Discrete and Continuous Boundary Problems

This book discloses a fascinating connection between optimal stopping problems in probability and free-boundary problems. It focuses on key examples and the theory of optimal stopping is exposed at its basic principles in discrete and continuous time covering martingale and Markovian methods. Methods of solution explained range from change of time, space, and measure, to more recent ones such as local time-space calculus and nonlinear integral equations. A chapter on stochastic processes makes the material more accessible. The book will appeal to those wishing to master stochastic calculus via fundamental examples. Areas of application include financial mathematics, financial engineering, and mathematical statistics.

This book contains the main results of the authors' investigations on the development and application of numerical-analytic methods for ordinary nonlinear boundary value problems (BVPs). The methods under consideration provide an opportunity to solve the two important problems of the BVP theory — namely, to establish existence theorems and to build approximation solutions. They can be used to investigate a wide variety of BVPs.The Appendix, written in collaboration with S I Trofimchuk, discusses the connection of the new method with the classical Cesari, Cesari-Hale and Lyapunov-Schmidt methods.

This book is the most comprehensive, up-to-date account of the popular numerical methods for solving boundary value problems in ordinary differential equations. It aims at a thorough understanding of the field by giving an in-depth analysis of the numerical methods by using decoupling principles. Numerous exercises and real-world examples are used throughout to demonstrate the methods and the theory. Although first published in 1988, this republication remains the most comprehensive theoretical coverage of the subject matter, not available elsewhere in one volume. Many problems, arising in a wide variety of application areas, give rise to mathematical models which form boundary value problems for ordinary differential equations. These problems rarely have a closed form solution, and computer simulation is typically used to obtain their approximate solution. This book discusses methods to carry out such computer simulations in a robust, efficient, and reliable manner.

The 'North-Holland Mathematics Studies' series comprises a set of cutting-edge monographs and studies. This volume explores non-self-adjoint boundary eigenvalue problems for first order systems of ordinary differential equations and n-th order scalar differential equations.

In this volume a theory for models of transport in the presence of a free boundary is developed.Macroscopic laws of transport are described by PDE's. When the system is open, there are several mechanisms to couple the system with the external forces. Here a class of systems where the interaction with the exterior takes place in correspondence of a free boundary is considered. Both continuous and discrete models sharing the same structure are analysed. In Part I a free boundary problem related to the Stefan Problem is worked out in all details. For this model a new notion of relaxed solution is proposed for which global existence and uniqueness is proven. It is also shown that this is the hydrodynamic limit of the empirical mass density of the associated particle system. In Part II several other models are discussed. The expectation is that the results proved for the basic model extend to these other cases.All the models discussed in this volume have an interest in problems arising in several research fields such as heat conduction, queuing theory, propagation of fire, interface dynamics, population dynamics, evolution of biological systems with selection mechanisms.In general researchers interested in the relations between PDE’s and stochastic processes can find in this volume an extension of this correspondence to modern mathematical physics.

This book provides an extensive survey on Lyapunov-type inequalities. It summarizes and puts order into a vast literature available on the subject, and sketches recent developments in this topic. In an elegant and didactic way, this work presents the concepts underlying Lyapunov-type inequalities, covering how they developed and what kind of problems they address. This survey starts by introducing basic applications of Lyapunov’s inequalities. It then advances towards even-order, odd-order, and higher-order boundary value problems; Lyapunov and Hartman-type inequalities; systems of linear, nonlinear, and quasi-linear differential equations; recent developments in Lyapunov-type inequalities; partial differential equations; linear difference equations; and Lyapunov-type inequalities for linear, half-linear, and nonlinear dynamic equations on time scales, as well as linear Hamiltonian dynamic systems. Senior undergraduate students and graduate students of mathematics, engineering, and science will benefit most from this book, as well as researchers in the areas of ordinary differential equations, partial differential equations, difference equations, and dynamic equations. Some background in calculus, ordinary and partial differential equations, and difference equations is recommended for full enjoyment of the content.

A Theoretical Introduction to Numerical Analysis presents the general methodology and principles of numerical analysis, illustrating these concepts using numerical methods from real analysis, linear algebra, and differential equations. The book focuses on how to efficiently represent mathematical models for computer-based study. An accessible yet rigorous mathematical introduction, this book provides a pedagogical account of the fundamentals of numerical analysis. The authors thoroughly explain basic concepts, such as discretization, error, efficiency, complexity, numerical stability, consistency, and convergence. The text also addresses more complex topics like intrinsic error limits and the effect of smoothness on the accuracy of approximation in the context of Chebyshev interpolation, Gaussian quadratures, and spectral methods for differential equations. Another advanced subject discussed, the method of difference potentials, employs discrete analogues of Calderon’s potentials and boundary projection operators. The authors often delineate various techniques through exercises that require further theoretical study or computer implementation. By lucidly presenting the central mathematical concepts of numerical methods, A Theoretical Introduction to Numerical Analysis provides a foundational link to more specialized computational work in fluid dynamics, acoustics, and electromagnetism.

Difference Equations, Second Edition, presents a practical introduction to this important field of solutions for engineering and the physical sciences. Topic coverage includes numerical analysis, numerical methods, differential equations, combinatorics and discrete modeling. A hallmark of this revision is the diverse application to many subfields of mathematics. Phase plane analysis for systems of two linear equations Use of equations of variation to approximate solutions Fundamental matrices and Floquet theory for periodic systems LaSalle invariance theorem Additional applications: secant line method, Bison problem, juvenile-adult population model, probability theory Appendix on the use of Mathematica for analyzing difference equaitons Exponential generating functions Many new examples and exercises

In analysing nonlinear phenomena many mathematical models give rise to problems for which only nonnegative solutions make sense. In the last few years this discipline has grown dramatically. This state-of-the-art volume offers the authors' recent work, reflecting some of the major advances in the field as well as the diversity of the subject. Audience: This volume will be of interest to graduate students and researchers in mathematical analysis and its applications, whose work involves ordinary differential equations, finite differences and integral equations.