This book is a unique selection of work by world-class experts exploring the latest developments in Hamiltonian partial differential equations and their applications. Topics covered within are representative of the field’s wide scope, including KAM and normal form theories, perturbation and variational methods, integrable systems, stability of nonlinear solutions as well as applications to cosmology, fluid mechanics and water waves.The volume contains both surveys and original rese...

This monograph provides the first up-to-date and self-contained presentation of a recently discovered mathematical structure—the Schrödinger-Virasoro algebra. Just as Poincaré invariance or conformal (Virasoro) invariance play a key rôle in understanding, respectively, elementary particles and two-dimensional equilibrium statistical physics, this algebra of non-relativistic conformal symmetries may be expected to apply itself naturally to the study of some models of non-equilibrium statist...

The concept of time has fascinated humanity throughout recorded history, and it remains one of the biggest mysteries in science and philosophy. Time is clearly one of the fundamental building blocks of the universe and thus a deeper understanding of nature at a fundamental level also demands a comprehension of time. Furthermore, the origins of the universe are closely intertwined with the puzzle of time: Did time emerge at the Big Bang? Why does the arrow of time ‘conspire’ with the order ...

John Bell, FRS was one of the leading expositors and interpreters of modern quantum theory. He is particularly famous for his discovery of the crucial difference between the predictions of conventional quantum mechanics and the implications of local causality, a concept insisted on by Einstein. John Bell's work played a major role in the development of our current understanding of the profound nature of quantum concepts and of the fundamental limitations they impose on the applicability of...

As many readers will know, the 20th century was a time when the fields of mathematics and the sciences were seen as two separate entities. Caused by the rapid growth of the physical sciences and an increasing abstraction in mathematical research, each party, physicists and mathematicians alike, suffered a misconception; not only of the opposition’s theoretical underpinning, but of how the two subjects could be intertwined and effectively utilized. One sub-discipline that played a part in t...

This monograph explains the theory of quantum waveguides, that is, dynamics of quantum particles confined to regions in the form of tubes, layers, networks, etc. The focus is on relations between the confinement geometry on the one hand and the spectral and scattering properties of the corresponding quantum Hamiltonians on the other. Perturbations of such operators, in particular, by external fields are also considered. The volume provides a unique summary of twenty-five years of research ...

This book deals with the mechanics and physics of fractures at various scales. Based on advanced continuum mechanics of heterogeneous media, it develops a rigorous mathematical framework for single macrocrack problems as well as for the effective properties of microcracked materials. In both cases, two geometrical models of cracks are examined and discussed: the idealized representation of the crack as two parallel faces (the Griffith crack model), and the representation of a crack as a fl...

Transport phenomena problems that occur in engineering and physics are often multi-dimensional and multi-phase in character. When taking recourse to numerical methods the spectral method is particularly useful and efficient.The book is meant principally to train students and non-specialists to use the spectral method for solving problems that model fluid flow in closed geometries with heat or mass transfer. To this aim the reader should bring a working knowledge of fluid mechanics ...

Describing many of the most important aspects of Lie group theory, this book presents the subject in a 'hands on' way. Rather than concentrating on theorems and proofs, the book shows the applications of the material to physical sciences and applied mathematics. Many examples of Lie groups and Lie algebras are given throughout the text. The relation between Lie group theory and algorithms for solving ordinary differential equations is presented and shown to be analogous to the relation bet...

The finite element method is a technique for solving problems in applied science and engineering. The essence of this book is the application of the finite element method to the solution of boundary and initial-value problems posed in terms of partial differential equations. The method is developed for the solution of Poisson's equation, in a weighted-residual context, and then proceeds to time-dependent and nonlinear problems. The relationship with the variational approach is also explain...

Honoring Andrei Agrachev's 60th birthday, this volume presents recent advances in the interaction between Geometric Control Theory and sub-Riemannian geometry. On the one hand, Geometric Control Theory used the differential geometric and Lie algebraic language for studying controllability, motion planning, stabilizability and optimality for control systems. The geometric approach turned out to be fruitful in applications to robotics, vision modeling, mathematical physics etc. On the other ...

Advanced research reference examining the closed and open quantum systemsControl of Quantum Systems: Theory and Methods provides an insight into the modern approaches to control of quantum systems evolution, with a focus on both closed and open (dissipative) quantum systems. The topic is timely covering the newest research in the field, and presents and summarizes practical methods and addresses the more theoretical aspects of control, which are o...