This volume is an introduction to nonlinear waves and soliton theory in the special environment of compact spaces such a closed curves and surfaces and other domain contours. It assumes familiarity with basic soliton theory and nonlinear dynamical systems. The first part of the book introduces the mathematical concept required for treating the manifolds considered, providing relevant notions from topology and differential geometry. An introduction to the theory of motion of curves and surfaces - as part of the emerging field of contour dynamics - is given. The second and third parts discuss the modeling of various physical solitons on compact systems, such as filaments, loops and drops made of almost incompressible materials thereby intersecting with a large number of physical disciplines from hydrodynamics to compact object astrophysics. This book is intended for graduate students and researchers in mathematics, physics and engineering. This new edition has been thoroughly revised, expanded and updated.

The present volume is an introduction to nonlinear waves and soliton theory in the special environment of compact spaces such as closed curves and surfaces and other domain contours. The first part of the book introduces the mathematical concept required for treating the manifolds considered. An introduction to the theory of motion of curves and surfaces is given. The second and third parts discuss the modeling of various physical solitons on compact systems.

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

Travelling wave processes and wave motion are of great importance in many areas of mechanics, and nonlinearity also plays a decisive role there. The basic mathematical models in this area involve nonlinear partial differential equations, and predictability of behaviour of wave phenomena is of great importance. Beside fluid dynamics and gas dynamics, which have long been the traditional nonlinear scienes, solid mechanics is now taking an ever increasing account of nonlinear effects. Apart from plasticity and fracture mechanics, nonlinear elastic waves have been shown to be of great importance in many areas, such as the study of impact, nondestructive testing and seismology. These lectures offer a thorough account of the fundamental theory of nonlinear deformation waves, and in the process offer an up to date account of the current state of research in the theory and practice of nonlinear waves in solids.

Nonlinearity is a fascinating element of nature whose importance has been appreciated for many years when considering large-amplitude wave motions observed in various fields ranging from fluids and plasmas to solid-state, chemical, biological, and geological systems. Localized large-amplitude waves called solitons, which propagate without spreading and have particle-like properties, represent one of the most striking aspects of nonlinear phenomena. Although a wealth of literature on the subject, including theoretical and numerical studies, is available in good recent books and research journals, very little material has found its way into introductory texbooks and curricula. This is perhaps due to a belief that nonlinear physics is difficult and cannot be taught at an introductory level to undergraduate students and practitioners. Consequently, there is considerable interest in developing practical material suitable for students, at the lowest introductory level. This book is intended to be an elementary introduction to the physics of solitons, for students, physicists, engineers and practitioners. We present the modeling of nonlinear phenomena where soliton-like waves are involved, together with applications to a wide variety of concrete systems and experiments. This book is designed as a book of physical ideas and basic methods and not as an up-to-the minute book concerned with the latest research results. The background in physics and the amount of mathematical knowledge assumed of the reader is within that usually accumulated by junior or senior students in physics.

This book addresses the fascinating phenomena associated with nonlinear waves and spatio-temporal patterns. These appear almost everywhere in nature from sand bed forms to brain patterns, and yet their understanding still presents fundamental scientific challenges. The reader will learn here, in particular, about the current state-of-the art and new results in: Nonlinear water waves: resonance, solitons, focusing, Bose-Einstein condensation, as well as and their relevance for the sea environment (sea-wind interaction, sand bed forms, fiber clustering) Pattern formation in non-equilibrium media: soap films, chimera patterns in oscillating media, viscoelastic Couette-Taylor flow, flow in the wake behind a heated cylinder, other pattern formation. The editors and authors dedicate this book to the memory of Alexander Ezersky, Professor of Fluid Mechanics at the University of Caen Normandie (France) from September 2007 to July 2016. Before 2007, he had served as a Senior Scientist at the Institute of Applied Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Nizhny Novgorod (Russia). The chapters have been written by leading scientists in Nonlinear Physics, and the topics chosen so as to cover all the fields to which Prof. Ezersky himself contributed, by means of experimental, theoretical and numerical approaches. The volume will appeal to advanced students and researchers studying nonlinear waves and pattern dynamics, as well as other scientists interested in their applications in various natural media.

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.