Over the past few years a certain shift of focus within the theory of algebras of generalized functions (in the sense of J. F. Colombeau) has taken place. Originating in infinite dimensional analysis and initially applied mainly to problems in nonlinear partial differential equations involving singularities, the theory has undergone a change both in in ternal structure and scope of applicability, due to a growing number of applications to questions of a more geometric nature. The present book is intended to provide an in-depth presentation of these develop ments comprising its structural aspects within the theory of generalized functions as well as a (selective but, as we hope, representative) set of applications. This main purpose of the book is accompanied by a number of sub ordinate goals which we were aiming at when arranging the material included here. First, despite the fact that by now several excellent mono graphs on Colombeau algebras are available, we have decided to give a self-contained introduction to the field in Chapter 1. Our motivation for this decision derives from two main features of our approach. On the one hand, in contrast to other treatments of the subject we base our intro duction to the field on the so-called special variant of the algebras, which makes many of the fundamental ideas of the field particularly transpar ent and at the same time facilitates and motivates the introduction of the more involved concepts treated later in the chapter.

This volume consists of twenty peer-reviewed papers from the special session on pseudodifferential operators and the special session on generalized functions and asymptotics at the Eighth Congress of ISAAC held at the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia in Moscow on August 22‒27, 2011. The category of papers on pseudo-differential operators contains such topics as elliptic operators assigned to diffeomorphisms of smooth manifolds, analysis on singular manifolds with edges, heat kernels and Green functions of sub-Laplacians on the Heisenberg group and Lie groups with more complexities than but closely related to the Heisenberg group, Lp-boundedness of pseudo-differential operators on the torus, and pseudo-differential operators related to time-frequency analysis. The second group of papers contains various classes of distributions and algebras of generalized functions with applications in linear and nonlinear differential equations, initial value problems and boundary value problems, stochastic and Malliavin-type differential equations. This second group of papers are related to the third collection of papers via the setting of Colombeau-type spaces and algebras in which microlocal analysis is developed by means of techniques in asymptotics. The volume contains the synergies of the three areas treated and is a useful complement to volumes 155, 164, 172, 189, 205 and 213 published in the same series in, respectively, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2011.

This book is the first volume of proceedings from the joint conference X International Symposium “Quantum Theory and Symmetries” (QTS-X) and XII International Workshop “Lie Theory and Its Applications in Physics” (LT-XII), held on 19–25 June 2017 in Varna, Bulgaria. The QTS series was founded on the core principle that symmetries underlie all descriptions of quantum systems. It has since evolved into a symposium at the forefront of theoretical and mathematical physics. The LT series covers the whole field of Lie theory in its widest sense, together with its applications in many areas of physics. As an interface between mathematics and physics, the workshop serves as a meeting place for mathematicians and theoretical and mathematical physicists. In dividing the material between the two volumes, the Editor has sought to select papers that are more oriented toward mathematics for the first volume, and those focusing more on physics for the second. However, this division is relative, since many papers are equally suitable for either volume. The topics addressed in this volume represent the latest trends in the fields covered by the joint conferences: representation theory, integrability, entanglement, quantum groups, number theory, conformal geometry, quantum affine superalgebras, noncommutative geometry. Further, they present various mathematical results: on minuscule modules, symmetry breaking operators, Kashiwara crystals, meta-conformal invariance, the superintegrable Zernike system.

This volume offers an integrated understanding of how the theory of general relativity gained momentum after Einstein had formulated it in 1915. Chapters focus on the early reception of the theory in physics and philosophy and on the systematic questions that emerged shortly after Einstein's momentous discovery. They are written by physicists, historians of science, and philosophers, and were originally presented at the conference titled Thinking About Space and Time: 100 Years of Applying and Interpreting General Relativity, held at the University of Bern from September 12-14, 2017. By establishing the historical context first, and then moving into more philosophical chapters, this volume will provide readers with a more complete understanding of early applications of general relativity (e.g., to cosmology) and of related philosophical issues. Because the chapters are often cross-disciplinary, they cover a wide variety of topics related to the general theory of relativity. These include: Heuristics used in the discovery of general relativity Mach's Principle The structure of Einstein's theory Cosmology and the Einstein world Stability of cosmological models The metaphysical nature of spacetime The relationship between spacetime and dynamics The Geodesic Principle Symmetries Thinking About Space and Time will be a valuable resource for historians of science and philosophers who seek a deeper knowledge of the (early and later) uses of general relativity, as well as for physicists and mathematicians interested in exploring the wider historical and philosophical context of Einstein's theory.

Progress in Partial Differential Equations is devoted to modern topics in the theory of partial differential equations. It consists of both original articles and survey papers covering a wide scope of research topics in partial differential equations and their applications. The contributors were participants of the 8th ISAAC congress in Moscow in 2011 or are members of the PDE interest group of the ISAAC society. This volume is addressed to graduate students at various levels as well as researchers in partial differential equations and related fields. The readers will find this an excellent resource of both introductory and advanced material. The key topics are: • Linear hyperbolic equations and systems (scattering, symmetrisers) • Non-linear wave models (global existence, decay estimates, blow-up) • Evolution equations (control theory, well-posedness, smoothing) • Elliptic equations (uniqueness, non-uniqueness, positive solutions) • Special models from applications (Kirchhoff equation, Zakharov-Kuznetsov equation, thermoelasticity)

This book provides a valuable collection of contributions by distinguished scholars presenting the state of the art and some of the most significant latest developments and future challenges in the field of dispersive partial differential equations. The material covers four major lines: (1) Long time behaviour of NLS-type equations, (2) probabilistic and nonstandard methods in the study of NLS equation, (3) dispersive properties for heat-, Schrödinger-, and Dirac-type flows, (4) wave and KdV-type equations. Across a variety of applications an amount of crucial mathematical tools are discussed, whose applicability and versatility goes beyond the specific models presented here. Furthermore, all contributions include updated and comparative literature.