The numerous applications of optimal control theory have given an incentive to the development of approximate techniques aimed at the construction of control laws and the optimization of dynamical systems. These constructive approaches rely on small parameter methods (averaging, regular and singular perturbations), which are well-known and have been proven to be efficient in nonlinear mechanics and optimal control theory (maximum principle, variational calculus and dynamic programming). An essential feature of the procedures for solving optimal control problems consists in the necessity for dealing with two-point boundary-value problems for nonlinear and, as a rule, nonsmooth multi-dimensional sets of differential equations. This circumstance complicates direct applications of the above-mentioned perturbation methods which have been developed mostly for investigating initial-value (Cauchy) problems. There is now a need for a systematic presentation of constructive analytical per turbation methods relevant to optimal control problems for nonlinear systems. The purpose of this book is to meet this need in the English language scientific literature and to present consistently small parameter techniques relating to the constructive investigation of some classes of optimal control problems which often arise in prac tice. This book is based on a revised and modified version of the monograph: L. D. Akulenko "Asymptotic methods in optimal control." Moscow: Nauka, 366 p. (in Russian)."

"This book collects in one volume the author's considerable results in the area of the summation of series and their representation in closed form, and details the techniques by which they have been obtained... the calculations are given in plenty of detail, and closely related work which has appeared in a variety of places is conveniently collected together." --The Australian Mathematical Society Gazette

This book develops methods for describing random dynamical systems, and it illustrats how the methods can be used in a variety of applications. Appeals to researchers and graduate students who require tools to investigate stochastic systems.

This self-contained text presents quantum mechanics from the point of view of some computational examples with a mixture of mathematical clarity often not found in texts offering only a purely physical point of view. Emphasis is placed on the systematic application of the Nikiforov-- Uvarov theory of generalized hypergeometric differential equations to solve the Schr"dinger equation and to obtain the quantization of energies from a single unified point of view.

In the modern theory of boundary value problems the following ap proach to investigation is agreed upon (we call it the functional approach): some functional spaces are chosen; the statements of boundary value prob the basis of these spaces; and the solvability of lems are formulated on the problems, properties of solutions, and their dependence on the original data of the problems are analyzed. These stages are put on the basis of the correct statement of different problems of mathematical physics (or of the definition of ill-posed problems). For example, if the solvability of a prob lem in the functional spaces chosen cannot be established then, probably, the reason is in their unsatisfactory choice. Then the analysis should be repeated employing other functional spaces. Elliptical problems can serve as an example of classical problems which are analyzed by this approach. Their investigations brought a number of new notions and results in the theory of Sobolev spaces W;(D) which, in turn, enabled us to create a sufficiently complete theory of solvability of elliptical equations. Nowadays the mathematical theory of radiative transfer problems and kinetic equations is an extensive area of modern mathematical physics. It has various applications in astrophysics, the theory of nuclear reactors, geophysics, the theory of chemical processes, semiconductor theory, fluid mechanics, etc. 25,29,31,39,40, 47, 52, 78, 83, 94, 98, 120, 124, 125, 135, 146]."

In the last ten to fifteen years there have been many important developments in the theory of integrable equations. This period is marked in particular by the strong impact of soliton theory in many diverse areas of mathematics and physics; for example, algebraic geometry (the solution of the Schottky problem), group theory (the discovery of quantum groups), topology (the connection of Jones polynomials with integrable models), and quantum gravity (the connection of the KdV with matrix models). This is the first book to present a comprehensive overview of these developments. Numbered among the authors are many of the most prominent researchers in the field.

During the week of August 31 - September 4, 1998, a conference in honour of Vladimir Maz'ya was held in Rostock as a satellite meeting of the World Congress of Mathematicians. It was sponsored by the German Research Founda tion (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft) and the Ministry of Education and Cul tural Affairs of the land Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. During his forty year career Maz'ya contributed to so many areas of mathematical analysis that such a broad topic of the conference as "Functional Analysis, Partial Differential Equations and Applications" sounds quite nat al. The conference was organized by the Depart ment of Mathematics of the University of Rostock and the Weierstrass Institute of Applied Analysis and Stochastics in Berlin on the occasion of his 60th birth day. For many years Maz'ya was connected with mathematicians from Berlin and Rostock through his work in potential theory, in differential and pseudodifferen tial equations and in approximation theory. In 1990 he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Rostock. Shortly before the meeting, one of its organizers, an outstanding mathematician and Maz'ya's dear friend, Siegfried Pr6Bdorf died. This was a heavy loss for the and for the conference in particular. During the German mathematical community meeting the rector of the University of Rostock, Prof. Wildenhain, the director of the Weierstrass Institute, Prof. Sprekels, and Prof. Maz'ya remembered S. Pr6Bdorf very warmly. The conference was attended by 109 mathematicians from 21 countries, and the program included 24 invited lectures and 63 short communications."

The fundamental theorem of algebra states that any complex polynomial must have a complex root. This book examines three pairs of proofs of the theorem from three different areas of mathematics: abstract algebra, complex analysis and topology. The first proof in each pair is fairly straightforward and depends only on what could be considered elementary mathematics. However, each of these first proofs leads to more general results from which the fundamental theorem can be deduced as a direct consequence. These general results constitute the second proof in each pair. To arrive at each of the proofs, enough of the general theory of each relevant area is developed to understand the proof. In addition to the proofs and techniques themselves, many applications such as the insolvability of the quintic and the transcendence of e and pi are presented. Finally, a series of appendices give six additional proofs including a version of Gauss'original first proof. The book is intended for junior/senior level undergraduate mathematics students or first year graduate students, and would make an ideal "capstone" course in mathematics.

Limit theorems for random sequences may conventionally be divided into two large parts, one of them dealing with convergence of distributions (weak limit theorems) and the other, with almost sure convergence, that is to say, with asymptotic prop erties of almost all sample paths of the sequences involved (strong limit theorems). Although either of these directions is closely related to another one, each of them has its own range of specific problems, as well as the own methodology for solving the underlying problems. This book is devoted to the second of the above mentioned lines, which means that we study asymptotic behaviour of almost all sample paths of linearly transformed sums of independent random variables, vectors, and elements taking values in topological vector spaces. In the classical works of P.Levy, A.Ya.Khintchine, A.N.Kolmogorov, P.Hartman, A.Wintner, W.Feller, Yu.V.Prokhorov, and M.Loeve, the theory of almost sure asymptotic behaviour of increasing scalar-normed sums of independent random vari ables was constructed. This theory not only provides conditions of the almost sure convergence of series of independent random variables, but also studies different ver sions of the strong law of large numbers and the law of the iterated logarithm. One should point out that, even in this traditional framework, there are still problems which remain open, while many definitive results have been obtained quite recently."

This IMA Volume in Mathematics and its Applications DEGENERATE DIFFUSIONS is based on the proceedings of a workshop which was an integral part of the 1990- 91 IMA program on "Phase Transitions and Free Boundaries". The aim of this workshop was to provide some focus in the study of degenerate diffusion equations, and by involving scientists and engineers as well as mathematicians, to keep this focus firmly linked to concrete problems. We thank Wei-Ming Ni, L.A. Peletier and J.L. Vazquez for organizing the meet ing. We especially thank Wei-Ming Ni for editing the proceedings. We also take this opportunity to thank those agencies whose financial support made the workshop possible: the Army Research Office, the National Science Foun dation, and the Office of Naval Research. A vner Friedman Willard Miller, Jr. PREFACE This volume is the proceedings of the IMA workshop "Degenerate Diffusions" held at the University of Minnesota from May 13 to May 18, 1991.

From the reviews: "This book is concerned with the application of methods from dynamical systems and bifurcation theories to the study of nonlinear oscillations. Chapter 1 provides a review of basic results in the theory of dynamical systems, covering both ordinary differential equations and discrete mappings. Chapter 2 presents 4 examples from nonlinear oscillations. Chapter 3 contains a discussion of the methods of local bifurcation theory for flows and maps, including center manifolds and normal forms. Chapter 4 develops analytical methods of averaging and perturbation theory. Close analysis of geometrically defined two-dimensional maps with complicated invariant sets is discussed in chapter 5. Chapter 6 covers global homoclinic and heteroclinic bifurcations. The final chapter shows how the global bifurcations reappear in degenerate local bifurcations and ends with several more models of physical problems which display these behaviors." #"Book Review - " "Engineering Societies Library, New York"#1 "An attempt to make research tools concerning strange attractors' developed in the last 20 years available to applied scientists and to make clear to research mathematicians the needs in applied works. Emphasis on geometric and topological solutions of differential equations. Applications mainly drawn from nonlinear oscillations." #"American Mathematical Monthly"#2

"Spherical soap bubbles", isometric minimal immersions of round spheres into round spheres, or spherical immersions for short, belong to a fast growing and fascinating area between algebra and geometry. In this accessible book, the author traces the development of the study of spherical minimal immersions over the past 30 plus years, including a valuable selection of exercises.

Systems with sub-processes evolving on many different time scales are ubiquitous in applications: chemical reactions, electro-optical and neuro-biological systems, to name just a few. This volume contains papers that expose the state of the art in mathematical techniques for analyzing such systems. Recently developed geometric ideas are highlighted in this work that includes a theory of relaxation-oscillation phenomena in higher dimensional phase spaces. Subtle exponentially small effects result from singular perturbations implicit in certain multiple time scale systems. Their role in the slow motion of fronts, bifurcations, and jumping between invariant tori are all explored here. Neurobiology has played a particularly stimulating role in the development of these techniques and one paper is directed specifically at applying geometric singular perturbation theory to reveal the synchrony in networks of neural oscillators.

Harmonic Analysis in China is a collection of surveys and research papers written by distinguished Chinese mathematicians from within the People's Republic of China and expatriates. The book covers topics in analytic function spaces of several complex variables, integral transforms, harmonic analysis on classical Lie groups and manifolds, LP- estimates of the Cauchy-Riemann equations and wavelet transforms. The reader will also be able to trace the great influence of the late Professor Loo-keng Hua's ideas and methods on research into harmonic analysis on classical domains and the theory of functions of several complex variables. Western scientists will thus become acquainted with the unique features and future trends of harmonic analysis in China. Audience: Analysts, as well as engineers and physicists who use harmonic analysis.

We have classified the articles presented here in two Sections according to their general content. In Part I we have included papers which deal with statistical mechanics, math ematical aspects of dynamical systems and sthochastic effects in nonequilibrium systems. Part II is devoted mainly to instabilities and self-organization in extended nonequilibrium systems. The study of partial differential equations by numerical and analytic methods plays a great role here and many works are related to this subject. Most recent developments in this fascinating and rapidly growing area are discussed. PART I STATISTICAL MECHANICS AND RELATED TOPICS NONEQUILIBRIUM POTENTIALS FOR PERIOD DOUBLING R. Graham and A. Hamm Fachbereich Physik, Universitiit Gesamthochschule Essen D4300 Essen 1 Germany ABSTRACT. In this lecture we consider the influence of weak stochastic perturbations on period doubling using nonequilibrium potentials, a concept which is explained in section 1 and formulated for the case of maps in section 2. In section 3 nonequilibrium potentials are considered for the family of quadratic maps (a) at the Feigenbaum 'attractor' with Gaussian noise, (b) for more general non Gaussian noise, and (c) for the case of a strange repeller. Our discussion will be informal. A more detailed account of this and related material can be found in our papers [1-3] and in the reviews [4, 5], where further references to related work are also given. 1.

This book explores new difference schemes for approximating the solutions of regular and singular perturbation boundary-value problems for PDEs. The construction is based on the exact difference scheme and Taylor's decomposition on the two or three points, which permits investigation of differential equations with variable coefficients and regular and singular perturbation boundary value problems.

This volume contains the proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on "Asymptotic-induced Numerical Methods for Partial Differ ential Equations, Critical Parameters, and Domain Decomposition," held at Beaune (France), May 25-28, 1992. The purpose of the workshop was to stimulate the integration of asymp totic analysis, domain decomposition methods, and symbolic manipulation tools for the numerical solution of partial differential equations (PDEs) with critical parameters. A workshop on the same topic was held at Argonne Na tional Laboratory in February 1990. (The proceedings were published under the title Asymptotic Analysis and the Numerical Solu.tion of Partial Differ ential Equations, Hans G. Kaper and Marc Garbey, eds., Lecture Notes in Pure and Applied Mathematics. Vol. 130, .Marcel Dekker, Inc., New York, 1991.) In a sense, the present proceedings represent a progress report on the topic area. Comparing the two sets of proceedings, we see an increase in the quantity as well as the quality of the contributions. 110re research is being done in the topic area, and the interest covers serious, nontrivial problems. We are pleased with this outcome and expect to see even more advances in the next few years as the field progresses."

This book contains the refereed papers which were presented at the second In ternational Dortmund Meeting on Approximation Theory (IDoMAT 98) at Haus Bommerholz, the conference center of Dortmund University, during the week of February 23-27,1998. At this conference 52 researchers and specialists from Bul garia, China, France, Great Britain, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Roumania, South Africa and Germany participated and described new developments in the fields of uni variate and multivariate approximation theory. The papers cover topics such as radial basis functions, bivariate spline interpolation, multilevel interpolation, mul tivariate triangular Bernstein bases, Pade approximation, comonotone polynomial approximation, weighted and unweighted polynomial approximation, adaptive ap proximation, approximation operators of binomial type, quasi interpolants, gen eralized convexity and Peano kernel techniques. This research has applications in areas such as computer aided geometric design, as applied in engineering and medical technology (e. g. computerised tomography). Again this international conference was wholly organized by the Dortmund Lehrstuhl VIII for Approximation Theory. The organizers attached great impor tance to inviting not only well-known researchers but also young talented math ematicians. IDoMAT 98 gave an excellent opportunity for talks and discussions between researchers from different fields of Approximation Theory. In this way the conference was characterized by a warm and cordial atmosphere. The success of IDoMAT 98 was above all due to everyone of the participants."

One service mathematics has rendered the 'Ht moi, ...* Ii j'avait so comment en revenir, je ny _ais point aile':' human race. It has put common sense back Jules Verne where it belongs, on the topmost shelf neJll to the dusty canister labelled 'discarded non- The series is diwrgent; therefore we may be sense' . * ble to do something with it. Eric T. Bell O. H eniside Mathematics is a tool for thought. A highly necessary tool in a world where both feedback and non- linearities abound. Similarly, alI kinds of parts of mathematics serve as tools for other parts and for other sciences. Applying a simple rewriting rule to the quote on the right above one finds such statements as: 'One service topology has rendered mathematical physics ...'; 'One service logic has rendered com- puter science ...'; 'One service category theory has rendered mathematics ...'. All arguably true. And all statements obtainable this way form part of the raison d't!tre of this series.

The present edition differs from the original German one mainly in the following addi tional material: weighted norm inequalities for maximal functions and singular opera tors ( 12, Chap. XI), polysingular integral operators and pseudo-differential operators ( 7, 8, Chap. XII), and spline approximation methods for solving singular integral equations ( 4, Chap. XVII). Furthermore, we added two subsections on polynomial approximation methods for singular integral equations over an interval or with dis continuous coefficients (Nos. 3.6 and 3.7, Chap. XVII). In many places we incorporated new results which, in the vast majority, are from the last five years after publishing the German edition (note that the references are enlarged by about 150 new titles). S. G. Mikhlin wrote 7, 8, Chap. XII, and the other additions were drawn up by S. Prossdorf. We wish to express our deepest gratitude to Dr. A. Bottcher and Dr. R. Lehmann who together translated the text into English carefully and with remarkable expertise."

Providing an introduction to functional analysis, this text treats in detail its application to boundary-value problems and finite elements, and is distinguished by the fact that abstract concepts are motivated and illustrated wherever possible. It is intended for use by senior undergraduates and graduates in mathematics, the physical sciences and engineering, who may not have been exposed to the conventional prerequisites for a course in functional analysis, such as real analysis. Mature researchers wishing to learn the basic ideas of functional analysis will equally find this useful. Offers a good grounding in those aspects of functional analysis which are most relevant to a proper understanding and appreciation of the mathematical aspects of boundary-value problems and the finite element method.

This text on advanced calculus discusses such topics as number systems, the extreme value problem, continuous functions, differentiation, integration and infinite series. The reader will find the focus of attention shifted from the learning and applying of computational techniques to careful reasoning from hypothesis to conclusion. The book is intended both for a terminal course and as preparation for more advanced studies in mathematics, science, engineering and computation.

We study in Part I of this monograph the computational aspect of almost all moduli of continuity over wide classes of functions exploiting some of their convexity properties. To our knowledge it is the first time the entire calculus of moduli of smoothness has been included in a book. We then present numerous applications of Approximation Theory, giving exact val ues of errors in explicit forms. The K-functional method is systematically avoided since it produces nonexplicit constants. All other related books so far have allocated very little space to the computational aspect of moduli of smoothness. In Part II, we study/examine the Global Smoothness Preservation Prop erty (GSPP) for almost all known linear approximation operators of ap proximation theory including: trigonometric operators and algebraic in terpolation operators of Lagrange, Hermite-Fejer and Shepard type, also operators of stochastic type, convolution type, wavelet type integral opera tors and singular integral operators, etc. We present also a sufficient general theory for GSPP to hold true. We provide a great variety of applications of GSPP to Approximation Theory and many other fields of mathemat ics such as Functional analysis, and outside of mathematics, fields such as computer-aided geometric design (CAGD). Most of the time GSPP meth ods are optimal. Various moduli of smoothness are intensively involved in Part II. Therefore, methods from Part I can be used to calculate exactly the error of global smoothness preservation. It is the first time in the literature that a book has studied GSPP.

This IMA Volume in Mathematics and its Applications WAVE PROPAGATION IN COMPLEX MEDIA is based on the proceedings of two workshops: * Wavelets, multigrid and other fast algorithms (multipole, FFT) and their use in wave propagation and * Waves in random and other complex media. Both workshops were integral parts of the 1994-1995 IMA program on "Waves and Scattering." We would like to thank Gregory Beylkin, Robert Burridge, Ingrid Daubechies, Leonid Pastur, and George Papanicolaou for their excellent work as organizers of these meetings. We also take this opportunity to thank the National Science Foun dation (NSF), the Army Research Office (ARO, and the Office of Naval Research (ONR), whose financial support made these workshops possible. A vner Friedman Robert Gulliver v PREFACE During the last few years the numerical techniques for the solution of elliptic problems, in potential theory for example, have been drastically improved. Several so-called fast methods have been developed which re duce the required computing time many orders of magnitude over that of classical algorithms. The new methods include multigrid, fast Fourier transforms, multi pole methods and wavelet techniques. Wavelets have re cently been developed into a very useful tool in signal processing, the solu tion of integral equation, etc. Wavelet techniques should be quite useful in many wave propagation problems, especially in inhomogeneous and nonlin ear media where special features of the solution such as singularities might be tracked efficiently.

The history of continued fractions is certainly one of the longest among those of mathematical concepts, since it begins with Euclid's algorithm for the great est common divisor at least three centuries B.C. As it is often the case and like Monsieur Jourdain in Moliere's "Ie bourgeois gentilhomme" (who was speak ing in prose though he did not know he was doing so), continued fractions were used for many centuries before their real discovery. The history of continued fractions and Pade approximants is also quite im portant, since they played a leading role in the development of some branches of mathematics. For example, they were the basis for the proof of the tran scendence of 11' in 1882, an open problem for more than two thousand years, and also for our modern spectral theory of operators. Actually they still are of great interest in many fields of pure and applied mathematics and in numerical analysis, where they provide computer approximations to special functions and are connected to some convergence acceleration methods. Con tinued fractions are also used in number theory, computer science, automata, electronics, etc ..."