Mutational and morphological analysis. Tools for shape evolution and morphogenesis (Q1273624)

This monograph collects various tools needed for the analysis of shape evolution, viability problems, image processing, visual control, biological morphogenesis, wave-front propagation, etc. It consists of four parts: -- mutational analysis (a sort of calculus in metric spaces); -- morphological and set-valued analysis; -- geometrical and algebraic morphology; -- differential inclusions (an outline only). The large list of references contains 472 items, moreover, exhaustive bibliographical comments are provided. The concept of mutational space explored in the first two chapters is a framework for developing a sort of differential calculus for maps between general metric spaces. The third chapter contains a description of mutational structures in hyperspaces, especially in the space of nonvoid compact subsets of Euclidean spaces. The Aumann integral is viewed as a special case of the Doss integral for metric-space-valued maps. In subsequent chapters follow: morphological dynamics, set-valued analysis, discriminating domains and kernels of a Hamiltonian, algebraic properties of morphological tubes, etc. The present monograph offers a structure that embraces and integrates various approaches to shape evolution and may be useful for (assuming sufficient mathematical literacy) scientists working with images arising in engineering, interval analysis, physics, biological morphogenesis, population dynamics and dynamic economic theory.