© 2023
Modern Mathematical Methods for Scientists and Engineers | A Street-Smart Introduction
Author: Athanassios Fokas (University of Cambridge, UK & University of Southern California, USA) and
Efthimios Kaxiras (Harvard University, USA)
Published: March 2023
ISBN: ISBN: 978-1-80061-181-8
Modern Mathematical Methods for Scientists and Engineers is a modern introduction to basic topics in mathematics at the undergraduate level, with emphasis on explanations and applications to real-life problems. There is also an “Application” section at the end of each chapter, with topics drawn from a variety of areas, including neural networks, fluid dynamics, and the behavior of “put” and “call” options in financial markets. The book presents several modern important and computationally efficient topics, including feedforward neural networks, wavelets, generalized functions, stochastic optimization methods, and numerical methods.
A unique and novel feature of the book is the introduction of a recently developed method for solving partial differential equations (PDEs), called the unified transform. PDEs are the mathematical cornerstone for describing an astonishingly wide range of phenomena, from quantum mechanics to ocean waves, to the diffusion of heat in matter and the behavior of financial markets. Despite the efforts of many famous mathematicians, physicists and engineers, the solution of partial differential equations remains a challenge.
The unified transform greatly facilitates this task. For example, two and a half centuries after Jean d’Alembert formulated the wave equation and presented a solution for solving a simple problem for this equation, the unified transform derives in a simple manner a generalization of the d’Alembert solution, valid for general boundary value problems. Moreover, two centuries after Joseph Fourier introduced the classical tool of the Fourier series for solving the heat equation, the unified transform constructs a new solution to this ubiquitous PDE, with important analytical and numerical advantages in comparison to the classical solutions. The authors present the unified transform pedagogically, building all the necessary background, including functions of real and of complex variables and the Fourier transform, illustrating the method with numerous examples.
Broad in scope, but pedagogical in style and content, the book is an introduction to powerful mathematical concepts and modern tools for students in science and engineering.
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