Spectral Theory And Nonlinear Functional Analysis

This Research Note addresses several pivotal problems in spectral theory and nonlinear functional analysis in connection with the analysis of the structure set of zeroes of a general class of nonlinear operators. Appealing to a broad audience, it contains many important contributions to linear algebra, linear functional analysis, nonlinear functional analysis, and topology. The author gives several applications of the abstract theory to reaction diffusion equations and systems. The results presented cover a thirty-year period and cut across a variety of mathematical fields.

In view of the eminent importance of spectral theory of linear operators in many fields of mathematics and physics, it is not surprising that various attempts have been made to define and study spectra also for nonlinear operators. This book provides a comprehensive and self-contained treatment of the theory, methods, and applications of nonlinear spectral theory. The only prerequisite for understanding this book is a modest background in functional analysis and operator theory. It is addressed to non-specialists who want to get an idea of the development of spectral theory for nonlinear operators in the last 30 years, as well as a glimpse of the diversity of the directions in which current research is moving.

This textbook provides a graduate-level introduction to the spectral theory of linear operators on Banach and Hilbert spaces, guiding readers through key components of spectral theory and its applications in quantum physics. Based on their extensive teaching experience, the authors present topics in a progressive manner so that each chapter builds on the ones preceding. Researchers and students alike will also appreciate the exploration of more advanced applications and research perspectives presented near the end of the book. Beginning with a brief introduction to the relationship between spectral theory and quantum physics, the authors go on to explore unbounded operators, analyzing closed, adjoint, and self-adjoint operators. Next, the spectrum of a closed operator is defined and the fundamental properties of Fredholm operators are introduced. The authors then develop the Grushin method to execute the spectral analysis of compact operators. The chapters that follow are devoted to examining Hille-Yoshida and Stone theorems, the spectral analysis of self-adjoint operators, and trace-class and Hilbert-Schmidt operators. The final chapter opens the discussion to several selected applications. Throughout this textbook, detailed proofs are given, and the statements are illustrated by a number of well-chosen examples. At the end, an appendix about foundational functional analysis theorems is provided to help the uninitiated reader. A Guide to Spectral Theory: Applications and Exercises is intended for graduate students taking an introductory course in spectral theory or operator theory. A background in linear functional analysis and partial differential equations is assumed; basic knowledge of bounded linear operators is useful but not required. PhD students and researchers will also find this volume to be of interest, particularly the research directions provided in later chapters.

This textbook offers a concise introduction to spectral theory, designed for newcomers to functional analysis. Curating the content carefully, the author builds to a proof of the spectral theorem in the early part of the book. Subsequent chapters illustrate a variety of application areas, exploring key examples in detail. Readers looking to delve further into specialized topics will find ample references to classic and recent literature. Beginning with a brief introduction to functional analysis, the text focuses on unbounded operators and separable Hilbert spaces as the essential tools needed for the subsequent theory. A thorough discussion of the concepts of spectrum and resolvent follows, leading to a complete proof of the spectral theorem for unbounded self-adjoint operators. Applications of spectral theory to differential operators comprise the remaining four chapters. These chapters introduce the Dirichlet Laplacian operator, Schrödinger operators, operators on graphs, and the spectral theory of Riemannian manifolds. Spectral Theory offers a uniquely accessible introduction to ideas that invite further study in any number of different directions. A background in real and complex analysis is assumed; the author presents the requisite tools from functional analysis within the text. This introductory treatment would suit a functional analysis course intended as a pathway to linear PDE theory. Independent later chapters allow for flexibility in selecting applications to suit specific interests within a one-semester course.

This book presents the basic tools of modern analysis within the context of the fundamental problem of operator theory: to calculate spectra of specific operators on infinite dimensional spaces, especially operators on Hilbert spaces. The tools are diverse, and they provide the basis for more refined methods that allow one to approach problems that go well beyond the computation of spectra: the mathematical foundations of quantum physics, noncommutative K-theory, and the classification of simple C*-algebras being three areas of current research activity which require mastery of the material presented here.

This is the first monograph devoted to the Sturm oscillatory theory for infinite systems of differential equations and its relations with the spectral theory. It aims to study a theory of self-adjoint problems for such systems, based on an elegant method of binary relations. Another topic investigated in the book is the behavior of discrete eigenvalues which appear in spectral gaps of the Hill operator and almost periodic SchrAdinger operators due to local perturbations of the potential (e.g., modeling impurities in crystals). The book is based on results that have not been presented in other monographs. The only prerequisites needed to read it are basics of ordinary differential equations and operator theory. It should be accessible to graduate students, though its main topics are of interest to research mathematicians working in functional analysis, differential equations and mathematical physics, as well as to physicists interested in spectral theory of differential operators."

Lectures given by the author at the Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Madras, in 1996.

In view of the eminent importance of spectral theory of linear operators in many fields of mathematics and physics, it is not surprising that various attempts have been made to define and study spectra also for nonlinear operators. This book provides a comprehensive and self-contained treatment of the theory, methods, and applications of nonlinear spectral theory. The first chapter briefly recalls the definition and properties of the spectrum and several subspectra for bounded linear operators. Then some numerical characteristics for nonlinear operators are introduced which are useful for describing those classes of operators for which there exists a spectral theory. Since spectral values are closely related to solvability results for operator equations, various conditions for the local or global invertibility of a nonlinear operator are collected in the third chapter. The following two chapters are concerned with spectra for certain classes of continuous, Lipschitz continuous, or differentiable operators. These spectra, however, simply adapt the corresponding definitions from the linear theory which somehow restricts their applicability. Other spectra which are defined in a completely different way, but seem to have useful applications, are defined and studied in the following four chapters. The remaining three chapters are more application-oriented and deal with nonlinear eigenvalue problems, numerical ranges, and selected applications to nonlinear problems. The only prerequisite for understanding this book is a modest background in functional analysis and operator theory. It is addressed to non-specialists who want to get an idea of the development of spectral theory for nonlinear operators in the last 30 years, as well as a glimpse of the diversity of the directions in which current research is moving.