The maximum principle induces an order structure for partial differential equations, and has become an important tool in nonlinear analysis. This book is the first of two volumes to systematically introduce the applications of order structure in certain nonlinear partial differential equation problems.The maximum principle is revisited through the use of the Krein-Rutman theorem and the principal eigenvalues. Its various versions, such as the moving plane and sliding plane methods, are applied to a variety of important problems of current interest. The upper and lower solution method, especially its weak version, is presented in its most up-to-date form with enough generality to cater for wide applications. Recent progress on the boundary blow-up problems and their applications are discussed, as well as some new symmetry and Liouville type results over half and entire spaces. Some of the results included here are published for the first time.

The maximum principle induces an order structure for partial differential equations, and has become an important tool in nonlinear analysis. This book is the first of two volumes to systematically introduce the applications of order structure in certain nonlinear partial differential equation problems.The maximum principle is revisited through the use of the Krein-Rutman theorem and the principal eigenvalues. Its various versions, such as the moving plane and sliding plane methods, are applied to a variety of important problems of current interest. The upper and lower solution method, especially its weak version, is presented in its most up-to-date form with enough generality to cater for wide applications. Recent progress on the boundary blow-up problems and their applications are discussed, as well as some new symmetry and Liouville type results over half and entire spaces. Some of the results included here are published for the first time.

This book consists of survey and research articles expanding on the theme of the OC International Conference on Reaction-Diffusion Systems and Viscosity SolutionsOCO, held at Providence University, Taiwan, during January 3OCo6, 2007. It is a carefully selected collection of articles representing the recent progress of some important areas of nonlinear partial differential equations. The book is aimed for researchers and postgraduate students who want to learn about or follow some of the current research topics in nonlinear partial differential equations. The contributors consist of international experts and some participants of the conference, including Nils Ackermann (Mexico), Chao-Nien Chen (Taiwan), Yihong Du (Australia), Alberto Farina (France), Hitoshi Ishii (Japan), N Ishimura (Japan), Shigeaki Koike (Japan), Chu-Pin Lo (Taiwan), Peter Polacik (USA), Kunimochi Sakamoto (Japan), Richard Tsai (USA), Mingxin Wang (China), Yoshio Yamada (Japan), Eiji Yanagida (Japan), and Xiao-Qiang Zhao (Canada).

This book introduces some basic mathematical tools in reaction-diffusion models, with applications to spatial ecology and evolutionary biology. It is divided into four parts. The first part is an introduction to the maximum principle, the theory of principal eigenvalues for elliptic and periodic-parabolic equations and systems, and the theory of principal Floquet bundles. The second part concerns the applications in spatial ecology. We discuss the dynamics of a single species and two competing species, as well as some recent progress on N competing species in bounded domains. Some related results on stream populations and phytoplankton populations are also included. We also discuss the spreading properties of a single species in an unbounded spatial domain, as modeled by the Fisher-KPP equation. The third part concerns the applications in evolutionary biology. We describe the basic notions of adaptive dynamics, such as evolutionarily stable strategies and evolutionary branching points, in the context of a competition model of stream populations. We also discuss a class of selection-mutation models describing a population structured along a continuous phenotypical trait. The fourth part consists of several appendices, which present a self-contained treatment of some basic abstract theories in functional analysis and dynamical systems. Topics include the Krein-Rutman theorem for linear and nonlinear operators, as well as some elements of monotone dynamical systems and abstract competition systems. Most of the book is self-contained and it is aimed at graduate students and researchers who are interested in the theory and applications of reaction-diffusion equations.

This book provides a comprehensive introduction to the mathematical theory of nonlinear problems described by elliptic partial differential equations. These equations can be seen as nonlinear versions of the classical Laplace equation, and they appear as mathematical models in different branches of physics, chemistry, biology, genetics, and engineering and are also relevant in differential geometry and relativistic physics. Much of the modern theory of such equations is based on the calculus of variations and functional analysis. Concentrating on single-valued or multivalued elliptic equations with nonlinearities of various types, the aim of this volume is to obtain sharp existence or nonexistence results, as well as decay rates for general classes of solutions. Many technically relevant questions are presented and analyzed in detail. A systematic picture of the most relevant phenomena is obtained for the equations under study, including bifurcation, stability, asymptotic analysis, and optimal regularity of solutions. The method of presentation should appeal to readers with different backgrounds in functional analysis and nonlinear partial differential equations. All chapters include detailed heuristic arguments providing thorough motivation of the study developed later on in the text, in relationship with concrete processes arising in applied sciences. A systematic description of the most relevant singular phenomena described in this volume includes existence (or nonexistence) of solutions, unicity or multiplicity properties, bifurcation and asymptotic analysis, and optimal regularity. The book includes an extensive bibliography and a rich index, thus allowing for quick orientation among the vast collection of literature on the mathematical theory of nonlinear phenomena described by elliptic partial differential equations.

Nonlinear functional analysis is an important branch of contemporary mathematics. It's related to topology, ordinary differential equations, partial differential equations, groups, dynamical systems, differential geometry, measure theory, and more. In this book, the author presents some new and interesting results on fundamental methods in nonlinear functional analysis, namely variational, topological and partial order methods, which have been used extensively to solve existence of solutions for elliptic equations, wave equations, Schrödinger equations, Hamiltonian systems etc., and are also used to study the existence of multiple solutions and properties of solutions. This book is useful for researchers and graduate students in the field of nonlinear functional analysis.