Systems of conservation laws arise naturally in physics and chemistry. To understand them and their consequences (shock waves, finite velocity wave propagation) properly in mathematical terms requires, however, knowledge of a broad range of topics. This book sets up the foundations of the modern theory of conservation laws, describing the physical models and mathematical methods, leading to the Glimm scheme. Building on this the author then takes the reader to the current state of knowledge in the subject. The maximum principle is considered from the viewpoint of numerical schemes and also in terms of viscous approximation. Small waves are studied using geometrical optics methods. Finally, the initial-boundary problem is considered in depth. Throughout, the presentation is reasonably self-contained, with large numbers of exercises and full discussion of all the ideas. This will make it ideal as a text for graduate courses in the area of partial differential equations.

This book examines the well-posedness theory for nonlinear hyperbolic systems of conservation laws, recently completed by the author together with his collaborators. It covers the existence, uniqueness, and continuous dependence of classical entropy solutions. It also introduces the reader to the developing theory of nonclassical (undercompressive) entropy solutions. The systems of partial differential equations under consideration arise in many areas of continuum physics.

This monograph is devoted to the theory and approximation by finite volume methods of nonlinear hyperbolic systems of conservation laws in one or two space variables. It follows directly a previous publication on hyperbolic systems of conservation laws by the same authors. Since the earlier work concentrated on the mathematical theory of multidimensional scalar conservation laws, this book will focus on systems and the theoretical aspects which are needed in the applications, such as the solution of the Riemann problem and further insights into more sophisticated problems, with special attention to the system of gas dynamics. This new edition includes more examples such as MHD and shallow water, with an insight on multiphase flows. Additionally, the text includes source terms and well-balanced/asymptotic preserving schemes, introducing relaxation schemes and addressing problems related to resonance and discontinuous fluxes while adding details on the low Mach number situation.

Conservation laws arise from the modeling of physical processes through the following three steps: 1) The appropriate physical balance laws are derived for m-phy- t cal quantities, ul""'~ with u = (ul' ... ,u ) and u(x,t) defined m for x = (xl""'~) E RN (N = 1,2, or 3), t > 0 and with the values m u(x,t) lying in an open subset, G, of R , the state space. The state space G arises because physical quantities such as the density or total energy should always be positive; thus the values of u are often con strained to an open set G. 2) The flux functions appearing in these balance laws are idealized through prescribed nonlinear functions, F.(u), mapping G into J j = 1, ..• ,N while source terms are defined by S(u,x,t) with S a given smooth function of these arguments with values in Rm. In parti- lar, the detailed microscopic effects of diffusion and dissipation are ignored. 3) A generalized version of the principle of virtual work is applied (see Antman [1]). The formal result of applying the three steps (1)-(3) is that the m physical quantities u define a weak solution of an m x m system of conservation laws, o I + N(Wt'u + r W ·F.(u) + W·S(u,x,t))dxdt (1.1) R xR j=l Xj J for all W E C~(RN x R+), W(x,t) E Rm.

These notes developed from a course on the numerical solution of conservation laws first taught at the University of Washington in the fall of 1988 and then at ETH during the following spring. The overall emphasis is on studying the mathematical tools that are essential in de veloping, analyzing, and successfully using numerical methods for nonlinear systems of conservation laws, particularly for problems involving shock waves. A reasonable un derstanding of the mathematical structure of these equations and their solutions is first required, and Part I of these notes deals with this theory. Part II deals more directly with numerical methods, again with the emphasis on general tools that are of broad use. I have stressed the underlying ideas used in various classes of methods rather than present ing the most sophisticated methods in great detail. My aim was to provide a sufficient background that students could then approach the current research literature with the necessary tools and understanding. vVithout the wonders of TeX and LaTeX, these notes would never have been put together. The professional-looking results perhaps obscure the fact that these are indeed lecture notes. Some sections have been reworked several times by now, but others are still preliminary. I can only hope that the errors are not too blatant. Moreover, the breadth and depth of coverage was limited by the length of these courses, and some parts are rather sketchy.

Conservation laws are the mathematical expression of the principles of conservation and provide effective and accurate predictive models of our physical world. Although intense research activity during the last decades has led to substantial advances in the development of powerful computational methods for conservation laws, their solution remains a challenge and many questions are left open; thus it is an active and fruitful area of research. Numerical Methods for Conservation Laws: From Analysis to Algorithms offers the first comprehensive introduction to modern computational methods and their analysis for hyperbolic conservation laws, building on intense research activities for more than four decades of development; discusses classic results on monotone and finite difference/finite volume schemes, but emphasizes the successful development of high-order accurate methods for hyperbolic conservation laws; addresses modern concepts of TVD and entropy stability, strongly stable Runge-Kutta schemes, and limiter-based methods before discussing essentially nonoscillatory schemes, discontinuous Galerkin methods, and spectral methods; explores algorithmic aspects of these methods, emphasizing one- and two-dimensional problems and the development and analysis of an extensive range of methods; includes MATLAB software with which all main methods and computational results in the book can be reproduced; and demonstrates the performance of many methods on a set of benchmark problems to allow direct comparisons. Code and other supplemental material will be available online at publication.

This work should serve as an introductory text for graduate students and researchers working in the important area of partial differential equations with a focus on problems involving conservation laws. The only requisite for the reader is a knowledge of the elementary theory of partial differential equations. Key features of this work include: * broad range of topics, from the classical treatment to recent results, dealing with solutions to 2D compressible Euler equations * good review of basic concepts (1-D Riemann problems) * concrete solutions presented, with many examples, over 100 illustrations, open problems, and numerical schemes * numerous exercises, comprehensive bibliography and index * appeal to a wide audience of applied mathematicians, graduate students, physicists, and engineers Written in a clear, accessible style, the book emphasizes more recent results that will prepare readers to meet modern challenges in the subject, that is, to carry out theoretical, numerical, and asymptotical analysis.