A mathematically rigorous introduction to fractals, emphasizing examples and fundamental ideas while minimizing technicalities.

In the 50 years since Mandelbrot identified the fractality of coastlines, mathematicians and physicists have developed a rich and beautiful theory describing the interplay between analytic, geometric and probabilistic aspects of the mathematics of fractals. Using classical and abstract analytic tools developed by Cantor, Hausdorff, and Sierpinski, they have sought to address fundamental questions: How can we measure the size of a fractal set? How do waves and heat travel on irregular structures? How are analysis, geometry and stochastic processes related in the absence of Euclidean smooth structure? What new physical phenomena arise in the fractal-like settings that are ubiquitous in nature?This book introduces background and recent progress on these problems, from both established leaders in the field and early career researchers. The book gives a broad introduction to several foundational techniques in fractal mathematics, while also introducing some specific new and significant results of interest to experts, such as that waves have infinite propagation speed on fractals. It contains sufficient introductory material that it can be read by new researchers or researchers from other areas who want to learn about fractal methods and results.

Combines analysis and tools from probability, harmonic analysis, operator theory, and engineering (signal/image processing) Interdisciplinary focus with hands-on approach, generous motivation and new pedagogical techniques Numerous exercises reinforce fundamental concepts and hone computational skills Separate sections explain engineering terms to mathematicians and operator theory to engineers Fills a gap in the literature

The idea of modeling the behaviour of phenomena at multiple scales has become a useful tool in both pure and applied mathematics. Fractal-based techniques lie at the heart of this area, as fractals are inherently multiscale objects; they very often describe nonlinear phenomena better than traditional mathematical models. In many cases they have been used for solving inverse problems arising in models described by systems of differential equations and dynamical systems. "Fractal-Based Methods in Analysis" draws together, for the first time in book form, methods and results from almost twenty years of research in this topic, including new viewpoints and results in many of the chapters. For each topic the theoretical framework is carefully explained using examples and applications. The second chapter on basic iterated function systems theory is designed to be used as the basis for a course and includes many exercises. This chapter, along with the three background appendices on topological and metric spaces, measure theory, and basic results from set-valued analysis, make the book suitable for self-study or as a source book for a graduate course. The other chapters illustrate many extensions and applications of fractal-based methods to different areas. This book is intended for graduate students and researchers in applied mathematics, engineering and social sciences. Herb Kunze is a professor of mathematics at the University of Guelph in Ontario. Davide La Torre is an associate professor of mathematics in the Department of Economics, Management and Quantitative Methods of the University of Milan. Franklin Mendivil is a professor of mathematics at Acadia University in Nova Scotia. Edward Vrscay is a professor in the department of Applied Mathematics at the University of Waterloo in Ontario. The major focus of their research is on fractals and the applications of fractals.

This book covers analysis on fractals, a developing area of mathematics which focuses on the dynamical aspects of fractals, such as heat diffusion on fractals and the vibration of a material with fractal structure. The book provides a self-contained introduction to the subject, starting from the basic geometry of self-similar sets and going on to discuss recent results, including the properties of eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of the Laplacians, and the asymptotical behaviors of heat kernels on self-similar sets. Requiring only a basic knowledge of advanced analysis, general topology and measure theory, this book will be of value to graduate students and researchers in analysis and probability theory. It will also be useful as a supplementary text for graduate courses covering fractals.

This ASI- which was also the 28th session of the Seminaire de mathematiques superieures of the Universite de Montreal - was devoted to Fractal Geometry and Analysis. The present volume is the fruit of the work of this Advanced Study Institute. We were fortunate to have with us Prof. Benoit Mandelbrot - the creator of numerous concepts in Fractal Geometry - who gave a series of lectures on multifractals, iteration of analytic functions, and various kinds of fractal stochastic processes. Different foundational contributions for Fractal Geometry like measure theory, dy namical systems, iteration theory, branching processes are recognized. The geometry of fractal sets and the analytical tools used to investigate them provide a unifying theme of this book. The main topics that are covered are then as follows. Dimension Theory. Many definitions of fractional dimension have been proposed, all of which coincide on "regular" objects, but often take different values for a given fractal set. There is ample discussion on piecewise estimates yielding actual values for the most common dimensions (Hausdorff, box-counting and packing dimensions). The dimension theory is mainly discussed by Mendes-France, Bedford, Falconer, Tricot and Rata. Construction of fractal sets. Scale in variance is a fundamental property of fractal sets.

Measure, energy, and metric -- Laplacian -- Spectrum of the laplacian -- Postcritically finite fractals -- Further topics.

This volume, following in the tradition of a similar 2010 publication by the same editors, is an outgrowth of an international conference, “Fractals and Related Fields II,” held in June 2011. The book provides readers with an overview of developments in the mathematical fields related to fractals, including original research contributions as well as surveys from many of the leading experts on modern fractal theory and applications. The chapters cover fields related to fractals such as: *geometric measure theory *ergodic theory *dynamical systems *harmonic and functional analysis *number theory *probability theory Further Developments in Fractals and Related Fields is aimed at pure and applied mathematicians working in the above-mentioned areas as well as other researchers interested in discovering the fractal domain. Throughout the volume, readers will find interesting and motivating results as well as new avenues for further research.

This volume offers an excellent selection of cutting-edge articles about fractal geometry, covering the great breadth of mathematics and related areas touched by this subject. Included are rich survey articles and fine expository papers. The high-quality contributions to the volume by well-known researchers--including two articles by Mandelbrot--provide a solid cross-section of recent research representing the richness and variety of contemporary advances in and around fractal geometry. In demonstrating the vitality and diversity of the field, this book will motivate further investigation into the many open problems and inspire future research directions. It is suitable for graduate students and researchers interested in fractal geometry and its applications. This is a two-part volume. Part 1 covers analysis, number theory, and dynamical systems; Part 2, multifractals, probability and statistical mechanics, and applications.

This volume collects thirteen expository or survey articles on topics including Fractal Geometry, Analysis of Fractals, Multifractal Analysis, Ergodic Theory and Dynamical Systems, Probability and Stochastic Analysis, written by the leading experts in their respective fields. The articles are based on papers presented at the International Conference on Advances on Fractals and Related Topics, held on December 10-14, 2012 at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. The volume offers insights into a number of exciting, cutting-edge developments in the area of fractals, which has close ties to and applications in other areas such as analysis, geometry, number theory, probability and mathematical physics.