These lecture notes of the courses presented at the first CIME session 1994 by leading scientists present the state of the art in recent mathematical methods in Nonlinear Wave Propagation.
Earthquakes, a plucked string, ocean waves crashing on the beach, the sound waves that allow us to recognize known voices. Waves are everywhere, and the propagation and classical properties of these apparently disparate phenomena can be described by the same mathematical methods: variational calculus, characteristics theory, and caustics. Taking a medium-by-medium approach, Julian Davis explains the mathematics needed to understand wave propagation in inviscid and viscous fluids, elastic solids, viscoelastic solids, and thermoelastic media, including hyperbolic partial differential equations and characteristics theory, which makes possible geometric solutions to nonlinear wave problems. The result is a clear and unified treatment of wave propagation that makes a diverse body of mathematics accessible to engineers, physicists, and applied mathematicians engaged in research on elasticity, aerodynamics, and fluid mechanics. This book will particularly appeal to those working across specializations and those who seek the truly interdisciplinary understanding necessary to fully grasp waves and their behavior. By proceeding from concrete phenomena (e.g., the Doppler effect, the motion of sinusoidal waves, energy dissipation in viscous fluids, thermal stress) rather than abstract mathematical principles, Davis also creates a one-stop reference that will be prized by students of continuum mechanics and by mathematicians needing information on the physics of waves.
Lively discussions and stimulating research were part of a five-day conference on Mathematical Methods in Nonlinear Wave Propagation sponsored by the NSF and CBMS. This volume is a collection of lectures and papers stemming from that event. Leading experts present dynamical systems and chaos, scattering and spectral theory, nonlinear wave equations, optimal control, optical waveguide design, and numerical simulation. The book is suitable for a diverse audience of mathematical specialists interested in fiber optic communications and other nonlinear phenomena. It is also suitable for engineers and other scientists interested in the mathematics of nonlinear wave propagation.
Nonlinear Waves in Integrable and Nonintegrable Systems presents cutting-edge developments in the theory and experiments of nonlinear waves. Its comprehensive coverage of analytical and numerical methods for nonintegrable systems is the first of its kind. This book is intended for researchers and graduate students working in applied mathematics and various physical subjects where nonlinear wave phenomena arise (such as nonlinear optics, Bose-Einstein condensates, and fluid dynamics).
Although the mathematical theory of nonlinear waves and solitons has made great progress, its applications to concrete physical problems are rather poor, especially when compared with the classical theory of linear dispersive waves and nonlinear fluid motion. The Whitham method, which describes the combining action of the dispersive and nonlinear effects as modulations of periodic waves, is not widely used by applied mathematicians and physicists, though it provides a direct and natural way to treat various problems in nonlinear wave theory. Therefore it is topical to describe recent developments of the Whitham theory in a clear and simple form suitable for applications in various branches of physics.This book develops the techniques of the theory of nonlinear periodic waves at elementary level and in great pedagogical detail. It provides an introduction to a Whitham's theory of modulation in a form suitable for applications. The exposition is based on a thorough analysis of representative examples taken from fluid mechanics, nonlinear optics and plasma physics rather than on the formulation and study of a mathematical theory. Much attention is paid to physical motivations of the mathematical methods developed in the book. The main applications considered include the theory of collisionless shock waves in dispersive systems and the nonlinear theory of soliton formation in modulationally unstable systems. Exercises are provided to amplify the discussion of important topics such as singular perturbation theory, Riemann invariants, the finite gap integration method, and Whitham equations and their solutions.
Nonlinear physics is a well-established discipline in physics today, and this book offers a comprehensive account of the basic soliton theory and its applications. Although primarily mathematical, the theory for nonlinear phenomena in practical environment
Presents in a systematic and unified manner the ray method, in its various forms, for studying nonlinear wave propagation in situations of physical interest, essentially fluid dynamics and plasma physics.
Waves are essential phenomena in most scientific and engineering disciplines, such as electromagnetism and optics, and different mechanics including fluid, solid, structural, quantum, etc. They appear in linear and nonlinear systems. Some can be observed directly and others are not. The features of the waves are usually described by solutions to either linear or nonlinear partial differential equations, which are fundamental to the students and researchers.Generic equations, describing wave and pulse propagation in linear and nonlinear systems, are introduced and analyzed as initial/boundary value problems. These systems cover the general properties of non-dispersive and dispersive, uniform and non-uniform, with/without dissipations. Methods of analyses are introduced and illustrated with analytical solutions. Wave-wave and wave-particle interactions ascribed to the nonlinearity of media (such as plasma) are discussed in the final chapter.This interdisciplinary textbook is essential reading for anyone in above mentioned disciplines. It was prepared to provide students with an understanding of waves and methods of solving wave propagation problems. The presentation is self-contained and should be read without difficulty by those who have adequate preparation in classic mechanics. The selection of topics and the focus given to each provide essential materials for a lecturer to cover the bases in a linear/nonlinear wave course.
This book is a biography of one of the most famous and influential living mathematicians, Peter Lax. He is virtually unique as a preeminent leader in both pure and applied mathematics, fields which are often seen as competing and incompatible. Although he has been an academic for all of his adult life, his biography is not without drama and tragedy. Lax and his family barely escaped to the U.S. from Budapest before the Holocaust descended. He was one of the youngest scientists to work on the Manhattan Project. He played a leading role in coping with the infamous "kidnapping" of the NYU mathematics department's computer, in 1970. The list of topics in which Lax made fundamental and long-lasting contributions is remarkable: scattering theory, solitons, shock waves, and even classical analysis, to name a few. His work has been honored many times, including the Abel Prize in 2005. The book concludes with an account of his most important mathematical contributions, made accessible without heavy prerequisites. Reuben Hersh has written extensively on mathematics. His book with Philip Davis, The Mathematical Experience, won the National Book Award in science. Hersh is emeritus professor of mathematics at the University of New Mexico.
Now in an accessible paperback edition, this classic work is just as relevant as when it first appeared in 1974, due to the increased use of nonlinear waves. It covers the behavior of waves in two parts, with the first part addressing hyperbolic waves and the second addressing dispersive waves. The mathematical principles are presented along with examples of specific cases in communications and specific physical fields, including flood waves in rivers, waves in glaciers, traffic flow, sonic booms, blast waves, and ocean waves from storms.