The unique feature of this book is that it considers the theory of partial differential equations in mathematical physics as the language of continuous processes, that is, as an interdisciplinary science that treats the hierarchy of mathematical phenomena as reflections of their physical counterparts. Special attention is drawn to tracing the development of these mathematical phenomena in different natural sciences, with examples drawn from continuum mechanics, electrodynamics, transport phenomena, thermodynamics, and chemical kinetics. At the same time, the authors trace the interrelation between the different types of problems - elliptic, parabolic, and hyperbolic - as the mathematical counterparts of stationary and evolutionary processes. This combination of mathematical comprehensiveness and natural scientific motivation represents a step forward in the presentation of the classical theory of PDEs, one that will be appreciated by both students and researchers alike.

During the days 14-18 of October 1991, we had the pleasure of attending a most interesting Conference on New Developments in Partial Differential Equations and Applications to Mathematical Physics in Ferrarra. The Conference was organized within the Scientific Program celebrating the six hundredth birthday of the University of Ferrarra and, after the many stimulating lectures and fruitful discussions, we may certainly conclude, together with the numerous participants, that it has represented a big success. The Conference would not have been possible without the financial support of several sources. In this respect, we are particularly grateful to the Comitato Organizzatore del VI Centenario, the University of Ferrarra in the Office of the Rector, Professor Antonio Rossi, the Consiglio Nationale delle Ricerche, and the Department of Mathematics of the University of Ferrarra. We should like to thank all of the partlClpants and the speakers, and we are especially grateful to those who have contributed to the present volume. G. Buttazzo, University of Pisa G.P. Galdi, University of Ferrarra L. Zanghirati, University of Ferrarra Ferrarra, May 11 th, 1992 v CONTENTS INVITED LECTURES Liapunov Functionals and Qualitative Behaviour of the Solution to the Nonlinear Enskog Equation ...

Suitable for advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students taking a course on mathematical physics, this title presents some of the most important topics and methods of mathematical physics. It contains mathematical derivations and solutions - reinforcing the material through repetition of both the equations and the techniques.

Evolution equations describe many processes in science and engineering, and they form a central topic in mathematics. The first three contributions to this volume address parabolic evolutionary problems: The opening paper treats asymptotic solutions to singular parabolic problems with distribution and hyperfunction data. The theory of the asymptotic Laplace transform is developed in the second paper and is applied to semigroups generated by operators with large growth of the resolvent. An article follows on solutions by local operator methods of time-dependent singular problems in non-cylindrical domains. The next contribution addresses spectral properties of systems of pseudodifferential operators when the characteristic variety has a conical intersection. Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization rules and first order exponential asymptotics of the resonance widths are established under various semiclassical regimes. In the following article, the limiting absorption principle is proven for certain self-adjoint operators. Applications include Hamiltonians with magnetic fields, Dirac Hamiltonians, and the propagation of waves in inhomogeneous media. The final topic develops Hodge theory on manifolds with edges; its authors introduce a concept of elliptic complexes, prove a Hodge decomposition theorem, and study the asymptotics of harmonic forms.

Transmutations, Singular and Fractional Differential Equations with Applications to Mathematical Physics connects difficult problems with similar more simple ones. The book's strategy works for differential and integral equations and systems and for many theoretical and applied problems in mathematics, mathematical physics, probability and statistics, applied computer science and numerical methods. In addition to being exposed to recent advances, readers learn to use transmutation methods not only as practical tools, but also as vehicles that deliver theoretical insights.

This book is a product of the experience of the authors in teaching partial differential equations to students of mathematics, physics, and engineering over a period of 20 years. Our goal in writing it has been to introduce the subject with precise and rigorous analysis on the one hand, and interesting and significant applications on the other. The starting level of the book is at the first-year graduate level in a U.S. university. Previous experience with partial differential equations is not required, but the use of classical analysis to find solutions of specific problems is not emphasized. From that perspective our treatment is decidedly theoretical. We have avoided abstraction and full generality in many situations, however. Our plan has been to introduce fundamental ideas in relatively simple situations and to show their impact on relevant applications. The student is then, we feel, well prepared to fight through more specialized treatises. There are parts of the exposition that require Lebesgue integration, distributions and Fourier transforms, and Sobolev spaces. We have included a long appendix, Chapter 8, giving precise statements of all results used. This may be thought of as an introduction to these topics. The reader who is not familiar with these subjects may refer to parts of Chapter 8 as needed or become somewhat familiar with them as prerequisite and treat Chapter 8 as Chapter O.