Hyperbolic Conservation Laws in Continuum Physics (Hardcover)

This is a masterly exposition and an encyclopedic presentation of the theory of hyperbolic conservation laws. It illustrates the essential role of continuum thermodynamics in providing motivation and direction for the development of the mathematical theory while also serving as the principal source of applications. The reader is expected to have a certain mathematical sophistication and to be familiar with the rudiments of analysis and the qualitative theory of partial differential equations, whereas prior exposure to continuum mechanics is not required.

As with its earlier editions, the book is addressed to a diverse group of readers: younger researchers,  newcomers to the area, looking for a broad overview of the field; specialists in the analysis of hyperbolic conservation laws aspiring to fathom its genetic relation to mathematical physics; experts in continuum mechanics, as a vehicle for acquiring the necessary analytical tools; and numerical analysts as a reference source to the general theory. This new edition contains an account of recent results on the Euler equations, pertaining to the breakdown of classical solutions and the construction of very weak, measure-valued, solutions as well as of milder, continuous but wildly oscillating turbulent solutions. Furthermore, the presentation of a number of topics in the previous editions has been revised, expanded and brought up to date. The bibliography has also been expanded, now comprising twenty-five hundred titles.

From the reviews of earlier editions:

“Written from a unique and unifying perspective, this treatise provides the mathematical community with a wonderfully entire and exhaustive portrait of the field”. Heinrich Freistühler, Jahresber Dtsch Math-Ver.

“A monumental book encompassing all aspects of the mathematical theory of hyperbolic conservation laws, widely recognized as the 'Bible' on the subject.” Phillippe G. LeFloch, Math. Reviews.

Professor Dafermos received a Diploma in Civil Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens (1964) and a Ph.D. in Mechanics from the Johns Hopkins University (1967). He has taught at Cornell University (1968-1971) and at Brown University (1971-2022), where he is currently the Alumni-Alumnae University Professor Emeritus of Applied Mathematics. He is a Member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a Foreign Member of the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, a Correspondent Member of the Academy of Athens and an Honorary Professor of Academia Sinica; also a Fellow of the American Mathematical Society and of the Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics. He has been awarded the Wiener Prize, by the American Mathematical Society, the W.T. and Idalia Prize, by the Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics, the Cataldo and Angiola Agostinelli Prize, by the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, the Prize of the Society of the Interaction of Mechanics and Mathematics, and the Galileo Medal of the city of Padua.