In La función delta (1981), the second novel of the best-selling Spanish author Rosa Montero, the real world is as unmapped and treacherous as ever for her countrywomen, but more universal concerns impinge. Translated into English by Kari Easton and Yolanda Molina Gavilán, The Delta Function explores a woman's fears of being abandoned, of being alone, and of dying. A unique double narrative structure throws into relief time's effect on her self-identity, sexuality, and relations with others. Readers will be inspired to confront and rethink their own version of the world around them.
Delta Functions has now been updated, restructured and modernised into a second edition, to answer specific difficulties typically found by students encountering delta functions for the first time. In particular, the treatment of the Laplace transform has been revised with this in mind. The chapter on Schwartz distributions has been considerably extended and the book is supplemented by a fuller review of Nonstandard Analysis and a survey of alternative infinitesimal treatments of generalised functions. Dealing with a difficult subject in a simple and straightforward way, the text is readily accessible to a broad audience of scientists, mathematicians and engineers. It can be used as a working manual in its own right, and serves as a preparation for the study of more advanced treatises. Little more than a standard background in calculus is assumed, and attention is focused on techniques, with a liberal selection of worked examples and exercises. Second edition has been updated, restructured and modernised to answer specific difficulties typically found by students encountering delta functions for the first time Attention is focused on techniques, with a liberal selection of worked examples and exercises Readily accessible to a broad audience of scientists, mathematicians and engineers and can be used as a working manual in its own right
An understanding of quantum mechanics is vital to all students of physics, chemistry and electrical engineering, but requires a lot of mathematical concepts, the details of which are given with great clarity in this book. Various concepts have been derived from first principles, so it can also be used for self-study. The chapters on the JWKB approximation, time-independent perturbation theory and effects of magnetic field stand out for their clarity and easy-to-understand mathematics. Two complete chapters on the linear harmonic oscillator provide a very detailed discussion of one of the most fundamental problems in quantum mechanics. Operator algebra is used to show the ease with which one can calculate the harmonic oscillator wave functions and study the evolution of the coherent state. Similarly, three chapters on angular momentum give a detailed account of this important problem. Perhaps the most attractive feature of the book is the excellent balance between theory and applications and the large number of applications in such diverse areas as astrophysics, nuclear physics, atomic and molecular spectroscopy, solid-state physics, and quantum well structures.
This state-of-the-art survey serves as a complete overview of the subject. Besides the principles and theoretical foundations, emphasis is laid on practical applicability -- describing not only classical methods, but also modern developments and their applications. Students, researchers and practitioners, especially in the fields of data registration, treatment and evaluation, will find this a wealth of information.
Since publication of the first edition over a decade ago, Green’s Functions with Applications has provided applied scientists and engineers with a systematic approach to the various methods available for deriving a Green’s function. This fully revised Second Edition retains the same purpose, but has been meticulously updated to reflect the current state of the art. The book opens with necessary background information: a new chapter on the historical development of the Green’s function, coverage of the Fourier and Laplace transforms, a discussion of the classical special functions of Bessel functions and Legendre polynomials, and a review of the Dirac delta function. The text then presents Green’s functions for each class of differential equation (ordinary differential, wave, heat, and Helmholtz equations) according to the number of spatial dimensions and the geometry of the domain. Detailing step-by-step methods for finding and computing Green’s functions, each chapter contains a special section devoted to topics where Green’s functions particularly are useful. For example, in the case of the wave equation, Green’s functions are beneficial in describing diffraction and waves. To aid readers in developing practical skills for finding Green’s functions, worked examples, problem sets, and illustrations from acoustics, applied mechanics, antennas, and the stability of fluids and plasmas are featured throughout the text. A new chapter on numerical methods closes the book. Included solutions and hundreds of references to the literature on the construction and use of Green's functions make Green’s Functions with Applications, Second Edition a valuable sourcebook for practitioners as well as graduate students in the sciences and engineering.
This second edition of Generalized Functions has been strengthened in many ways. The already extensive set of examples has been expanded. Since the publication of the first edition, there has been tremendous growth in the subject and I have attempted to incorporate some of these new concepts. Accordingly, almost all the chapters have been revised. The bibliography has been enlarged considerably. Some of the material has been reorganized. For example, Chapters 12 and 13 of the first edition have been consolidated into Chapter 12 of this edition by a judicious process of elimination and addition of the subject matter. The new Chapter 13 explains the interplay between the theories of moments, asymptotics, and singular perturbations. Similarly, some sections of Chapter 15 have been revised and included in earlier chapters to improve the logical flow of ideas. However, two sections are retained. The section dealing with the application of the probability theory has been revised, and I am thankful to Professor Z.L. Crvenkovic for her help. The new material included in this chapter pertains to the modern topics of periodic distributions and microlocal theory. I have demonstrated through various examples that familiarity with the generalized functions is very helpful for students in physical sciences and technology. For instance, the reader will realize from Chapter 6 how the generalized functions have revolutionized the Fourier analysis which is being used extensively in many fields of scientific activity.
The first edition of this work appeared in 1930, and its originality won it immediate recognition as a classic of modern physical theory. The fourth edition has been bought out to meet a continued demand. Some improvements have been made, the main one being the complete rewriting of the chapter on quantum electrodymanics, to bring in electron-pair creation. This makes it suitable as an introduction to recent works on quantum field theories.
