Nonlinear Partial Differential Equations In Differential Geometry

This book contains lecture notes of minicourses at the Regional Geometry Institute at Park City, Utah, in July 1992. Presented here are surveys of breaking developments in a number of areas of nonlinear partial differential equations in differential geometry. The authors of the articles are not only excellent expositors, but are also leaders in this field of research. All of the articles provide in-depth treatment of the topics and require few prerequisites and less background than current research articles.

This book contains a collection of twelve papers that reflect the state of the art of nonlinear differential equations in modern geometrical theory. It comprises miscellaneous topics of the local and nonlocal geometry of differential equations and the applications of the corresponding methods in hydrodynamics, symplectic geometry, optimal investment theory, etc. The contents will be useful for all the readers whose professional interests are related to nonlinear PDEs and differential geometry, both in theoretical and applied aspects.

This volume presents lectures given at the Summer School Wisła 18: Nonlinear PDEs, Their Geometry, and Applications, which took place from August 20 - 30th, 2018 in Wisła, Poland, and was organized by the Baltic Institute of Mathematics. The lectures in the first part of this volume were delivered by experts in nonlinear differential equations and their applications to physics. Original research articles from members of the school comprise the second part of this volume. Much of the latter half of the volume complements the methods expounded in the first half by illustrating additional applications of geometric theory of differential equations. Various subjects are covered, providing readers a glimpse of current research. Other topics covered include thermodynamics, meteorology, and the Monge–Ampère equations. Researchers interested in the applications of nonlinear differential equations to physics will find this volume particularly useful. A knowledge of differential geometry is recommended for the first portion of the book, as well as a familiarity with basic concepts in physics.

This well-organized and coherent collection of papers leads the reader to the frontiers of present research in the theory of nonlinear partial differential equations and the calculus of variations and offers insight into some exciting developments. In addition, most articles also provide an excellent introduction to their background, describing extensively as they do the history of those problems presented, as well as the state of the art and offer a well-chosen guide to the literature. Part I contains the contributions of geometric nature: From spectral theory on regular and singular spaces to regularity theory of solutions of variational problems. Part II consists of articles on partial differential equations which originate from problems in physics, biology and stochastics. They cover elliptic, hyperbolic and parabolic cases.

This volume presents the proceedings of a series of lectures hosted by the Math ematics Department of The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, March 22-24, 1995, under the title "Nonlinear Partial Differential Equations in Geometry and Physics" . While the relevance of partial differential equations to problems in differen tial geometry has been recognized since the early days of the latter subject, the idea that differential equations of differential-geometric origin can be useful in the formulation of physical theories is a much more recent one. Perhaps the earliest emergence of systems of nonlinear partial differential equations having deep geo metric and physical importance were the Einstein equations of general relativity (1915). Several basic aspects of the initial value problem for the Einstein equa tions, such as existence, regularity and stability of solutions remain prime research areas today. eighty years after Einstein's work. An even more recent development is the realization that structures originally the context of models in theoretical physics may turn out to have introduced in important geometric or topological applications. Perhaps its emergence can be traced back to 1954, with the introduction of a non-abelian version of Maxwell's equations as a model in elementary-particle physics, by the physicists C.N. Yang and R. Mills. The rich geometric structure ofthe Yang-Mills equations was brought to the attention of mathematicians through work of M.F. Atiyah, :"J. Hitchin, I.

When the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute was started in the Fall of 1982, one of the programs was "non-linear partial differential equations". A seminar was organized whose audience consisted of graduate students of the University and mature mathematicians who are not experts in the field. This volume contains 18 of these lectures. An effort is made to have an adequate Bibliography for further information. The Editor wishes to take this opportunity to thank all the speakers and the authors of the articles presented in this volume for their cooperation. S. S. Chern, Editor Table of Contents Geometrical and Analytical Questions Stuart S. Antman 1 in Nonlinear Elasticity An Introduction to Euler's Equations Alexandre J. Chorin 31 for an Incompressible Fluid Linearizing Flows and a Cohomology Phillip Griffiths 37 Interpretation of Lax Equations The Ricci Curvature Equation Richard Hamilton 47 A Walk Through Partial Differential Fritz John 73 Equations Remarks on Zero Viscosity Limit for Tosio Kato 85 Nonstationary Navier-Stokes Flows with Boundary Free Boundary Problems in Mechanics Joseph B. Keller 99 The Method of Partial Regularity as Robert V.

Besides their intrinsic mathematical interest, geometric partial differential equations (PDEs) are ubiquitous in many scientific, engineering and industrial applications. They represent an intellectual challenge and have received a great deal of attention recently. The purpose of this volume is to provide a missing reference consisting of self-contained and comprehensive presentations. It includes basic ideas, analysis and applications of state-of-the-art fundamental algorithms for the approximation of geometric PDEs together with their impacts in a variety of fields within mathematics, science, and engineering. About every aspect of computational geometric PDEs is discussed in this and a companion volume. Topics in this volume include stationary and time-dependent surface PDEs for geometric flows, large deformations of nonlinearly geometric plates and rods, level set and phase field methods and applications, free boundary problems, discrete Riemannian calculus and morphing, fully nonlinear PDEs including Monge-Ampere equations, and PDE constrained optimization Each chapter is a complete essay at the research level but accessible to junior researchers and students. The intent is to provide a comprehensive description of algorithms and their analysis for a specific geometric PDE class, starting from basic concepts and concluding with interesting applications. Each chapter is thus useful as an introduction to a research area as well as a teaching resource, and provides numerous pointers to the literature for further reading The authors of each chapter are world leaders in their field of expertise and skillful writers. This book is thus meant to provide an invaluable, readable and enjoyable account of computational geometric PDEs

This book is not a textbook, but rather a coherent collection of papers from the field of partial differential equations. Nevertheless we believe that it may very well serve as a good introduction into some topics of this classical field of analysis which, despite of its long history, is highly modem and well prospering. Richard Courant wrote in 1950: "It has always been a temptationfor mathematicians to present the crystallized product of their thought as a deductive general theory and to relegate the individual mathematical phenomenon into the role of an example. The reader who submits to the dogmatic form will be easily indoctrinated. Enlightenment, however, must come from an understanding of motives; live mathematical development springs from specific natural problems which can be easily understood, but whose solutions are difficult and demand new methods or more general significance. " We think that many, if not all, papers of this book are written in this spirit and will give the reader access to an important branch of analysis by exhibiting interest ing problems worth to be studied. Most of the collected articles have an extensive introductory part describing the history of the presented problems as well as the state of the art and offer a well chosen guide to the literature. This way the papers became lengthier than customary these days, but the level of presentation is such that an advanced graduate student should find the various articles both readable and stimulating.