It is an ideal companion for courses such as mathematical methods of physics, classical mechanics, electricity and magnetism, and relativity.--Gary White, editor of The Physics Teacher "American Journal of Physics"

Fundamental introduction of absolute differential calculus and for those interested in applications of tensor calculus to mathematical physics and engineering. Topics include spaces and tensors; basic operations in Riemannian space, curvature of space, more.

This textbook is distinguished from other texts on the subject by the depth of the presentation and the discussion of the calculus of moving surfaces, which is an extension of tensor calculus to deforming manifolds. Designed for advanced undergraduate and graduate students, this text invites its audience to take a fresh look at previously learned material through the prism of tensor calculus. Once the framework is mastered, the student is introduced to new material which includes differential geometry on manifolds, shape optimization, boundary perturbation and dynamic fluid film equations. The language of tensors, originally championed by Einstein, is as fundamental as the languages of calculus and linear algebra and is one that every technical scientist ought to speak. The tensor technique, invented at the turn of the 20th century, is now considered classical. Yet, as the author shows, it remains remarkably vital and relevant. The author’s skilled lecturing capabilities are evident by the inclusion of insightful examples and a plethora of exercises. A great deal of material is devoted to the geometric fundamentals, the mechanics of change of variables, the proper use of the tensor notation and the discussion of the interplay between algebra and geometry. The early chapters have many words and few equations. The definition of a tensor comes only in Chapter 6 – when the reader is ready for it. While this text maintains a consistent level of rigor, it takes great care to avoid formalizing the subject. The last part of the textbook is devoted to the Calculus of Moving Surfaces. It is the first textbook exposition of this important technique and is one of the gems of this text. A number of exciting applications of the calculus are presented including shape optimization, boundary perturbation of boundary value problems and dynamic fluid film equations developed by the author in recent years. Furthermore, the moving surfaces framework is used to offer new derivations of classical results such as the geodesic equation and the celebrated Gauss-Bonnet theorem.

DIVProceeds from general to special, including chapters on vector analysis on manifolds and integration theory. /div

This textbook provides a rigorous approach to tensor manifolds in several aspects relevant for Engineers and Physicists working in industry or academia. With a thorough, comprehensive, and unified presentation, this book offers insights into several topics of tensor analysis, which covers all aspects of n-dimensional spaces. The main purpose of this book is to give a self-contained yet simple, correct and comprehensive mathematical explanation of tensor calculus for undergraduate and graduate students and for professionals. In addition to many worked problems, this book features a selection of examples, solved step by step. Although no emphasis is placed on special and particular problems of Engineering or Physics, the text covers the fundamentals of these fields of science. The book makes a brief introduction into the basic concept of the tensorial formalism so as to allow the reader to make a quick and easy review of the essential topics that enable having the grounds for the subsequent themes, without needing to resort to other bibliographical sources on tensors. Chapter 1 deals with Fundamental Concepts about tensors and chapter 2 is devoted to the study of covariant, absolute and contravariant derivatives. The chapters 3 and 4 are dedicated to the Integral Theorems and Differential Operators, respectively. Chapter 5 deals with Riemann Spaces, and finally the chapter 6 presents a concise study of the Parallelism of Vectors. It also shows how to solve various problems of several particular manifolds.

Tensor Calculus and Analytical Dynamics provides a concise, comprehensive, and readable introduction to classical tensor calculus - in both holonomic and nonholonomic coordinates - as well as to its principal applications to the Lagrangean dynamics of discrete systems under positional or velocity constraints. The thrust of the book focuses on formal structure and basic geometrical/physical ideas underlying most general equations of motion of mechanical systems under linear velocity constraints. Written for the theoretically minded engineer, Tensor Calculus and Analytical Dynamics contains uniquely accessbile treatments of such intricate topics as: tensor calculus in nonholonomic variables Pfaffian nonholonomic constraints related integrability theory of Frobenius The book enables readers to move quickly and confidently in any particular geometry-based area of theoretical or applied mechanics in either classical or modern form.