Nečas’ book Direct Methods in the Theory of Elliptic Equations, published 1967 in French, has become a standard reference for the mathematical theory of linear elliptic equations and systems. This English edition, translated by G. Tronel and A. Kufner, presents Nečas’ work essentially in the form it was published in 1967. It gives a timeless and in some sense definitive treatment of a number issues in variational methods for elliptic systems and higher order equations. The text is recommended to graduate students of partial differential equations, postdoctoral associates in Analysis, and scientists working with linear elliptic systems. In fact, any researcher using the theory of elliptic systems will benefit from having the book in his library. The volume gives a self-contained presentation of the elliptic theory based on the "direct method", also known as the variational method. Due to its universality and close connections to numerical approximations, the variational method has become one of the most important approaches to the elliptic theory. The method does not rely on the maximum principle or other special properties of the scalar second order elliptic equations, and it is ideally suited for handling systems of equations of arbitrary order. The prototypical examples of equations covered by the theory are, in addition to the standard Laplace equation, Lame’s system of linear elasticity and the biharmonic equation (both with variable coefficients, of course). General ellipticity conditions are discussed and most of the natural boundary condition is covered. The necessary foundations of the function space theory are explained along the way, in an arguably optimal manner. The standard boundary regularity requirement on the domains is the Lipschitz continuity of the boundary, which "when going beyond the scalar equations of second order" turns out to be a very natural class. These choices reflect the author's opinion that the Lame system and the biharmonic equations are just as important as the Laplace equation, and that the class of the domains with the Lipschitz continuous boundary (as opposed to smooth domains) is the most natural class of domains to consider in connection with these equations and their applications.

Variational Techniques for Elliptic Partial Differential Equations, intended for graduate students studying applied math, analysis, and/or numerical analysis, provides the necessary tools to understand the structure and solvability of elliptic partial differential equations. Beginning with the necessary definitions and theorems from distribution theory, the book gradually builds the functional analytic framework for studying elliptic PDE using variational formulations. Rather than introducing all of the prerequisites in the first chapters, it is the introduction of new problems which motivates the development of the associated analytical tools. In this way the student who is encountering this material for the first time will be aware of exactly what theory is needed, and for which problems. Features A detailed and rigorous development of the theory of Sobolev spaces on Lipschitz domains, including the trace operator and the normal component of vector fields An integration of functional analysis concepts involving Hilbert spaces and the problems which can be solved with these concepts, rather than separating the two Introduction to the analytical tools needed for physical problems of interest like time-harmonic waves, Stokes and Darcy flow, surface differential equations, Maxwell cavity problems, etc. A variety of problems which serve to reinforce and expand upon the material in each chapter, including applications in fluid and solid mechanics

Derived from a lecture series for college mathematics students, introduces the methods of dealing with elliptical boundary-value problems--both the theory and the numerical analysis. Includes exercises. Translated and somewhat expanded from the 1987 German version. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Nečas’ book Direct Methods in the Theory of Elliptic Equations, published 1967 in French, has become a standard reference for the mathematical theory of linear elliptic equations and systems. This English edition, translated by G. Tronel and A. Kufner, presents Nečas’ work essentially in the form it was published in 1967. It gives a timeless and in some sense definitive treatment of a number issues in variational methods for elliptic systems and higher order equations. The text is recommended to graduate students of partial differential equations, postdoctoral associates in Analysis, and scientists working with linear elliptic systems. In fact, any researcher using the theory of elliptic systems will benefit from having the book in his library. The volume gives a self-contained presentation of the elliptic theory based on the "direct method", also known as the variational method. Due to its universality and close connections to numerical approximations, the variational method has become one of the most important approaches to the elliptic theory. The method does not rely on the maximum principle or other special properties of the scalar second order elliptic equations, and it is ideally suited for handling systems of equations of arbitrary order. The prototypical examples of equations covered by the theory are, in addition to the standard Laplace equation, Lame’s system of linear elasticity and the biharmonic equation (both with variable coefficients, of course). General ellipticity conditions are discussed and most of the natural boundary condition is covered. The necessary foundations of the function space theory are explained along the way, in an arguably optimal manner. The standard boundary regularity requirement on the domains is the Lipschitz continuity of the boundary, which "when going beyond the scalar equations of second order" turns out to be a very natural class. These choices reflect the author's opinion that the Lame system and the biharmonic equations are just as important as the Laplace equation, and that the class of the domains with the Lipschitz continuous boundary (as opposed to smooth domains) is the most natural class of domains to consider in connection with these equations and their applications.

This volume deals with the regularity theory for elliptic systems. We may find the origin of such a theory in two of the problems posed by David Hilbert in his celebrated lecture delivered during the International Congress of Mathematicians in 1900 in Paris: 19th problem: Are the solutions to regular problems in the Calculus of Variations always necessarily analytic? 20th problem: does any variational problem have a solution, provided that certain assumptions regarding the given boundary conditions are satisfied, and provided that the notion of a solution is suitably extended? During the last century these two problems have generated a great deal of work, usually referred to as regularity theory, which makes this topic quite relevant in many fields and still very active for research. However, the purpose of this volume, addressed mainly to students, is much more limited. We aim to illustrate only some of the basic ideas and techniques introduced in this context, confining ourselves to important but simple situations and refraining from completeness. In fact some relevant topics are omitted. Topics include: harmonic functions, direct methods, Hilbert space methods and Sobolev spaces, energy estimates, Schauder and L^p-theory both with and without potential theory, including the Calderon-Zygmund theorem, Harnack's and De Giorgi-Moser-Nash theorems in the scalar case and partial regularity theorems in the vector valued case; energy minimizing harmonic maps and minimal graphs in codimension 1 and greater than 1. In this second deeply revised edition we also included the regularity of 2-dimensional weakly harmonic maps, the partial regularity of stationary harmonic maps, and their connections with the case p=1 of the L^p theory, including the celebrated results of Wente and of Coifman-Lions-Meyer-Semmes.

This book provides a comprehensive discussion on the existence and regularity of minima of regular integrals in the calculus of variations and of solutions to elliptic partial differential equations and systems of the second order. While direct methods for the existence of solutions are well known and have been widely used in the last century, the regularity of the minima was always obtained by means of the Euler equation as a part of the general theory of partial differential equations. In this book, using the notion of the quasi-minimum introduced by Giaquinta and the author, the direct methods are extended to the regularity of the minima of functionals in the calculus of variations, and of solutions to partial differential equations. This unified treatment offers a substantial economy in the assumptions, and permits a deeper understanding of the nature of the regularity and singularities of the solutions. The book is essentially self-contained, and requires only a general knowledge of the elements of Lebesgue integration theory. Contents: Semi-Classical Theory; Measurable Functions; Sobolev Spaces; Convexity and Semicontinuity; Quasi-Convex Functionals; Quasi-Minima; HAlder Continuity; First Derivatives; Partial Regularity; Higher Derivatives. Readership: Graduate students, academics and researchers in the field of analysis and differential equations."

This textbook presents the essential parts of the modern theory of nonlinear partial differential equations, including the calculus of variations. After a short review of results in real and functional analysis, the author introduces the main mathematical techniques for solving both semilinear and quasilinear elliptic PDEs, and the associated boundary value problems. Key topics include infinite dimensional fixed point methods, the Galerkin method, the maximum principle, elliptic regularity, and the calculus of variations. Aimed at graduate students and researchers, this textbook contains numerous examples and exercises and provides several comments and suggestions for further study.