Calculus of Variations

Gelfand, I. M.; Fomin, S. V.

ISBN 10: 0486414485 / ISBN 13: 9780486414485

Published by Dover Publications, 2000

May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less. Seller Inventory # G0486414485I4N00

Synopsis:

Based on a series of lectures given by I. M. Gelfand at Moscow State University, this book actually goes considerably beyond the material presented in the lectures. The aim is to give a treatment of the elements of the calculus of variations in a form both easily understandable and sufficiently modern. Considerable attention is devoted to physical applications of variational methods, e.g., canonical equations, variational principles of mechanics, and conservation laws.
The reader who merely wishes to become familiar with the most basic concepts and methods of the calculus of variations need only study the first chapter. Students wishing a more extensive treatment, however, will find the first six chapters comprise a complete university-level course in the subject, including the theory of fields and sufficient conditions for weak and strong extrema. Chapter 7 considers the application of variational methods to the study of systems with infinite degrees of freedom, and Chapter 8 deals with direct methods in the calculus of variations. The problems following each chapter were made specially for this English-language edition, and many of them comment further on corresponding parts of the text. Two appendices and suggestions for supplementary reading round out the text.
Substantially revised and corrected by the translator, this inexpensive new edition will be welcomed by advanced undergraduate and graduate students of mathematics and physics.

Language Notes: Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Russian

Bibliographic Details

Title: Calculus of Variations
Publisher: Dover Publications
Publication Date: 2000
Binding: Paperback
Condition: Very Good
Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket