamic and hydrodynamic design and safety.

This book presents a new method for analyzing the structure and function of the biological branching systems of fractal trees, with a focus on microcirculation. Branching systems in humans (vascular and bronchial trees) and those in the natural world (plants, trees, and rivers) are characterized by a fractal nature. To date, fractal studies have tended to concentrate on fractal dimensions, which quantify the complexity of objects, but the applications for practical use have remained largely unexplored. This book breaks new ground with topics that include the human retinal microcirculatory network, oxygen consumption by vascular walls, the F hraeus-Lindqvist effect, the bifurcation exponent, and the asymmetrical microvascular network. Readers are provided with simple formulas to express functions and a simulation graph with in vivo data. The book also discusses the mechanisms regulating blood flow and pressure and how they are related to pathological changes in the human body. Researchers and clinicians alike will find valuable new insights in these pioneering studies.

This textbook provides a comprehensive overview of noncooperative and cooperative dynamic games involving uncertain parameter values, with the stochastic process being described by an event tree. Primarily intended for graduate students of economics, management science and engineering, the book is self-contained, as it defines and illustrates all relevant concepts originally introduced in static games before extending them to a dynamic framework. It subsequently addresses the sustainability of cooperative contracts over time and introduces a range of mechanisms to help avoid such agreements breaking down before reaching maturity. To illustrate the concepts discussed, the book provides various examples of how dynamic games played over event trees can be applied to environmental economics, management science, and engineering.