Reader-friendly guide offers illustrative examples of the rules of physical science and how they were formulated. Topics include the role of mathematics as the language of physics; nature of mechanical vibrations; harmonic motion and shapes; geometry of the laws of motion; more. 60 figures. 1963 edition.

Graduate-level text offers unified treatment of mathematics applicable to many branches of physics. Theory of vector spaces, analytic function theory, theory of integral equations, group theory, and more. Many problems. Bibliography.

th This volume contains the proceedings of the X Congress of the Interna tional Association of Mathematical Physics, held at the University of Leipzig from 30 July until 9 August 1991. There were more than 400 participants, from 29 countries, making it a truly international gathering. The congress had the support of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, the European Economic Community, the International Association of Math ematical Physics, the International Mathematical Union and the Interna tional Union of Pure and Applied Physics. There were also sponsors from in dustry and commerce: ATC Mann, Deutsche Bank AG, Miele & Cie GmbH, NEC Deutschland GmbH, Rank Xerox, Siemens AG and Stiftungsfonds IBM Deutschland. On behalf of the congress participants and the members of the International Association of Mathematical Physics, I would like to thank all these organisations for their very generous support. The congress took place under the auspices of the Ministerp6isident des Freistaates Sachsen, K. Biedenkopf. The conference began with an address by A. Uhlmann, Chairman of the Local Organizing Committee. This was followed by speeches of welcome from F. Magirius, City President of Leipzig; C. Weiss, Rector of the Uni versity of Leipzig; and A. Jaffe, President of the International Association of Mathematical Physics."

Mathematical physics plays an important role in the study of many physical processes — hydrodynamics, elasticity, and electrodynamics, to name just a few. Because of the enormous range and variety of problems dealt with by mathematical physics, this thorough advanced undergraduate- or graduate-level text considers only those problems leading to partial differential equations. Contents: I. Classification of Partial Differential Equations II. Evaluations of the Hyperbolic Type III. Equations of the Parabolic Type IV. Equations of Elliptic Type V. Wave Propagation in Space VI. Heat Conduction in Space VII. Equations of Elliptic Type (Continuation) The authors — two well-known Russian mathematicians — have focused on typical physical processes and the principal types of equations dealing with them. Special attention is paid throughout to mathematical formulation, rigorous solutions, and physical interpretation of the results obtained. Carefully chosen problems designed to promote technical skills are contained in each chapter, along with extremely useful appendixes that supply applications of solution methods described in the main text. At the end of the book, a helpful supplement discusses special functions, including spherical and cylindrical functions.

A Collection of Problems on Mathematical Physics is a translation from the Russian and deals with problems and equations of mathematical physics. The book contains problems and solutions. The book discusses problems on the derivation of equations and boundary condition. These Problems are arranged on the type and reduction to canonical form of equations in two or more independent variables. The equations of hyperbolic type concerns derive from problems on vibrations of continuous media and on electromagnetic oscillations. The book considers the statement and solutions of boundary value problems pertaining to equations of parabolic types when the physical processes are described by functions of two, three or four independent variables such as spatial coordinates or time. The book then discusses dynamic problems pertaining to the mechanics of continuous media and problems on electrodynamics. The text also discusses hyperbolic and elliptic types of equations. The book is intended for students in advanced mathematics and physics, as well as, for engineers and workers in research institutions.

Mathematical Physics with Partial Differential Equations, Second Edition, is designed for upper division undergraduate and beginning graduate students taking mathematical physics taught out by math departments. The new edition is based on the success of the first, with a continuing focus on clear presentation, detailed examples, mathematical rigor and a careful selection of topics. It presents the familiar classical topics and methods of mathematical physics with more extensive coverage of the three most important partial differential equations in the field of mathematical physics—the heat equation, the wave equation and Laplace's equation. The book presents the most common techniques of solving these equations, and their derivations are developed in detail for a deeper understanding of mathematical applications. Unlike many physics-leaning mathematical physics books on the market, this work is heavily rooted in math, making the book more appealing for students wanting to progress in mathematical physics, with particularly deep coverage of Green's functions, the Fourier transform, and the Laplace transform. A salient characteristic is the focus on fewer topics but at a far more rigorous level of detail than comparable undergraduate-facing textbooks. The depth of some of these topics, such as the Dirac-delta distribution, is not matched elsewhere. New features in this edition include: novel and illustrative examples from physics including the 1-dimensional quantum mechanical oscillator, the hydrogen atom and the rigid rotor model; chapter-length discussion of relevant functions, including the Hermite polynomials, Legendre polynomials, Laguerre polynomials and Bessel functions; and all-new focus on complex examples only solvable by multiple methods. - Introduces and evaluates numerous physical and engineering concepts in a rigorous mathematical framework - Provides extremely detailed mathematical derivations and solutions with extensive proofs and weighting for application potential - Explores an array of detailed examples from physics that give direct application to rigorous mathematics - Offers instructors useful resources for teaching, including an illustrated instructor's manual, PowerPoint presentations in each chapter and a solutions manual

A modern classic, this clearly written, incisive textbook provides a comprehensive, detailed survey of the functions of mathematical physics, a field of study straddling the somewhat artificial boundary between pure and applied mathematics. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the theorists who devoted themselves to this field — pioneers such as Gauss, Euler, Fourier, Legendre, and Bessel — were searching for mathematical solutions to physical problems. Today, although most of the functions have practical applications, in areas ranging from the quantum-theoretical model of the atom to the vibrating membrane, some, such as those related to the theory of discontinuous groups, still remain of purely mathematical interest. Chapters One and Two examine orthogonal polynomials, with sections on such topics as the recurrence formula, the Christoffel-Darboux formula, the Weierstrass approximation theorem, and the application of Hermite polynomials to quantum mechanics. Chapter Three is devoted to the principal properties of the gamma function, including asymptotic expansions and Mellin-Barnes integrals. Chapter Four covers hypergeometric functions, including a review of linear differential equations with regular singular points, and a general method for finding integral representations. Chapters Five and Six are concerned with the Legendre functions and their use in the solutions of Laplace's equation in spherical coordinates, as well as problems in an n-dimension setting. Chapter Seven deals with confluent hypergeometric functions, and Chapter Eight examines, at length, the most important of these — the Bessel functions. Chapter Nine covers Hill's equations, including the expansion theorems.

A classic treatise on partial differential equations, this comprehensive work by one of America's greatest early mathematical physicists covers the basic method, theory, and application of partial differential equations. In addition to its value as an introductory and supplementary text for students, this volume constitutes a fine reference for mathematicians, physicists, and research engineers. Detailed coverage includes Fourier series; integral and elliptic equations; spherical, cylindrical, and ellipsoidal harmonics; Cauchy's method; boundary problems; the Riemann-Volterra method; and many other basic topics. The self-contained treatment fully develops the theory and application of partial differential equations to virtually every relevant field: vibration, elasticity, potential theory, the theory of sound, wave propagation, heat conduction, and many more. A helpful Appendix provides background on Jacobians, double limits, uniform convergence, definite integrals, complex variables, and linear differential equations.

Have you ever wondered why the language of modern physics centres on geometry? Or how quantum operators and Dirac brackets work? What a convolution really is? What tensors are all about? Or what field theory and lagrangians are, and why gravity is described as curvature? This book takes you on a tour of the main ideas forming the language of modern mathematical physics. Here you will meet novel approaches to concepts such as determinants and geometry, wave function evolution, statistics, signal processing, and three-dimensional rotations. You will see how the accelerated frames of special relativity tell us about gravity. On the journey, you will discover how tensor notation relates to vector calculus, how differential geometry is built on intuitive concepts, and how variational calculus leads to field theory. You will meet quantum measurement theory, along with Green functions and the art of complex integration, and finally general relativity and cosmology. The book takes a fresh approach to tensor analysis built solely on the metric and vectors, with no need for one-forms. This gives a much more geometrical and intuitive insight into vector and tensor calculus, together with general relativity, than do traditional, more abstract methods. Don Koks is a physicist at the Defence Science and Technology Organisation in Adelaide, Australia. His doctorate in quantum cosmology was obtained from the Department of Physics and Mathematical Physics at Adelaide University. Prior work at the University of Auckland specialised in applied accelerator physics, along with pure and applied mathematics.