Provides a thorough understanding of calculus of variations and prepares readers for the study of modern optimal control theory. Selected variational problems and over 400 exercises. Bibliography. 1969 edition.

This clear and concise textbook provides a rigorous introduction to the calculus of variations, depending on functions of one variable and their first derivatives. It is based on a translation of a German edition of the book Variationsrechnung (Vieweg+Teubner Verlag, 2010), translated and updated by the author himself. Topics include: the Euler-Lagrange equation for one-dimensional variational problems, with and without constraints, as well as an introduction to the direct methods. The book targets students who have a solid background in calculus and linear algebra, not necessarily in functional analysis. Some advanced mathematical tools, possibly not familiar to the reader, are given along with proofs in the appendix. Numerous figures, advanced problems and proofs, examples, and exercises with solutions accompany the book, making it suitable for self-study. The book will be particularly useful for beginning graduate students from the physical, engineering, and mathematical sciences with a rigorous theoretical background.

Clear, rigorous introductory treatment covers applications to geometry, dynamics, and physics. It focuses upon problems with one independent variable, connecting abstract theory with its use in concrete problems. 1962 edition.

This textbook provides a comprehensive introduction to the classical and modern calculus of variations, serving as a useful reference to advanced undergraduate and graduate students as well as researchers in the field. Starting from ten motivational examples, the book begins with the most important aspects of the classical theory, including the Direct Method, the Euler-Lagrange equation, Lagrange multipliers, Noether’s Theorem and some regularity theory. Based on the efficient Young measure approach, the author then discusses the vectorial theory of integral functionals, including quasiconvexity, polyconvexity, and relaxation. In the second part, more recent material such as rigidity in differential inclusions, microstructure, convex integration, singularities in measures, functionals defined on functions of bounded variation (BV), and Γ-convergence for phase transitions and homogenization are explored. While predominantly designed as a textbook for lecture courses on the calculus of variations, this book can also serve as the basis for a reading seminar or as a companion for self-study. The reader is assumed to be familiar with basic vector analysis, functional analysis, Sobolev spaces, and measure theory, though most of the preliminaries are also recalled in the appendix.

First truly up-to-date treatment offers a simple introduction to optimal control, linear-quadratic control design, and more. Broad perspective features numerous exercises, hints, outlines, and appendixes, including a practical discussion of MATLAB. 2005 edition.

Suitable for advanced undergraduate and graduate students of mathematics, physics, or engineering, this introduction to the calculus of variations focuses on variational problems involving one independent variable. It also discusses more advanced topics such as the inverse problem, eigenvalue problems, and Noether’s theorem. The text includes numerous examples along with problems to help students consolidate the material.

Introduction to the Calculus of Variations and Control with Modern Applications provides the fundamental background required to develop rigorous necessary conditions that are the starting points for theoretical and numerical approaches to modern variational calculus and control problems. The book also presents some classical sufficient conditions a

This book is intended for a first course in the calculus of variations, at the senior or beginning graduate level. The reader will learn methods for finding functions that maximize or minimize integrals. The text lays out important necessary and sufficient conditions for extrema in historical order, and it illustrates these conditions with numerous worked-out examples from mechanics, optics, geometry, and other fields. The exposition starts with simple integrals containing a single independent variable, a single dependent variable, and a single derivative, subject to weak variations, but steadily moves on to more advanced topics, including multivariate problems, constrained extrema, homogeneous problems, problems with variable endpoints, broken extremals, strong variations, and sufficiency conditions. Numerous line drawings clarify the mathematics. Each chapter ends with recommended readings that introduce the student to the relevant scientific literature and with exercises that consolidate understanding.

The calculus of variations is one of the oldest subjects in mathematics, yet is very much alive and is still evolving. Besides its mathematical importance and its links to other branches of mathematics, such as geometry or differential equations, it is widely used in physics, engineering, economics and biology.This book serves both as a guide to the expansive existing literature and as an aid to the non-specialist ? mathematicians, physicists, engineers, students or researchers ? in discovering the subject's most important problems, results and techniques. Despite the aim of addressing non-specialists, mathematical rigor has not been sacrificed; most of the theorems are either fully proved or proved under more stringent conditions.In this new edition, the chapter on regularity has been significantly expanded and 27 new exercises have been added. The book, containing a total of 103 exercises with detailed solutions, is well designed for a course at both undergraduate and graduate levels.