This title presents an introduction to the classical treatment of Backlund and general surface transformations; and includes detailed and accessible techniques for constructing both groups of tranformations which will be of great value to the scientist and engineer in the analysis of mathematical models of physical phenomena. Classical and recent examples of Backlund transformations as applied to geometry, nonlinear optics, turbulence models, nonlinear waves and quantum mechanics are given. The authors discuss applications of Lie-Backlund transformations in mechanics, quantum mechanics, gas dynamics, hydrodynamics, and relativity.

Ba?cklund Transformations and Their Applications

This book explores the deep and fascinating connections that exist between a ubiquitous class of physically important waves known as solitons and the theory of transformations of a privileged class of surfaces as they were studied by eminent geometers of the nineteenth century. Thus, nonlinear equations governing soliton propagation and also mathematical descriptions of their remarkable interaction properties are shown to arise naturally out of the classical differential geometry of surfaces and what are termed Bäcklund-Darboux transformations.This text, the first of its kind, is written in a straightforward manner and is punctuated by exercises to test the understanding of the reader. It is suitable for use in higher undergraduate or graduate level courses directed at applied mathematicians or mathematical physics.

This book is devoted to a classical topic that has undergone rapid and fruitful development over the past 25 years, namely Backlund and Darboux transformations and their applications in the theory of integrable systems, also known as soliton theory. The book consists of two parts. The first is a series of introductory pedagogical lectures presented by leading experts in the field. They are devoted respectively to Backlund transformations of Painleve equations, to the dressing methodand Backlund and Darboux transformations, and to the classical geometry of Backlund transformations and their applications to soliton theory. The second part contains original contributions that represent new developments in the theory and applications of these transformations. Both the introductorylectures and the original talks were presented at an International Workshop that took place in Halifax, Nova Scotia (Canada). This volume covers virtually all recent developments in the theory and applications of Backlund and Darboux transformations.

"This is an introductory textbook on the geometrical theory of dynamical systems, fluid flows and certain integrable systems. The topics are interdisciplinary and extend from mathematics, mechanics and physics to mechanical engineering, and the approach is very fundamental. The main theme of this book is a unified formulation to understand dynamical evolutions of physical systems within mathematical ideas of Riemannian geometry and Lie groups by using well-known examples. Underlying mathematical concepts include transformation invariance, covariant derivative, geodesic equation and curvature tensors on the basis of differential geometry, theory of Lie groups and integrability. These mathematical theories are applied to physical systems such as free rotation of a top, surface wave of shallow water, action principle in mechanics, diffeomorphic flow of fluids, vortex motions and some integrable systems. In the latest edition, a new formulation of fluid flows is also presented in a unified fashion on the basis of the gauge principle of theoretical physics and principle of least action along with new type of Lagrangians. A great deal of effort has been directed toward making the description elementary, clear and concise, to provide beginners easy access to the topics."-

This is the second supplementary volume to Kluwer's highly acclaimed eleven-volume Encyclopaedia of Mathematics. This additional volume contains nearly 500 new entries written by experts and covers developments and topics not included in the previous volumes. These entries are arranged alphabetically throughout and a detailed index is included. This supplementary volume enhances the existing eleven volumes, and together these twelve volumes represent the most authoritative, comprehensive and up-to-date Encyclopaedia of Mathematics available.

Approximately fifty articles that were published in The Mathematical Intelligencer during its first eighteen years. The selection demonstrates the wide variety of attractive articles that have appeared over the years, ranging from general interest articles of a historical nature to lucid expositions of important current discoveries. Each article is introduced by the editors. "...The Mathematical Intelligencer publishes stylish, well-illustrated articles, rich in ideas and usually short on proofs. ...Many, but not all articles fall within the reach of the advanced undergraduate mathematics major. ... This book makes a nice addition to any undergraduate mathematics collection that does not already sport back issues of The Mathematical Intelligencer." D.V. Feldman, University of New Hamphire, CHOICE Reviews, June 2001.

A major portion of this book discusses work which has appeared since the publication of the book Similarity Methods for Differential Equations, Springer-Verlag, 1974, by the first author and J.D. Cole. The present book also includes a thorough and comprehensive treatment of Lie groups of tranformations and their various uses for solving ordinary and partial differential equations. No knowledge of group theory is assumed. Emphasis is placed on explicit computational algorithms to discover symmetries admitted by differential equations and to construct solutions resulting from symmetries. This book should be particularly suitable for physicists, applied mathematicians, and engineers. Almost all of the examples are taken from physical and engineering problems including those concerned with heat conduction, wave propagation, and fluid flows. A preliminary version was used as lecture notes for a two-semester course taught by the first author at the University of British Columbia in 1987-88 to graduate and senior undergraduate students in applied mathematics and physics. Chapters 1 to 4 encompass basic material. More specialized topics are covered in Chapters 5 to 7.

This book shows how Lie group and integrability techniques, originally developed for differential equations, have been adapted to the case of difference equations. Difference equations are playing an increasingly important role in the natural sciences. Indeed, many phenomena are inherently discrete and thus naturally described by difference equations. More fundamentally, in subatomic physics, space-time may actually be discrete. Differential equations would then just be approximations of more basic discrete ones. Moreover, when using differential equations to analyze continuous processes, it is often necessary to resort to numerical methods. This always involves a discretization of the differential equations involved, thus replacing them by difference ones. Each of the nine peer-reviewed chapters in this volume serves as a self-contained treatment of a topic, containing introductory material as well as the latest research results and exercises. Each chapter is presented by one or more early career researchers in the specific field of their expertise and, in turn, written for early career researchers. As a survey of the current state of the art, this book will serve as a valuable reference and is particularly well suited as an introduction to the field of symmetries and integrability of difference equations. Therefore, the book will be welcomed by advanced undergraduate and graduate students as well as by more advanced researchers.