The book offers a direct and up-to-date introduction to the theory of one-parameter semigroups of linear operators on Banach spaces. The book is intended for students and researchers who want to become acquainted with the concept of semigroups.

This book gives a gentle but up-to-date introduction into the theory of operator semigroups (or linear dynamical systems), which can be used with great success to describe the dynamics of complicated phenomena arising in many applications. Positivity is a property which naturally appears in physical, chemical, biological or economic processes. It adds a beautiful and far reaching mathematical structure to the dynamical systems and operators describing these processes. In the first part, the finite dimensional theory in a coordinate-free way is developed, which is difficult to find in literature. This is a good opportunity to present the main ideas of the Perron-Frobenius theory in a way which can be used in the infinite dimensional situation. Applications to graph matrices, age structured population models and economic models are discussed. The infinite dimensional theory of positive operator semigroups with their spectral and asymptotic theory is developed in the second part. Recent applications illustrate the theory, like population equations, neutron transport theory, delay equations or flows in networks. Each chapter is accompanied by a large set of exercises. An up-to-date bibliography and a detailed subject index help the interested reader. The book is intended primarily for graduate and master students. The finite dimensional part, however, can be followed by an advanced bachelor with a solid knowledge of linear algebra and calculus.

This monograph is concerned with the interplay between the theory of operator semigroups and spectral theory. The basics on operator semigroups are concisely covered in this self-contained text. Part I deals with the Hille--Yosida and Lumer--Phillips characterizations of semigroup generators, the Trotter--Kato approximation theorem, Kato’s unified treatment of the exponential formula and the Trotter product formula, the Hille--Phillips perturbation theorem, and Stone’s representation of unitary semigroups. Part II explores generalizations of spectral theory’s connection to operator semigroups.

This proceedings volume originates from a conference held in Herrnhut in June 2013. It provides unique insights into the power of abstract methods and techniques in dealing successfully with numerous applications stemming from classical analysis and mathematical physics. The book features diverse topics in the area of operator semigroups, including partial differential equations, martingale and Hilbert transforms, Banach and von Neumann algebras, Schrödinger operators, maximal regularity and Fourier multipliers, interpolation, operator-theoretical problems (concerning generation, perturbation and dilation, for example), and various qualitative and quantitative Tauberian theorems with a focus on transfinite induction and magics of Cantor. The last fifteen years have seen the dawn of a new era for semigroup theory with the emphasis on applications of abstract results, often unexpected and far removed from traditional ones. The aim of the conference was to bring together prominent experts in the field of modern semigroup theory, harmonic analysis, complex analysis and mathematical physics, and to present the lively interactions between all of those areas and beyond. In addition, the meeting honored the sixtieth anniversary of Prof C. J. K. Batty, whose scientific achievements are an impressive illustration of the conference goal. These proceedings present contributions by prominent scientists at this international conference, which became a landmark event. They will be a valuable and inspiring source of information for graduate students and established researchers.

The book is intended as a text for a one-semester graduate course in operator theory to be taught "from scratch'', not as a sequel to a functional analysis course, with the basics of the spectral theory of linear operators taking the center stage. The book consists of six chapters and appendix, with the material flowing from the fundamentals of abstract spaces (metric, vector, normed vector, and inner product), the Banach Fixed-Point Theorem and its applications, such as Picard's Existence and Uniqueness Theorem, through the basics of linear operators, two of the three fundamental principles (the Uniform Boundedness Principle and the Open Mapping Theorem and its equivalents: the Inverse Mapping and Closed Graph Theorems), to the elements of the spectral theory, including Gelfand's Spectral Radius Theorem and the Spectral Theorem for Compact Self-Adjoint Operators, and its applications, such as the celebrated Lyapunov Stability Theorem. Conceived as a text to be used in a classroom, the book constantly calls for the student's actively mastering the knowledge of the subject matter. There are problems at the end of each chapter, starting with Chapter 2 and totaling at 150. Many important statements are given as problems and frequently referred to in the main body. There are also 432 Exercises throughout the text, including Chapter 1 and the Appendix, which require of the student to prove or verify a statement or an example, fill in certain details in a proof, or provide an intermediate step or a counterexample. They are also an inherent part of the material. More difficult problems are marked with an asterisk, many problems and exercises are supplied with "existential'' hints. The book is generous on Examples and contains numerous Remarks accompanying definitions, examples, and statements to discuss certain subtleties, raise questions on whether the converse assertions are true, whenever appropriate, or whether the conditions are essential. With carefully chosen material, proper attention given to applications, and plenty of examples, problems, and exercises, this well-designed text is ideal for a one-semester Master's level graduate course in operator theory with emphasis on spectral theory for students majoring in mathematics, physics, computer science, and engineering. Contents Preface Preliminaries Metric Spaces Vector Spaces, Normed Vector Spaces, and Banach Spaces Linear Operators Elements of Spectral Theory in a Banach Space Setting Elements of Spectral Theory in a Hilbert Space Setting Appendix: The Axiom of Choice and Equivalents Bibliography Index

This volume is on initial-boundary value problems for parabolic partial differential equations of second order. It rewrites the problems as abstract Cauchy problems or evolution equations, and then solves them by the technique of elementary difference equations. Because of this, the volume assumes less background and provides an easy approach for readers to understand.

This proceedings volume features selected contributions from the conference Positivity X. The field of positivity deals with ordered mathematical structures and their applications. At the biannual series of Positivity conferences, the latest developments in this diverse field are presented. The 2019 edition was no different, with lectures covering a broad spectrum of topics, including vector and Banach lattices and operators on such spaces, abstract stochastic processes in an ordered setting, the theory and applications of positive semi-groups to partial differential equations, Hilbert geometries, positivity in Banach algebras and, in particular, operator algebras, as well as applications to mathematical economics and financial mathematics. The contributions in this book reflect the variety of topics discussed at the conference. They will be of interest to researchers in functional analysis, operator theory, measure and integration theory, operator algebras, and economics. Positivity X was dedicated to the memory of our late colleague and friend, Coenraad Labuschagne. His untimely death in 2018 came as an enormous shock to the Positivity community. He was a prominent figure in the Positivity community and was at the forefront of the recent development of abstract stochastic processes in a vector lattice context.

Motivated by applications to control theory and to the theory of partial differential equations (PDE's), the authors examine the exponential stability and analyticity of C0-semigroups associated with various dissipative systems. They present a unique, systematic approach in which they prove exponential stability by combining a theory from semigroup theory with partial differential equation techniques, and use an analogous theorem with PDE techniques to prove analyticity. The result is a powerful but simple tool useful in determining whether these properties will preserve for a given dissipative system. The authors show that the exponential stability is preserved for all the mechanical systems considered in this book-linear, one-dimensional thermoelastic, viscoelastic and thermoviscoelastic systems, plus systems with shear or friction damping. However, readers also learn that this property does not hold true for linear three-dimensional systems without making assumptions on the domain and initial data, and that analyticity is a more sensitive property, not preserved even for some of the systems addressed in this study.

This book presents a detailed and contemporary account of the classical theory of convergence of semigroups and its more recent development treating the case where the limit semigroup, in contrast to the approximating semigroups, acts merely on a subspace of the original Banach space (this is the case, for example, with singular perturbations). The author demonstrates the far-reaching applications of this theory using real examples from various branches of pure and applied mathematics, with a particular emphasis on mathematical biology. The book may serve as a useful reference, containing a significant number of new results ranging from the analysis of fish populations to signaling pathways in living cells. It comprises many short chapters, which allows readers to pick and choose those topics most relevant to them, and it contains 160 end-of-chapter exercises so that readers can test their understanding of the material as they go along.