Geometric mechanics on Riemannian manifolds. Applications to partial differential equations (Q1763011)

This book contains old and new basic results from a significant part of the modern theory of partial differential equations on Riemannian manifolds. All results are presented in an elementary way. Only a basic knowledge of basic functional analysis, mechanics and analysis is assumed. The book is well written and contains a wealth of material. The authors make a concerted effort to simplify proofs taken from many sources. That is why the researchers will readily find the information they seek, while students can develop their skills by filling in details of proofs, as well as by using the problem sets that end each chapter. This book reveals how some differential geometry techniques become very useful in the treatment of wide classes of partial differential equations arising in quantum mechanics. The book develops a purely geometric treatment of problems in physics involving quantum harmonic oscillators, quartic oscillators, minimal surfaces, and Schrödinger's, Einstein's and Newton's equations. Historically, problems in these areas were approached using the Fourier transform or path integrals, although in some cases (e.g., the case of quartic oscillators) these methods do not work. After an introductory chapter which is devoted to the presentation of the main notions and properties needed in the sequel, the book develops the main ingredients for a riguorous treatment of boundary value problems on manifolds. The main topics of the present book include: Laplace operators and Lagrangian formalism on Riemannian manifolds, harmonic maps, conservation theorems, Hamiltonian formalism, Hamilton-Jacobi theory, minimal hypersurfaces, radially symmetric spaces, fundamental solutions for elliptic operators and for heat operators with potentials, and a variational approach of mechanical curves. The book under review is primarily aimed at graduate and post-graduate students of Mathematics who are interested in elliptic and hyperbolic differential equations, differential geometry, calculus of variations, quantum mechanics, and physics. This book is also strongly recommended to researchers in Applied Mathematics who study various linear and nonlinear phenomena but it may be also useful and comprehensive for a broader community of mathematicians, physicists, and engineers. To conclude, this book provides the reader with an in-depth introduction to a rich and rapidly developing research area that has already produced remarkable results.