Now in an accessible paperback edition, this classic work is just as relevant as when it first appeared in 1974, due to the increased use of nonlinear waves. It covers the behavior of waves in two parts, with the first part addressing hyperbolic waves and the second addressing dispersive waves. The mathematical principles are presented along with examples of specific cases in communications and specific physical fields, including flood waves in rivers, waves in glaciers, traffic flow, sonic booms, blast waves, and ocean waves from storms.

Waves are essential phenomena in most scientific and engineering disciplines, such as electromagnetism and optics, and different mechanics including fluid, solid, structural, quantum, etc. They appear in linear and nonlinear systems. Some can be observed directly and others are not. The features of the waves are usually described by solutions to either linear or nonlinear partial differential equations, which are fundamental to the students and researchers.Generic equations, describing wave and pulse propagation in linear and nonlinear systems, are introduced and analyzed as initial/boundary value problems. These systems cover the general properties of non-dispersive and dispersive, uniform and non-uniform, with/without dissipations. Methods of analyses are introduced and illustrated with analytical solutions. Wave-wave and wave-particle interactions ascribed to the nonlinearity of media (such as plasma) are discussed in the final chapter.This interdisciplinary textbook is essential reading for anyone in above mentioned disciplines. It was prepared to provide students with an understanding of waves and methods of solving wave propagation problems. The presentation is self-contained and should be read without difficulty by those who have adequate preparation in classic mechanics. The selection of topics and the focus given to each provide essential materials for a lecturer to cover the bases in a linear/nonlinear wave course.

This book uses asymptotic methods to obtain simple approximate analytic solutions to various problems within mechanics, notably wave processes in heterogeneous materials. Presenting original solutions to common issues within mechanics, this book builds upon years of research to demonstrate the benefits of implementing asymptotic techniques within mechanical engineering and material science. Focusing on linear and nonlinear wave phenomena in complex micro-structured solids, the book determines their global characteristics through analysis of their internal structure, using homogenization and asymptotic procedures, in line with the latest thinking within the field. The book’s cutting-edge methodology can be applied to optimal design, non-destructive control and in deep seismic sounding, providing a valuable alternative to widely used numerical methods. Using case studies, the book covers topics such as elastic waves in nonhomogeneous materials, regular and chaotic dynamics based on continualisation and discretization and vibration localization in 1D Linear and Nonlinear lattices. The book will be of interest to students, research engineers, and professionals specialising in mathematics and physics as well as mechanical and civil engineering.

The second edition of a highly successful book on nonlinear waves, solitons and chaos.

The aim of this book is to give a self-contained introduction to the mathe matical analysis and physical explanations of some basic nonlinear wave phe nomena. This volume grew out of lecture notes for graduate courf;!es which I gave at the University of Alberta, the University of Saskatchewan, ·and Texas A&M University. As an introduction it is not intended to be exhaustive iQ its choice of material, but rather to convey to interested readers a basic; yet practical, methodology as well as some of the more important results obtained since the 1950's. Although the primary purpose of this volume is to serve as a textbook, it should be useful to anyone who wishes to understand or conduct research into nonlinear waves. Here, for the first time, materials on X-ray crystallography and the forced Korteweg-de Vries equation are incorporated naturally into a textbook on non linear waves. Another characteristic feature of the book is the inclusion of four symbolic calculation programs written in MATHEMATICA. They emphasize outcomes rather than numerical methods and provide certain symbolic and nu merical results related to solitons. Requiring only one or two commands to run, these programs have user-friendly interfaces. For example, to get the explicit expression of the 2-soliton of the Korteweg-de Vries equation, one only needs to type in soliton[2] when using the program solipac.m.

The field of nonlinear dispersive waves has developed enormously since the work of Stokes, Boussinesq and Korteweg–de Vries (KdV) in the nineteenth century. In the 1960s, researchers developed effective asymptotic methods for deriving nonlinear wave equations, such as the KdV equation, governing a broad class of physical phenomena that admit special solutions including those commonly known as solitons. This book describes the underlying approximation techniques and methods for finding solutions to these and other equations. The concepts and methods covered include wave dispersion, asymptotic analysis, perturbation theory, the method of multiple scales, deep and shallow water waves, nonlinear optics including fiber optic communications, mode-locked lasers and dispersion-managed wave phenomena. Most chapters feature exercise sets, making the book suitable for advanced courses or for self-directed learning. Graduate students and researchers will find this an excellent entry to a thriving area at the intersection of applied mathematics, engineering and physical science.

Although the mathematical theory of nonlinear waves and solitons has made great progress, its applications to concrete physical problems are rather poor, especially when compared with the classical theory of linear dispersive waves and nonlinear fluid motion. The Whitham method, which describes the combining action of the dispersive and nonlinear effects as modulations of periodic waves, is not widely used by applied mathematicians and physicists, though it provides a direct and natural way to treat various problems in nonlinear wave theory. Therefore it is topical to describe recent developments of the Whitham theory in a clear and simple form suitable for applications in various branches of physics.This book develops the techniques of the theory of nonlinear periodic waves at elementary level and in great pedagogical detail. It provides an introduction to a Whitham's theory of modulation in a form suitable for applications. The exposition is based on a thorough analysis of representative examples taken from fluid mechanics, nonlinear optics and plasma physics rather than on the formulation and study of a mathematical theory. Much attention is paid to physical motivations of the mathematical methods developed in the book. The main applications considered include the theory of collisionless shock waves in dispersive systems and the nonlinear theory of soliton formation in modulationally unstable systems. Exercises are provided to amplify the discussion of important topics such as singular perturbation theory, Riemann invariants, the finite gap integration method, and Whitham equations and their solutions.