This book is an elementary introduction to the basic concepts of financial mathematics with a central focus on discrete models and an aim to demonstrate simple but widely used financial derivatives for managing market risks. Only a basic knowledge of probability, real analysis, ordinary differential equations, linear algebra and some common sense are required to utilise this book. Financial mathematics is an application of advanced mathematical and statistical methods to financial management and markets, with a main objective to quantify and hedge risks. Since the book aims to present the basics of financial mathematics to the reader, only essential elements of probability and stochastic analysis are given to explain ideas on derivative pricing and hedging. To keep the reader intrigued and motivated, the book has a sandwich structure: Probability and stochastics are given on the spot, at places where mathematics can almost immediately be illustrated by an application to finance. The first part of the book introduces one of the main principles in finance - no arbitrage pricing.It also introduces main financial instruments such as forward and futures contracts, bonds and swaps, and options. This part is not mathematical. The second part deals with pricing and hedging of European- and American-type options in the discrete time setting. In addition, the concept of complete and incomplete markets is discussed. Elementary probability is briefly revised and discrete-time - discrete-space stochastic processes used in financial modelling are considered. The third part discusses stochastic analysis and introduces the Wiener process, Ito integrals, and stochastic differential equations. The main feature of this final part of the book is the famous Black - Scholes formula for pricing European options. Some guidance for further study of this exciting and rapidly changing subject is given in the last chapter. The book has approximately 100 exercises, for which most solutions have been provided.

The book "Computational Error and Complexity in Science and Engineering" pervades all the science and engineering disciplines where computation occurs. Scientific and engineering computation happens to be the interface between the mathematical model/problem and the real world application. One needs to obtain good quality numerical values for any real-world implementation. Just mathematical quantities symbols are of no use to engineers/technologists. Computational complexity of the numerical method to solve the mathematical model, also computed along with the solution, on the other hand, will tell us how much computation/computational effort has been spent to achieve that quality of result. Anyone who wants the specified physical problem to be solved has every right to know the quality of the solution as well as the resources spent for the solution. The computed error as well as the complexity provide the scientific convincing answer to these questions.
Specifically some of the disciplines in which the book will be readily useful are (i) Computational Mathematics, (ii) Applied Mathematics/Computational Engineering, Numerical and Computational Physics, Simulation and Modelling. Operations Research (both deterministic and stochastic), Computing Methodologies, Computer Applications, and Numerical Methods in Engineering.
Key Features:
- Describes precisely ready-to-use computational error and complexity
- Includes simple easy-to-grasp examples wherever necessary.
- Presents error and complexity in error-free, parallel, and probabilistic methods.
- Discusses deterministic and probabilistic methods with error and complexity.
- Points out the scope and limitation ofmathematical error-bounds.
- Provides a comprehensive up-to-date bibliography after each chapter.
- Describes precisely ready-to-use computational error and complexity
- Includes simple easy-to-grasp examples wherever necessary.
- Presents error and complexity in error-free, parallel, and probabilistic methods.
- Discusses deterministic and probabilistic methods with error and complexity.
- Points out the scope and limitation of mathematical error-bounds.
- Provides a comprehensive up-to-date bibliography after each chapter.

This book addresses the peculiarities of nonlinear wave propagation in waveguides and explains how the stratification depends on the waveguide and confinement. An example of this is an optical fibre that does not allow light to pass through a density jump. The book also discusses propagation in the nonlinear regime, which is characterized by a specific waveform and amplitude, to demonstrate so-called solitonic behaviour. In this case, a wave may be strongly localized, and propagates with a weak change in shape. In the waveguide case there are additional contributions of dispersion originating from boundary or asymptotic conditions. Offering concrete guidance on solving application problems, this essentially (more than twice) expanded second edition includes various aspects of guided propagation of nonlinear waves as well as new topics like solitonic behaviour of one-mode and multi-mode excitation and propagation and plasma waveguides, propagation peculiarities of electromagnetic waves in metamaterials, new types of dispersion, dissipation, electromagnetic waveguides, planetary waves and plasma waves interaction.The key feature of the solitonic behaviour is based on Coupled KdV and Coupled NS systems. The systems are derived in this book and solved numerically with the proof of stability and convergence. The domain wall dynamics of ferromagnetic microwaveguides and Bloch waves in nano-waveguides are also included with some problems of magnetic momentum and charge transport.

The series of texts composing this book is based on the lectures presented during the II Jose Plinio Baptista School of Cosmology, held in Pedra Azul (Espirito Santo, Brazil) between 9 and 14 March 2014. This II JBPCosmo has been entirely devoted to the problem of understanding theoretical and observational aspects of Cosmic Background Radiation (CMB).The CMB is one of the most important phenomena in Physics and a fundamental probe of our Universe when it was only 400,000 years old. It is an extraordinary laboratory where we can learn from particle physics to cosmology; its discovery in 1965 has been a landmark event in the history of physics.The observations of the anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background radiation through the satellites COBE, WMAP and Planck provided a huge amount of data which are being analyzed in order to discover important informations regarding the composition of our universe and the process of structure formation.

This book presents a cross-disciplinary approach to smart grids, offering an invaluable basis for understanding their complexity and potential, and for discussing their technical, legal, economic, societal, psychological and security aspects. Smart grids are a complex phenomenon involving new, active roles for consumers and prosumers, novel social, political and cultural practices, advanced ICT, new markets, security of supply issues, the informational turn in energy, valuation of assets and investments, technological innovation and (de)regulation. Furthermore, smart grids offer new interfaces, in turn creating hybrid fields: with the increasing use of electric vehicles and electric transportation, smart grids represent the crossroads of energy and mobility. While the aim is to achieve more sustainable production, transportation and use of energy, the importance of smart grids actually has less to do with electricity, heat or gas, and far more with transforming the infrastructure needed to deliver energy, as well as the roles of its owners, operators and users. The immediate goal is to contribute positively to a sustainable world society. The chapters are revised and expanded texts based upon lectures delivered at the Groningen Energy Summer School 2014. Questions for further discussion at the end of each chapter highlight the key themes that emerge. The book offers an indispensable resource for researchers, professionals and companies in the power supply industry, and for students seeking to broaden and deepen their understanding of smart grids.

This volume provides academic discussion on the theory and practice of mathematical analysis of nonlinear and inverse problems in electromagnetics and their applications. From mathematical problem statement to numerical results, the featured articles provide a concise overview of comprehensive approaches to the solution of problems. Articles highlight the most recent research concerning reliable theoretical approaches and numerical techniques and cover a wide range of applications, including acoustics, electromagnetics, optics, medical imaging, and geophysics. The nonlinear and ill-posed nature of inverse problems and the challenges they present when developing new numerical methods are explained, and numerical verification of proposed new methods on simulated and experimental data is provided. Based on the special session of the same name at the 2017 Progress in Electromagnetics Research Symposium, this book offers a platform for interaction between theoretical and practical researchers and between senior and incoming members in the field.

Broadly organized around the applications of Fourier analysis, "Methods of Applied Mathematics with a MATLAB Overview" covers both classical applications in partial differential equations and boundary value problems, as well as the concepts and methods associated to the Laplace, Fourier, and discrete transforms. Transform inversion problems are also examined, along with the necessary background in complex variables. A final chapter treats wavelets, short-time Fourier analysis, and geometrically-based transforms. The computer program MATLAB is emphasized throughout, and an introduction to MATLAB is provided in an appendix. Rich in examples, illustrations, and exercises of varying difficulty, this text can be used for a one- or two-semester course and is ideal for students in pure and applied mathematics, physics, and engineering.

This monograph provides a concise presentation of a mathematical approach to metastability, a wide-spread phenomenon in the dynamics of non-linear systems - physical, chemical, biological or economic - subject to the action of temporal random forces typically referred to as noise, based on potential theory of reversible Markov processes. The authors shed new light on the metastability phenomenon as a sequence of visits of the path of the process to different metastable sets, and focuses on the precise analysis of the respective hitting probabilities and hitting times of these sets. The theory is illustrated with many examples, ranging from finite-state Markov chains, finite-dimensional diffusions and stochastic partial differential equations, via mean-field dynamics with and without disorder, to stochastic spin-flip and particle-hop dynamics and probabilistic cellular automata, unveiling the common universal features of these systems with respect to their metastable behaviour. The monograph will serve both as comprehensive introduction and as reference for graduate students and researchers interested in metastability.

This edited volume offers a clear in-depth overview of research covering a variety of issues in social search and recommendation systems. Within the broader context of social network analysis it focuses on important and up-coming topics such as real-time event data collection, frequent-sharing pattern mining, improvement of computer-mediated communication, social tagging information, search system personalization, new detection mechanisms for the identification of online user groups, and many more. The twelve contributed chapters are extended versions of conference papers as well as completely new invited chapters in the field of social search and recommendation systems. This first-of-its kind survey of current methods will be of interest to researchers from both academia and industry working in the field of social networks.

During the past three decades, the development of nonlinear analysis, dynamical systems and their applications to science and engineering has stimulated renewed enthusiasm for the theory of Ordinary Differential Equations (ODE).This useful book, which is based on the lecture notes of a well-received graduate course, emphasizes both theory and applications, taking numerous examples from physics and biology to illustrate the application of ODE theory and techniques.Written in a straightforward and easily accessible style, this volume presents dynamical systems in the spirit of nonlinear analysis to readers at a graduate level and serves both as a textbook and as a valuable resource for researchers.This new edition contains corrections and suggestions from the various readers and users. A new chapter on Monotone Dynamical Systems is added to take into account the new developments in ordinary differential equations and dynamical systems.

Newton's classical physics and its underlying ontology are loaded with several metaphysical hypotheses that cannot be justified by rational reasoning nor by experimental evidence. Furthermore, it is well known that some of these hypotheses are not contained in the great theories of Modern Physics, such as the theory of Special Relativity and Quantum Mechanics. This book shows that, on the basis of Newton's classical physics and by rational reconstruction, the theory of Special Relativity as well as Quantum Mechanics can be obtained by partly eliminating or attenuating the metaphysical hypotheses. Moreover, it is shown that these reconstructions do not require additional hypotheses or new experimental results. In the second edition the rational reconstructions are completed with respect to General Relativity and Cosmology. In addition, the statistics of quantum objects is elaborated in more detail with respect to the rational reconstruction of quantum mechanics. The new material completes the approach of the book as much as it is possible at the present state of knowledge. Presumably, the most important contribution that is added to the second edition refers to the problem of interpretation of the three great theories of Modern Physics. It is shown in detail that in the light of rational reconstructions even realistic interpretations of the three theories of Modern Physics are possible and can easily be achieved.

This thesis presents fundamental work that explains two mysteries concerning the trajectory of interplanetary spacecraft. For the first problem, the so-called Pioneer anomaly, a wholly new and innovative method was developed for computing all contributions to the acceleration due to onboard thermal sources. Through a careful analysis of all parts of the spacecraft Pioneer 10 and 11, the application of this methodology has yielded the observed anomalous acceleration. This marks a major achievement, given that this problem remained unsolved for more than a decade. For the second anomaly, the flyby anomaly, a tiny glitch in the velocity of spacecraft that perform gravity assisting maneuvers on Earth, no definitive answer is put forward; however a quite promising strategy for examining the problem is provided and a new mission is proposed. The proposal largely consists in using the Galileo Navigational Satellite System to track approaching spacecraft, and in considering a small test body that approaches Earth from a highly elliptic trajectory.

Der Grundkurs Theoretische Physik deckt in 7 Banden alle fur das Diplom und fur Bachelor/Master-Studiengange massgeblichen Gebiete ab. Jeder Band vermittelt das im jeweiligen Semester notwendige theoretisch-physikalische Rustzeug. UEbungsaufgaben mit ausfuhrlichen Loesungen dienen der Vertiefung des Stoffs. Der 4. Band behandelt die Gebiete Thermodynamik und Relativitatstheorie. Fur die Neuauflage wurde er grundlegend uberarbeitet und um 24 Aufgaben erganzt. Durch die zweifarbige Gestaltung ist der Stoff jetzt noch ubersichtlicher gegliedert.

This book describes an effective framework for setting the right process parameters and new mold design to reduce the current plastic defects in injection molding. It presents a new approach for the optimization of injection molding process via (i) a new mold runner design which leads to 20 percent reduction in scrap rate, 2.5 percent reduction in manufacturing time, and easier ejection of injected part, (ii) a new mold gate design which leads to less plastic defects; and (iii) the introduction of a number of promising alternatives with high moldability indices. Besides presenting important developments of relevance academic research, the book also includes useful information for people working in the injection molding industry, especially in the green manufacturing field.

Lab Math: A Handbook of Measurements, Calculations, and Other Quantitative Skills for Use at the Bench, 2nd edition, collects in one place the numbers and equations you rely on for your experiments and use to report your data-what they mean and how to use them-as well as easy-to-follow shortcuts for making the math easier. Written in an accessible and informal style, Lab Math describes basic mathematical principles and various tasks involving numbers, including how to calibrate lab equipment, how to make solutions, and the numbers involved in various methods for quantifying DNA, RNA, and proteins, and an all-new section on quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Basic statistical ideas and methods and the proper reporting of uncertainty are described in simple-to-understand language. Also included are reference tables, charts and "plug-and-chug" equation blanks for specific experimental procedures. Since the publication of the first edition in 2003, Lab Math has become an essential math reference and teaching resource for both on-the-spot practical information and background for understanding numerical tasks. Important additions in this second edition make Lab Math an even more useful tool for every laboratory.

The main concern of the book is analysis of biological processes, the final stage of which is mathematical modeling, i.e. quantitative presentation of the processes in rigorous mathematical terms. It is designated for non-mathematicians. Mathematical models can be compared with experimental data thus verifying the validity of the models and finally of the initial assumptions and verbal descriptions of the processes. The models (usually in the form of mathematical equations) are achieved painlessly via the schemes summarising verbal description of what is known concerning the processes. To solve the equations computer software is used. The step-by-step analysis leads to quite sophisticated models some of them being original. The book helps the reader to develop more general approach to the problems. It may be useful for experienced readers as well.

"Mathematical Concepts and Methods in Modern Biology" offers a quantitative framework for analyzing, predicting, and modulating the behavior of complex biological systems. The book presents important mathematical concepts, methods and tools in the context of essential questions raised in modern biology.

Designed around the principles of project-based learning and problem-solving, the book considers biological topics such as neuronal networks, plant population growth, metabolic pathways, and phylogenetic tree reconstruction. The mathematical modeling tools brought to bear on these topics include Boolean and ordinary differential equations, projection matrices, agent-based modeling and several algebraic approaches. Heavy computation in some of the examples is eased by the use of freely available open-source software.
Features self-contained chapters with real biological research examples using freely available computational toolsSpans several mathematical techniques at basic to advanced levelsOffers broad perspective on the uses of algebraic geometry/polynomial algebra in molecular systems biology"

This book presents a careful selection of the contributions presented at the Mathematical Methods in Engineering (MME10) International Symposium, held at the Polytechnic Institute of Coimbra- Engineering Institute of Coimbra (IPC/ISEC), Portugal, October 21-24, 2010. The volume discusses recent developments about theoretical and applied mathematics toward the solution of engineering problems, thus covering a wide range of topics, such as: Automatic Control, Autonomous Systems, Computer Science, Dynamical Systems and Control, Electronics, Finance and Economics, Fluid Mechanics and Heat Transfer, Fractional Mathematics, Fractional Transforms and Their Applications, Fuzzy Sets and Systems, Image and Signal Analysis, Image Processing, Mechanics, Mechatronics, Motor Control and Human Movement Analysis, Nonlinear Dynamics, Partial Differential Equations, Robotics, Acoustics, Vibration and Control, and Wavelets.

This volume developed from a Workshop on Natural Locomotion in Fluids and on Surfaces: Swimming, Flying, and Sliding which was held at the Institute for Mathematics and its Applications (IMA) at the University of Minnesota, from June 1-5, 2010. The subject matter ranged widely from observational data to theoretical mechanics, and reflected the broad scope of the workshop. In both the prepared presentations and in the informal discussions, the workshop engaged exchanges across disciplines and invited a lively interaction between modelers and observers. The articles in this volume were invited and fully refereed. They provide a representative if necessarily incomplete account of the field of natural locomotion during a period of rapid growth and expansion. The papers presented at the workshop, and the contributions to the present volume, can be roughly divided into those pertaining to swimming on the scale of marine organisms, swimming of microorganisms at low Reynolds numbers, animal flight, and sliding and other related examples of locomotion.

The objective of Volume II is to show how asymptotic methods, with the thickness as the small parameter, indeed provide a powerful means of justifying two-dimensional plate theories. More specifically, without any recourse to any "a priori" assumptions of a geometrical or mechanical nature, it is shown that in the linear case, the three-dimensional displacements, once properly scaled, converge in "H"1 towards a limit that satisfies the well-known two-dimensional equations of the linear Kirchhoff-Love theory; the convergence of stress is also established.

In the nonlinear case, again after "ad hoc" scalings have been performed, it is shown that the leading term of a formal asymptotic expansion of the three-dimensional solution satisfies well-known two-dimensional equations, such as those of the nonlinear Kirchhoff-Love theory, or the von Karman equations. Special attention is also given to the first convergence result obtained in this case, which leads to two-dimensional large deformation, frame-indifferent, nonlinear membrane theories. It is also demonstrated that asymptotic methods can likewise be used for justifying other lower-dimensional equations of elastic shallow shells, and the coupled pluri-dimensional equations of elastic multi-structures, i.e., structures with junctions. In each case, the existence, uniqueness or multiplicity, and regularity of solutions to the limit equations obtained in this fashion are also studied.

The author develops a new perturbative formalism of non-equilibrium thermal quantum field theory for non-homogeneous backgrounds. As a result of this formulation, the author is able to show how so-called pinch singularities can be removed, without resorting to ad hoc prescriptions, or effective resummations of absorptive effects. Thus, the author arrives at a diagrammatic approach to non-equilibrium field theory, built from modified Feynman rules that are manifestly time-dependent from tree level. This new formulation provides an alternative framework in which to derive master time evolution equations for physically meaningful particle number densities, which are valid to all orders in perturbation theory and to all orders in gradient expansion. Once truncated in a loop-wise sense, these evolution equations capture non-equilibrium dynamics on all time-scales, systematically describing energy-violating processes and the non-Markovian evolution of memory effects

This book presents mathematical models of mob control with threshold (conformity) collective decision-making of the agents. Based on the results of analysis of the interconnection between the micro- and macromodels of active network structures, it considers the static (deterministic, stochastic and game-theoretic) and dynamic (discrete- and continuous-time) models of mob control, and highlights models of informational confrontation. Many of the results are applicable not only to mob control problems, but also to control problems arising in social groups, online social networks, etc. Aimed at researchers and practitioners, it is also a valuable resource for undergraduate and postgraduate students as well as doctoral candidates specializing in the field of collective behavior modeling.

The book will provide an exhaustive and clear explanation of how Statistics, Mathematics and Informatics have been used in cancer research, and seeks to help cancer researchers in achieving their objectives. To do so, state-of-the-art Biostatistics, Biomathematics and Bioinformatics methods will be described and discussed in detail through illustrative and capital examples taken from cancer research work already published. The book will provide a guide for cancer researchers in using Statistics, Mathematics and Informatics, clarifying the contribution of these logical sciences to the study of cancer, thoroughly explaining their procedures and methods, and providing criteria to their appropriate use.

Ge and III-V compounds, semiconductors with high carrier mobilities, are candidates to replace Si as the channel in MOS devices. 2D materials - like graphene and MoS_2 - are also envisioned to replace Si in the future. This thesis is devoted to the first-principles modeling of the vibrational properties of these novel channel materials. The first part of the thesis focuses on the vibrational properties of various oxides on Ge, making it possible to identify the vibrational signature of specific defects which could hamper the proper functioning of MOSFETs. The second part of the thesis reports on the electronic and vibrational properties of novel 2D materials like silicene and germanene, the Si and Ge 2D counterparts of graphene. The interaction of these 2D materials with metallic and non-metallic substrates is investigated. It was predicted, for the first time, and later experimentally confirmed, that silicene could be grown on a non-metallic template like MoS_2, a breakthrough that could open the door to the possible use of silicene in future nanoelectronic devices.