This volume is based on PDE courses given by the authors at the Courant Institute and at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana. Presented are basic methods for obtaining various a priori estimates for second-order equations of elliptic type with particular emphasis on maximal principles, Harnack inequalities, and their applications. The equations considered in the book are linear; however, the presented methods also apply to nonlinear problems.

Elliptic partial differential equations is one of the main and most active areas in mathematics. This book is devoted to the study of linear and nonlinear elliptic problems in divergence form, with the aim of providing classical results, as well as more recent developments about distributional solutions. For this reason this monograph is addressed to master's students, PhD students and anyone who wants to begin research in this mathematical field.

This volume is intended as an essentially self contained exposition of portions of the theory of second order quasilinear elliptic partial differential equations, with emphasis on the Dirichlet problem in bounded domains. It grew out of lecture notes for graduate courses by the authors at Stanford University, the final material extending well beyond the scope of these courses. By including preparatory chapters on topics such as potential theory and functional analysis, we have attempted to make the work accessible to a broad spectrum of readers. Above all, we hope the readers of this book will gain an appreciation of the multitude of ingenious barehanded techniques that have been developed in the study of elliptic equations and have become part of the repertoire of analysis. Many individuals have assisted us during the evolution of this work over the past several years. In particular, we are grateful for the valuable discussions with L. M. Simon and his contributions in Sections 15.4 to 15.8; for the helpful comments and corrections of J. M. Cross, A. S. Geue, J. Nash, P. Trudinger and B. Turkington; for the contributions of G. Williams in Section 10.5 and of A. S. Geue in Section 10.6; and for the impeccably typed manuscript which resulted from the dedicated efforts oflsolde Field at Stanford and Anna Zalucki at Canberra. The research of the authors connected with this volume was supported in part by the National Science Foundation.

The book originates from the Elliptic PDE course given by the first author at the Scuola Normale Superiore in recent years. It covers the most classical aspects of the theory of Elliptic Partial Differential Equations and Calculus of Variations, including also more recent developments on partial regularity for systems and the theory of viscosity solutions.

The primary objective of this monograph is to give a comprehensive exposition of results surrounding the work of the authors concerning boundary regularity of weak solutions of second order elliptic quasilinear equations in divergence form. The book also contains a complete development of regularity of solutions of variational inequalities, including the double obstacle problem, where the obstacles are allowed to be discontinuous. The book concludes with a chapter devoted to the existence theory thus providing the reader with a complete treatment of the subject ranging from regularity of weak solutions to the existence of weak solutions.

The theory of elliptic partial differential equations has undergone an important development over the last two centuries. Together with electrostatics, heat and mass diffusion, hydrodynamics and many other applications, it has become one of the most richly enhanced fields of mathematics. This monograph undertakes a systematic presentation of the theory of general elliptic operators. The author discusses a priori estimates, normal solvability, the Fredholm property, the index of an elliptic operator, operators with a parameter, and nonlinear Fredholm operators. Particular attention is paid to elliptic problems in unbounded domains which have not yet been sufficiently treated in the literature and which require some special approaches. The book also contains an analysis of non-Fredholm operators and discrete operators as well as extensive historical and bibliographical comments . The selected topics and the author's level of discourse will make this book a most useful resource for researchers and graduate students working in the broad field of partial differential equations and applications.

Derived from a lecture series for college mathematics students, introduces the methods of dealing with elliptical boundary-value problems--both the theory and the numerical analysis. Includes exercises. Translated and somewhat expanded from the 1987 German version. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR