Among the theoretical methods for solving many problems of applied mathematics, physics, and technology, asymptotic methods often provide results that lead to obtaining more effective algorithms of numerical evaluation. Presenting the mathematical methods of perturbation theory, Introduction to Asymptotic Methods reviews the most important m

Excellent introductory text, written by two experts, presents a coherent and systematic view of principles and methods. Topics include integration by parts, Watson's lemma, LaPlace's method, stationary phase, and steepest descents. Additional subjects include the Mellin transform method and less elementary aspects of the method of steepest descents. 1975 edition.

This introductory graduate text is based on a graduate course the author has taught repeatedly over the last ten years to students in applied mathematics, engineering sciences, and physics. Each chapter begins with an introductory development involving ordinary differential equations, and goes on to cover such traditional topics as boundary layers and multiple scales. However, it also contains material arising from current research interest, including homogenisation, slender body theory, symbolic computing, and discrete equations. Many of the excellent exercises are derived from problems of up-to-date research and are drawn from a wide range of application areas.

From the reviews: "A good introduction to a subject important for its capacity to circumvent theoretical and practical obstacles, and therefore particularly prized in the applications of mathematics. The book presents a balanced view of the methods and their usefulness: integrals on the real line and in the complex plane which arise in different contexts, and solutions of differential equations not expressible as integrals. Murray includes both historical remarks and references to sources or other more complete treatments. More useful as a guide for self-study than as a reference work, it is accessible to any upperclass mathematics undergraduate. Some exercises and a short bibliography included. Even with E.T. Copson's Asymptotic Expansions or N.G. de Bruijn's Asymptotic Methods in Analysis (1958), any academic library would do well to have this excellent introduction." (S. Puckette, University of the South) #Choice Sept. 1984#1

A clear, practical and self-contained presentation of the methods of asymptotics and perturbation theory for obtaining approximate analytical solutions to differential and difference equations. Aimed at teaching the most useful insights in approaching new problems, the text avoids special methods and tricks that only work for particular problems. Intended for graduates and advanced undergraduates, it assumes only a limited familiarity with differential equations and complex variables. The presentation begins with a review of differential and difference equations, then develops local asymptotic methods for such equations, and explains perturbation and summation theory before concluding with an exposition of global asymptotic methods. Emphasizing applications, the discussion stresses care rather than rigor and relies on many well-chosen examples to teach readers how an applied mathematician tackles problems. There are 190 computer-generated plots and tables comparing approximate and exact solutions, over 600 problems of varying levels of difficulty, and an appendix summarizing the properties of special functions.

This book gives introductory chapters on the classical basic and standard methods for asymptotic analysis, such as Watson's lemma, Laplace's method, the saddle point and steepest descent methods, stationary phase and Darboux's method. The methods, explained in great detail, will obtain asymptotic approximations of the well-known special functions of mathematical physics and probability theory. After these introductory chapters, the methods of uniform asymptotic analysis are described in which several parameters have influence on typical phenomena: turning points and transition points, coinciding saddle and singularities. In all these examples, the special functions are indicated that describe the peculiar behavior of the integrals. The text extensively covers the classical methods with an emphasis on how to obtain expansions, and how to use the results for numerical methods, in particular for approximating special functions. In this way, we work with a computational mind: how can we use certain expansions in numerical analysis and in computer programs, how can we compute coefficients, and so on.

Asymptotic Approximations of Integrals deals with the methods used in the asymptotic approximation of integrals. Topics covered range from logarithmic singularities and the summability method to the distributional approach and the Mellin transform technique for multiple integrals. Uniform asymptotic expansions via a rational transformation are also discussed, along with double integrals with a curve of stationary points. For completeness, classical methods are examined as well. Comprised of nine chapters, this volume begins with an introduction to the fundamental concepts of asymptotics, followed by a discussion on classical techniques used in the asymptotic evaluation of integrals, including Laplace's method, Mellin transform techniques, and the summability method. Subsequent chapters focus on the elementary theory of distributions; the distributional approach; uniform asymptotic expansions; and integrals which depend on auxiliary parameters in addition to the asymptotic variable. The book concludes by considering double integrals and higher-dimensional integrals. This monograph is intended for graduate students and research workers in mathematics, physics, and engineering.

This book is an introduction to the field of asymptotic statistics. The treatment is both practical and mathematically rigorous. In addition to most of the standard topics of an asymptotics course, including likelihood inference, M-estimation, the theory of asymptotic efficiency, U-statistics, and rank procedures, the book also presents recent research topics such as semiparametric models, the bootstrap, and empirical processes and their applications. The topics are organized from the central idea of approximation by limit experiments, which gives the book one of its unifying themes. This entails mainly the local approximation of the classical i.i.d. set up with smooth parameters by location experiments involving a single, normally distributed observation. Thus, even the standard subjects of asymptotic statistics are presented in a novel way. Suitable as a graduate or Master s level statistics text, this book will also give researchers an overview of the latest research in asymptotic statistics.

In various fields of science, notably in physics and biology, one is con fronted with periodic phenomena having a remarkable temporal structure: it is as if certain systems are periodically reset in an initial state. A paper of Van der Pol in the Philosophical Magazine of 1926 started up the investigation of this highly nonlinear type of oscillation for which Van der Pol coined the name "relaxation oscillation". The study of relaxation oscillations requires a mathematical analysis which differs strongly from the well-known theory of almost linear oscillations. In this monograph the method of matched asymptotic expansions is employed to approximate the periodic orbit of a relaxation oscillator. As an introduction, in chapter 2 the asymptotic analysis of Van der Pol's equation is carried out in all detail. The problem exhibits all features characteristic for a relaxation oscillation. From this case study one may learn how to handle other or more generally formulated relaxation oscillations. In the survey special attention is given to biological and chemical relaxation oscillators. In chapter 2 a general definition of a relaxation oscillation is formulated.

"This is a useful volume in which a wide selection of asymptotic techniques is clearly presented in a form suitable for both applied mathematicians and Physicists who require an introduction to asymptotic techniques." --Book Jacket.