This book offers a comprehensive introduction to the theory of linear and nonlinear Volterra integral equations (VIEs), ranging from Volterra's fundamental contributions and the resulting classical theory to more recent developments that include Volterra functional integral equations with various kinds of delays, VIEs with highly oscillatory kernels, and VIEs with non-compact operators. It will act as a 'stepping stone' to the literature on the advanced theory of VIEs, bringing the reader to the current state of the art in the theory. Each chapter contains a large number of exercises, extending from routine problems illustrating or complementing the theory to challenging open research problems. The increasingly important role of VIEs in the mathematical modelling of phenomena where memory effects play a key role is illustrated with some 30 concrete examples, and the notes at the end of each chapter feature complementary references as a guide to further reading.

This book showcases a subclass of hereditary systems, that is, systems with behaviour depending not only on their current state but also on their past history; it is an introduction to the mathematical theory of optimal control for stochastic difference Volterra equations of neutral type. As such, it will be of much interest to researchers interested in modelling processes in physics, mechanics, automatic regulation, economics and finance, biology, sociology and medicine for all of which such equations are very popular tools. The text deals with problems of optimal control such as meeting given performance criteria, and stabilization, extending them to neutral stochastic difference Volterra equations. In particular, it contrasts the difference analogues of solutions to optimal control and optimal estimation problems for stochastic integral Volterra equations with optimal solutions for corresponding problems in stochastic difference Volterra equations. Optimal Control of Stochastic Difference Volterra Equations commences with an historical introduction to the emergence of this type of equation with some additional mathematical preliminaries. It then deals with the necessary conditions for optimality in the control of the equations and constructs a feedback control scheme. The approximation of stochastic quasilinear Volterra equations with quadratic performance functionals is then considered. Optimal stabilization is discussed and the filtering problem formulated. Finally, two methods of solving the optimal control problem for partly observable linear stochastic processes, also with quadratic performance functionals, are developed. Integrating the author’s own research within the context of the current state-of-the-art of research in difference equations, hereditary systems theory and optimal control, this book is addressed to specialists in mathematical optimal control theory and to graduate students in pure and applied mathematics and control engineering.

Electromagnetic complex media are artificial materials that affect the propagation of electromagnetic waves in surprising ways not usually seen in nature. Because of their wide range of important applications, these materials have been intensely studied over the past twenty-five years, mainly from the perspectives of physics and engineering. But a body of rigorous mathematical theory has also gradually developed, and this is the first book to present that theory. Designed for researchers and advanced graduate students in applied mathematics, electrical engineering, and physics, this book introduces the electromagnetics of complex media through a systematic, state-of-the-art account of their mathematical theory. The book combines the study of well posedness, homogenization, and controllability of Maxwell equations complemented with constitutive relations describing complex media. The book treats deterministic and stochastic problems both in the frequency and time domains. It also covers computational aspects and scattering problems, among other important topics. Detailed appendices make the book self-contained in terms of mathematical prerequisites, and accessible to engineers and physicists as well as mathematicians.

This volume contains current work at the frontiers of research in quantum probability, infinite dimensional stochastic analysis, quantum information and statistics. It presents a carefully chosen collection of articles by experts to highlight the latest developments in those fields. Included in this volume are expository papers which will help increase communication between researchers working in these areas. The tools and techniques presented here will be of great value to research mathematicians, graduate students and applied mathematicians.

This volume contains current work at the frontiers of research in quantum probability, infinite dimensional stochastic analysis, quantum information and statistics. It presents a carefully chosen collection of articles by experts to highlight the latest developments in those fields. Included in this volume are expository papers which will help increase communication between researchers working in these areas. The tools and techniques presented here will be of great value to research mathematicians, graduate students and applied mathematicians.

Hereditary systems (or systems with either delay or after-effects) are widely used to model processes in physics, mechanics, control, economics and biology. An important element in their study is their stability. Stability conditions for difference equations with delay can be obtained using a Lyapunov functional. Lyapunov Functionals and Stability of Stochastic Difference Equations describes a general method of Lyapunov functional construction to investigate the stability of discrete- and continuous-time stochastic Volterra difference equations. The method allows the investigation of the degree to which the stability properties of differential equations are preserved in their difference analogues. The text is self-contained, beginning with basic definitions and the mathematical fundamentals of Lyapunov functional construction and moving on from particular to general stability results for stochastic difference equations with constant coefficients. Results are then discussed for stochastic difference equations of linear, nonlinear, delayed, discrete and continuous types. Examples are drawn from a variety of physical systems including inverted pendulum control, study of epidemic development, Nicholson’s blowflies equation and predator–prey relationships. Lyapunov Functionals and Stability of Stochastic Difference Equations is primarily addressed to experts in stability theory but will also be of use in the work of pure and computational mathematicians and researchers using the ideas of optimal control to study economic, mechanical and biological systems.