Approximation Theory Xv

These proceedings are based on papers presented at the international conference Approximation Theory XV, which was held May 22–25, 2016 in San Antonio, Texas. The conference was the fifteenth in a series of meetings in Approximation Theory held at various locations in the United States, and was attended by 146 participants. The book contains longer survey papers by some of the invited speakers covering topics such as compressive sensing, isogeometric analysis, and scaling limits of polynomials and entire functions of exponential type. The book also includes papers on a variety of current topics in Approximation Theory drawn from areas such as advances in kernel approximation with applications, approximation theory and algebraic geometry, multivariate splines for applications, practical function approximation, approximation of PDEs, wavelets and framelets with applications, approximation theory in signal processing, compressive sensing, rational interpolation, spline approximation in isogeometric analysis, approximation of fractional differential equations, numerical integration formulas, and trigonometric polynomial approximation.

This textbook is designed for graduate students in mathematics, physics, engineering, and computer science. Its purpose is to guide the reader in exploring contemporary approximation theory. The emphasis is on multi-variable approximation theory, i.e., the approximation of functions in several variables, as opposed to the classical theory of functions in one variable. Most of the topics in the book, heretofore accessible only through research papers, are treated here from the basics to the currently active research, often motivated by practical problems arising in diverse applications such as science, engineering, geophysics, and business and economics. Among these topics are projections, interpolation paradigms, positive definite functions, interpolation theorems of Schoenberg and Micchelli, tomography, artificial neural networks, wavelets, thin-plate splines, box splines, ridge functions, and convolutions. An important and valuable feature of the book is the bibliography of almost 600 items directing the reader to important books and research papers. There are 438 problems and exercises scattered through the book allowing the student reader to get a better understanding of the subject.

These proceedings are based on the international conference Approximation Theory XVI held on May 19–22, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. The conference was the sixteenth in a series of meetings in Approximation Theory held at various locations in the United States. Over 130 mathematicians from 20 countries attended. The book contains two longer survey papers on nonstationary subdivision and Prony’s method, along with 11 research papers on a variety of topics in approximation theory, including Balian-Low theorems, butterfly spline interpolation, cubature rules, Hankel and Toeplitz matrices, phase retrieval, positive definite kernels, quasi-interpolation operators, stochastic collocation, the gradient conjecture, time-variant systems, and trivariate finite elements. The book should be of interest to mathematicians, engineers, and computer scientists working in approximation theory, computer-aided geometric design, numerical analysis, and related approximation areas.

Most functions that occur in mathematics cannot be used directly in computer calculations. Instead they are approximated by manageable functions such as polynomials and piecewise polynomials. The general theory of the subject and its application to polynomial approximation are classical, but piecewise polynomials have become far more useful during the last twenty years. Thus many important theoretical properties have been found recently and many new techniques for the automatic calculation of approximations to prescribed accuracy have been developed. This book gives a thorough and coherent introduction to the theory that is the basis of current approximation methods. Professor Powell describes and analyses the main techniques of calculation supplying sufficient motivation throughout the book to make it accessible to scientists and engineers who require approximation methods for practical needs. Because the book is based on a course of lectures to third-year undergraduates in mathematics at Cambridge University, sufficient attention is given to theory to make it highly suitable as a mathematical textbook at undergraduate or postgraduate level.

The field of approximation theory has become so vast that it intersects with every other branch of analysis and plays an increasingly important role in applications in the applied sciences and engineering. Fundamentals of Approximation Theory presents a systematic, in-depth treatment of some basic topics in approximation theory designed to emphasize the rich connections of the subject with other areas of study. With an approach that moves smoothly from the very concrete to more and more abstract levels, this text provides an outstanding blend of classical and abstract topics. The first five chapters present the core of information that readers need to begin research in this domain. The final three chapters the authors devote to special topics-splined functions, orthogonal polynomials, and best approximation in normed linear spaces- that illustrate how the core material applies in other contexts and expose readers to the use of complex analytic methods in approximation theory. Each chapter contains problems of varying difficulty, including some drawn from contemporary research. Perfect for an introductory graduate-level class, Fundamentals of Approximation Theory also contains enough advanced material to serve more specialized courses at the doctoral level and to interest scientists and engineers.

Padé and Rational Approximation: Theory and Applications presents the proceedings of the Conference on Rational Approximation with Emphasis on Applications of Padé Approximants, held in Tampa, Florida on December 15-17, 1976. The contributors focus on the interplay of theory, computation, and physical applications. This book is composed of six parts encompassing 44 chapters. The introductory part discusses the general theory of orthogonal polynomials that is the mathematical basis of Padé approximants and related matters evaluation. This text also examines the connection between approximants on a stepline in the ordinary Padé table and certain continued fractions and the convergence of diagonal Padé approximants to a class of functions with an even number of branch points. The following parts deal with the special functions and continued fractions of Padé approximation and the theory of rational approximations. These parts also investigate the geometric convergence of Chebyshev rational approximation on the half line, the optimal approximation by “Almost Classical interpolation, and the incomplete polynomials approximation. The discussion then shifts to the physical applications and computations of the Padé approximants. The concluding part presents the applications of rational approximation to gun fire control and to the White Sands Missile Range Computer Facility. This part also provides a list of some open problems and conjectures concerning polynomials and rational functions. This book is of great benefit to mathematicians, physicists, and laboratory workers.