Bøger i Progress in Mathematical Physi serien

The invited papers in this volume provide a detailed examination of Clifford algebras and their significance to geometry, analysis, physics, and engineering. Divided into five parts, the book's first section is devoted to Clifford analysis; here, topics encompass the Morera problem, inverse scattering associated with the Schrödinger equation, discrete Stokes equations in the plane, a symmetric functional calculus, Poincaré series, differential operators in Lipschitz domains, Paley-Wiener theorems and Shannon sampling, Bergman projections, and quaternionic calculus for a class of boundary value problems. A careful discussion of geometric applications of Clifford algebras follows, with papers on hyper-Hermitian manifolds, spin structures and Clifford bundles, differential forms on conformal manifolds, connection and torsion, Casimir elements and Bochner identities on Riemannian manifolds, Rarita-Schwinger operators, and the interface between noncommutative geometry and physics. In addition, attention is paid to the algebraic and Lie-theoretic applications of Clifford algebras---particularly their intersection with Hopf algebras, Lie algebras and representations, graded algebras, and associated mathematical structures. Symplectic Clifford algebras are also discussed.Finally, Clifford algebras play a strong role in both physics and engineering. The physics section features an investigation of geometric algebras, chiral Dirac equations, spinors and Fermions, and applications of Clifford algebras in classical mechanics and general relativity. Twistor and octonionic methods, electromagnetism and gravity, elementary particle physics, noncommutative physics, Dirac's equation, quantum spheres, and the Standard Model are among topics considered at length. The section devoted to engineering applications includes papers on twist representations for cycloidal curves, a description of an image space using Cayley-Klein geometry, pose estimation, andimplementations of Clifford algebra co-processor design.While the papers collected in this volume require that the reader possess a solid knowledge of appropriate background material, they lead to the most current research topics. With its wide range of topics, well-established contributors, and excellent references and index, this book will appeal to graduate students and researchers.

Arnold Sommerfeld's Mathematical Theory of Diffraction marks a milestone in optical theory, full of insights that are still relevant today. In a stunning tour de force, Sommerfeld derives the first mathematically rigorous solution of an optical diffraction problem. Indeed, his diffraction analysis is a surprisingly rich and complex mix of pure and applied mathematics, and his often-cited diffraction solution is presented only as an application of a much more general set of mathematical results. The body of Sommerfeld's work is devoted to the systematic development of a method for deriving solutions of the wave equation on Riemann surfaces, a fascinating but perhaps underappreciated topic in mathematical physics.This complete translation, reflecting substantial scholarship, is the first publication in English of Sommerfeld's original work. The extensive notes by the translators are rich in historical background and provide many technical details for the reader. A detailed account of the previous diffraction analyses of Kirchhoff and Poincaré provides a context for the striking originality and power of Sommerfeld's ideas.The availability of this translation is an enriching contribution to the community of mathematical and theoretical physicists.

Homogenization is a method for modeling processes in microinhomogeneous media, which are encountered in radiophysics, filtration theory, rheology, elasticity theory, and other domains of mechanics, physics, and technology. These processes are described by PDEs with rapidly oscillating coefficients or boundary value problems in domains with complex microstructure. From the technical point of view, given the complexity of these processes, the best techniques to solve a wide variety of problems involve constructing appropriate macroscopic (homogenized) models.The present monograph is a comprehensive study of homogenized problems, based on the asymptotic analysis of boundary value problems as the characteristic scales of the microstructure decrease to zero. The work focuses on the construction of nonstandard models: non-local models, multicomponent models, and models with memory.Along with complete proofs of all main results, numerous examples of typical structures of microinhomogeneous media with their corresponding homogenized models are provided. Graduate students, applied mathematicians, physicists, and engineers will benefit from this monograph, which may be used in the classroom or as a comprehensive reference text.