This treatise deals with modern theory of functional equations in several variables and their applications to mathematics, information theory, and the natural, behavioural and social sciences. The authors have chosen to emphasize applications, though not at the expense of theory, so they have kept the prerequisites to a minimum.

The notion of stability of functional equations of several variables in the sense used here had its origins more than half a century ago when S. Ulam posed the fundamental problem and Donald H. Hyers gave the first significant partial solution in 1941. The subject has been revised and de veloped by an increasing number of mathematicians, particularly during the last two decades. Three survey articles have been written on the subject by D. H. Hyers (1983), D. H. Hyers and Th. M. Rassias (1992), and most recently by G. L. Forti (1995). None of these works included proofs of the results which were discussed. Furthermore, it should be mentioned that wider interest in this subject area has increased substantially over the last years, yet the pre sentation of research has been confined mainly to journal articles. The time seems ripe for a comprehensive introduction to this subject, which is the purpose of the present work. This book is the first to cover the classical results along with current research in the subject. An attempt has been made to present the material in an integrated and self-contained fashion. In addition to the main topic of the stability of certain functional equa tions, some other related problems are discussed, including the stability of the convex functional inequality and the stability of minimum points. A sad note. During the final stages of the manuscript our beloved co author and friend Professor Donald H. Hyers passed away.

Many books have been written on the theory of functional equations, but very few help readers solve functional equations in mathematics competitions and mathematical problem solving. This book fills that gap. Each chapter includes a list of problems associated with the covered material. These vary in difficulty, with the easiest being accessible to any high school student who has read the chapter carefully. The most difficult will challenge students studying for the International Mathematical Olympiad or the Putnam Competition. An appendix provides a springboard for further investigation of the concepts of limits, infinite series and continuity.

The theory of hypergroups is a rapidly developing area of mathematics due to its diverse applications in different areas like probability, harmonic analysis, etc. This book exhibits the use of functional equations and spectral synthesis in the theory of hypergroups. It also presents the fruitful consequences of this delicate "marriage" where the methods of spectral analysis and synthesis can provide an efficient tool in characterization problems of function classes on hypergroups. This book is written for the interested reader who has open eyes for both functional equations and hypergroups, and who dares to enter a new world of ideas, a new world of methods - and, sometimes, a new world of unexpected difficulties.

The notion of stability of functional equations of several variables in the sense used here had its origins more than half a century ago when S. Ulam posed the fundamental problem and Donald H. Hyers gave the first significant partial solution in 1941. The subject has been revised and de veloped by an increasing number of mathematicians, particularly during the last two decades. Three survey articles have been written on the subject by D. H. Hyers (1983), D. H. Hyers and Th. M. Rassias (1992), and most recently by G. L. Forti (1995). None of these works included proofs of the results which were discussed. Furthermore, it should be mentioned that wider interest in this subject area has increased substantially over the last years, yet the pre sentation of research has been confined mainly to journal articles. The time seems ripe for a comprehensive introduction to this subject, which is the purpose of the present work. This book is the first to cover the classical results along with current research in the subject. An attempt has been made to present the material in an integrated and self-contained fashion. In addition to the main topic of the stability of certain functional equa tions, some other related problems are discussed, including the stability of the convex functional inequality and the stability of minimum points. A sad note. During the final stages of the manuscript our beloved co author and friend Professor Donald H. Hyers passed away.

Numerous detailed proofs highlight this treatment of functional equations. Starting with equations that can be solved by simple substitutions, the book then moves to equations with several unknown functions and methods of reduction to differential and integral equations. Also includes composite equations, equations with several unknown functions of several variables, vector and matrix equations, more. 1966 edition.

This book illustrates the basic ideas of regularity properties of functional equations by simple examples. It then treats most of the modern results about regularity of non-composite functional equations of several variables in a unified fashion. A long introduction highlights the basic ideas for beginners and several applications are also included.

This book outlines the modern theory of functional equations and inequalities in several variables. It consists of three parts. The first is devoted to additive and convex functions defined on linear spaces with semilinear topologies. In the second part, the problems of stability of functional equations in the sense of Ulam-Hyers-Rassias and in some function spaces are considered. In the last part, the functional equations in set-valued functions are dealt with — for the first time in the mathematical literature. The book contains many fresh results concerning those problems.

No books dealing with a comprehensive illustration of the fast developing field of nonlinear analysis had been published for the mathematicians interested in this field for more than a half century until D. H. Hyers, G. Isac and Th. M. Rassias published their book, "Stability of Functional Equations in Several Variables". This book will complement the books of Hyers, Isac and Rassias and of Czerwik (Functional Equations and Inequalities in Several Variables) by presenting mainly the results applying to the Hyers-Ulam-Rassias stability. Many mathematicians have extensively investigated the subjects on the Hyers-Ulam-Rassias stability. This book covers and offers almost all classical results on the Hyers-Ulam-Rassias stability in an integrated and self-contained fashion.

Recently I taught short courses on functional equations at several universities (Barcelona, Bern, Graz, Hamburg, Milan, Waterloo). My aim was to introduce the most important equations and methods of solution through actual (not artifi cial) applications which were recent and with which I had something to do. Most of them happened to be related to the social or behavioral sciences. All were originally answers to questions posed by specialists in the respective applied fields. Here I give a somewhat extended version of these lectures, with more recent results and applications included. As previous knowledge just the basic facts of calculus and algebra are supposed. Parts where somewhat more (measure theory) is needed and sketches of lengthier calcula tions are set in fine print. I am grateful to Drs. J. Baker (Waterloo, Ont.), W. Forg-Rob (Innsbruck, Austria) and C. Wagner (Knoxville, Tenn.) for critical remarks and to Mrs. Brenda Law for care ful computer-typing of the manuscript (in several versions). A note on numbering of statements and references: The numbering of Lemmata, Propositions, Theorems, Corollaries and (separately) formulae starts anew in each section. If quoted in another section, the section number is added, e.g. (2.10) or Theorem 1.2. References are quoted by the last names of the authors and the last two digits of the year, e.g. Daroczy-Losonczi [671. 1 1. An aggregation theorem for allocation problems. Cauchy equation for single-and multiplace functions. Two extension theorems.