Bücher veröffentlicht von Birkhauser Boston

Distributions in the Physical and Engineering Sciences is a comprehensive exposition on analytic methods for solving science and engineering problems which is written from the unifying viewpoint of distribution theory and enriched with many modern topics which are important to practioners and researchers. The goal of the book is to give the reader, specialist and non-specialist useable and modern mathematical tools in their research and analysis. This new text is intended for graduate students and researchers in applied mathematics, physical sciences and engineering. The careful explanations, accessible writing style, and many illustrations/examples also make it suitable for use as a self-study reference by anyone seeking greater understanding and proficiency in the problem solving methods presented. The book is ideal for a general scientific and engineering audience, yet it is mathematically precise.

This concise text on geometry with computer modeling presents some elementary methods for analytical modeling and visualization of curves and surfaces. The author systematically examines such powerful tools as 2-D and 3-D animation of geometric images, transformations, shadows, and colors, and then further studies more complex problems in differential geometry. Well-illustrated with more than 350 figures---reproducible using Maple programs in the book---the work is devoted to three main areas: curves, surfaces, and polyhedra. Pedagogical benefits can be found in the large number of Maple programs, some of which are analogous to C++ programs, including those for splines and fractals. To avoid tedious typing, readers will be able to download many of the programs from the Birkhauser web site. Aimed at a broad audience of students, instructors of mathematics, computer scientists, and engineers who have knowledge of analytical geometry, i.e., method of coordinates, this text will be an excellent classroom resource or self-study reference. With over 100 stimulating exercises, problems and solutions, {\it Geometry of Curves and Surfaces with Maple} will integrate traditional differential and non- Euclidean geometries with more current computer algebra systems in a practical and user-friendly format.

Multivariate integration has been a fundamental subject in mathematics, with broad connections to a number of areas: numerical analysis, approximation theory, partial differential equations, integral equations, harmonic analysis, etc. In this work the exposition focuses primarily on a powerful tool that has become especially important in our computerized age, namely, dimensionality reducing expansion (DRE). The method of DRE is a technique for changing a higher dimensional integration to a lower dimensional one with or without remainder. To date, there is no comprehensive treatment of this subject in monograph or textbook form. Key features of this self-contained monograph include: * fine exposition covering the history of the subject * up-to-date new results, related to many fields of current research such as boundary element methods for solving PDEs and wavelet analysis * presentation of DRE techniques using a broad array of examples * good balance between theory and application * coverage of such related topics as boundary type quadratures and asymptotic expansions of oscillatory integrals * excellent and comprehensive bibliography and index This work will appeal to a broad audience of students and researchers in pure and applied mathematics, statistics, and physics, and can be used in a graduate/advanced undergraduate course or as a standard reference text.

HIS STUDY OF GIROLAMO CARDANO is the T work of an amateur in the field of the history of science and the history of ideas. As a mathematical physi- cist I lack the depth of training in philological-historical disciplines necessary to discuss the sources of Car- dano's knowledge and trace the influences that shaped his views on science, medicine, and philosophy. What little recent literature on Cardano there is some- times shows a lack of true understanding, or is primarily an appreciation of the mathematician. I relied, therefore, largely on his own writings, which are collected in the Opera Omnia. My excerpts and translations are taken di- rectly from these works, and I hope that I have succeeded in capturing their essential meaning and spirit. MARKUS FIERZ Preface to the English Edition THANK the publisher Birkhauser Boston, Incorpo- I rated, for the venture of this English edition of my essay on Cardano that originally appeared in the Poly Series published by Birkhauser Verlag, and for the care given to the translation. For this edition I have added two longer sections: one on Cardano's voyage to Scotland, and another on a rather interesting "e;mathematical theosophy"e; contained in his Liber de Proportionibus (Basel, 1570). Also included is a list of references quoted in the notes, and a record-as complete as possible-of the original editions of Cardano' s writings.

These volumes are companions to the treatise; "e;Fundamentals of the Theory of Operator Algebras,"e; which appeared as Volume 100 - I and II in the series, Pure and Applied Mathematics, published by Academic Press in 1983 and 1986, respectively. As stated in the preface to those volumes, "e;Their primary goal is to teach the sub- ject and lead the reader to the point where the vast recent research literature, both in the subject proper and in its many applications, becomes accessible."e; No attempt was made to be encyclopCEdic; the choice of material was made from among the fundamentals of what may be called the "e;classical"e; theory of operator algebras. By way of supplementing the topics selected for presentation in "e;Fundamentals,"e; a substantial list of exercises comprises the last section of each chapter. An equally important purpose of those exer- cises is to develop "e;hand-on"e; skills in use of the techniques appearing in the text. As a consequence, each exercise was carefully designed to depend only on the material that precedes it, and separated into segments each of which is realistically capable of solution by an at- tentive, diligent, well-motivated reader.

This volume is the proceedings of the Workshop on Optimal Design and Control that was held in Blacksburg, Virginia, April 8-9, 1994. The workshop was spon- sored by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research through the Air Force Center for Optimal Design and Control (CODAC) at Virginia Tech. The workshop was a gathering of engineers and mathematicians actively in- volved in innovative research in control and optimization, with emphasis placed on problems governed by partial differential equations. The interdisciplinary nature of the workshop and the wide range of subdisciplines represented by the partici- pants enabled an exchange of valuable information and also led to significant dis- cussions about multidisciplinary optimization issues. One of the goals of the work- shop was to include laboratory, industrial, and academic researchers so that anal- yses, algorithms, implementations, and applications could all be well-represented in the talks; this interdisciplinary nature is reflected in these proceedings. An overriding impression that can be gleaned from the papers in this volume is the complexity of problems addressed by not only those authors engaged in appli- cations, but also by those engaged in algorithmic development and even mathemat- ical analyses. Thus, in many instances, systematic approaches using fully nonlin- ear constraint equations are routinely used to solve control and optimization prob- lems, in some cases replacing ad-hoc or empirically based procedures.

On January 30, 1975 Ernd Rubik j r. , professor of architecture and design in Budapest, was granted the Hungarian patent number 170062 for a "terbeli logikai jatek"-a game of spatial logic. Between 1978 and March 1981 this object-Bt1vos Kocka in Hungary, der Magische Wiirfel or Zauberwiirfel in Germany, Ie Cube Hongrois in France and the Magic Cube or Rubik' s Cube in Great Britain and the USA-has sold more than ten million copies. And they were not merely sold! A highly contagious "twist mania" has been spreading throughout families, offices and waiting rooms. Many classrooms sound as if an army of mice were hard at work behind the desks. What is so fascinating about this cube, which competes with Hungar­ ian salami and the famous Tokajer wine in the currency-winning export market? For one thing, it is an amazing technical tool. How does it work? Moreover, the contrast between its innocent, innocuous appearance and the hidden difficulty of its solution offers a serious challenge to all puzzle fans, but especially to those mathematicians who are profeSSionally concerned with logical deduction.

The Maple Summer Workshop and Symposium, MSWS '94, reflects the growing commu- nity of Maple users around the world. This volume contains the contributed papers. A careful inspection of author affiliations will reveal that they come from North America, Europe, and Australia. In fact, fifteen come from the United States, two from Canada, one from Australia, and nine come from Europe. Of European papers, two are from Ger- many, two are from the Netherlands, two are from Spain, and one each is from Switzerland, Denmark, and the United Kingdom. More important than the geographical diversity is the intellectual range of the contributions. We begin to see in this collection of works papers in which Maple is used in an increasingly flexible way. For example, there is an application in computer science that uses Maple as a tool to create a new utility. There is an application in abstract algebra where Maple has been used to create new functionalities for computing in a rational function field. There are applications to geometrical optics, digital signal processing, and experimental design.

All modem introductions to complex analysis follow, more or less explicitly, the pattern laid down in Whittaker and Watson [75]. In "e;part I'' we find the foundational material, the basic definitions and theorems. In "e;part II"e; we find the examples and applications. Slowly we begin to understand why we read part I. Historically this is an anachronism. Pedagogically it is a disaster. Part II in fact predates part I, so clearly it can be taught first. Why should the student have to wade through hundreds of pages before finding out what the subject is good for? In teaching complex analysis this way, we risk more than just boredom. Beginning with a series of unmotivated definitions gives a misleading impression of complex analy- sis in particular and of mathematics in general. The classical theory of analytic functions did not arise from the idle speculation of bored mathematicians on the possible conse- quences of an arbitrary set of definitions; it was the natural, even inevitable, consequence of the practical need to answer questions about specific examples. In standard texts, after hundreds of pages of theorems about generic analytic functions with only the rational and trigonometric functions as examples, students inevitably begin to believe that the purpose of complex analysis is to produce more such theorems. We require introductory com- plex analysis courses of our undergraduates and graduates because it is useful both within mathematics and beyond.

Riemannian Topology and Geometric Structures on Manifolds results from a similarly entitled conference held at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. The various contributions to this volume discuss recent advances in the areas of positive sectional curvature, Kahler and Sasaki geometry, and their interrelation to mathematical physics, notably M and superstring theory. Focusing on these fundamental ideas, this collection presents articles with original results, and plausible problems of interest for future research.Contributors: C.P. Boyer, J. Cheeger, X. Dai, K. Galicki, P. Gauduchon, N. Hitchin, L. Katzarkov, J. Kollr, C. LeBrun, P. Rukimbira, S.R. Simanca, J. Sparks, C. van Coevering, and W. Ziller.

This self-contained work illustrates the application of integral methods to diverse problems in mathematics, physics, biology, and engineering. The chapters contain state-of-the-art information on current research in a variety of important practical disciplines. The problems examined arise in real-life processes and phenomena and use a wide range of solution techniques. This is a useful and practical guide.

Enrique Castillo is a leading figure in several mathematical, statistical, and engineering fields, having contributed seminal work in such areas as statistical modeling, extreme value analysis, multivariate distribution theory, Bayesian networks, neural networks, functional equations, artificial intelligence, linear algebra, optimization methods, numerical methods, reliability engineering, as well as sensitivity analysis and its applications. Organized to honor Castillo's significant contributions, this volume is an outgrowth of the International Conference on Mathematical and Statistical Modeling and covers recent advances in the field. Also presented are applications to safety, reliability and life-testing, financial modeling, quality control, general inference, as well as neural networks and computational techniques.The book is divided into nine major sections:* Distribution Theory and Applications* Probability and Statistics* Order Statistics and Analysis* Engineering Modeling* Extreme Value Theory* Business and Economics Applications* Statistical Methods* Applied Mathematics* Discrete DistributionsThis comprehensive reference work will appeal to a diverse audience from the statistical, applied mathematics, engineering, and economics communities. Practitioners, researchers, and graduate students in mathematical and statistical modeling, optimization, and computing will benefit from this work.

The purpose of the present book is to offer an up-to-date account of the theory of viscosity solutions of first order partial differential equations of Hamilton-Jacobi type and its applications to optimal deterministic control and differential games. The theory of viscosity solutions, initiated in the early 80's by the papers of M.G. Crandall and P.L. Lions [CL81, CL83], M.G. Crandall, L.C. Evans and P.L. Lions [CEL84] and P.L. Lions' influential monograph [L82], provides an - tremely convenient PDE framework for dealing with the lack of smoothness of the value functions arising in dynamic optimization problems. The leading theme of this book is a description of the implementation of the viscosity solutions approach to a number of significant model problems in op- real deterministic control and differential games. We have tried to emphasize the advantages offered by this approach in establishing the well-posedness of the c- responding Hamilton-Jacobi equations and to point out its role (when combined with various techniques from optimal control theory and nonsmooth analysis) in the important issue of feedback synthesis.

This book examines the differential geometry of manifolds, loop spaces, line bundles and groupoids, and the relations of this geometry to mathematical physics. Applications presented in the book involve anomaly line bundles on loop spaces and anomaly functionals, central extensions of loop groups, Kahler geometry of the space of knots, and Cheeger--Chern--Simons secondary characteristics classes. It also covers the Dirac monopole and Dirac's quantization of the electrical charge.

In the past few years, knowledge about methods for the numerical solution of two-point boundary value problems has increased significantly. Important theoretical and practical advances have been made in a number or fronts, although they are not adequately described in any tt'xt currently available. With this in mind, we organized an international workshop, devoted solely to this topic. Tht' workshop took place in Vancouver, B.C., Canada, in July 1()"e;13, 1984. This volume contains the refereed proceedings of the workshop. Contributions to the workshop were in two formats. There were a small number of invited talks (ten of which are presented in this proceedings); the other contributions were in the rorm or poster sessions, for which there was no parallel activity in the workshop. We had attemptt'd to cover a number of topics and objectives in the talks. As a result, the general review papt'rs of O'Malley and Russell are intended to take a broader perspective, while the other papers are more specific. The contributions in this volume are divided (somewhat arbitrarily) into five groups. The first group concerns fundamental issues like conditioning and decoupling, which have only rect'ntly gained a proper appreciation of their centrality. Understanding of certain aspects or shooting methods ties in with these fundamental concepts. The papers of Russell, dt' Hoog and Mattheij all deal with these issues.