On the calculus of variations in Hilbert's works to analysis (Q1279507)

The author considers the changes that occurred in the calculus of variations at the end of the 19th century and places emphasis on the influence of Dirichlet's principle. The proof of the principle led Hilbert to the problems of the existence in a generalized sense and the regularity of solutions of elliptic partial differential equations (his famous Paris address of 1900). The history of these issues is closely tied up with the rise of modern analysis. Also, Hilbert's theorem of independence of the calculus of variations is briefly discussed. When Hilbert published his first essential results, he was turning his attention to integral equations, thus, coming closer to his goal of a unified methodological approach to analysis.