Advanced methods in the fractional calculus of variations (Q2515154)

The concept of fractional differentiation can be traced back to a correspondence between Leibniz and L'Hôpital and was developed by many mathematicians with important applications, including to variational problems. In the last decades, much work was done in fractional calculus of variations and the authors of this book have been responsible for important advances in this area. In this book, mainly organizing their own works, the authors study variational problems containing generalized fractional integrals and derivatives, following Euler-Lagrange type methods and also the direct methods of Tonelli and others. They also apply their results to Sturm-Liouville problems. This is a self-contained text, organized in seven chapters: 1. Introduction. 2. Fractional Calculus. 3. Fractional Calculus of Variations. 4. Standard Methods in Fractional Variational Calculus. 5. Direct Methods in Fractional Calculus of Variations. 6. Application to the Sturm-Liouville Problem. 7. Conclusion. Plus an appendix and a helpful Index. Each chapter has its own reference list, which adds-up to a generous bibliography. The book will be attractive to graduate students wishing to enter this research area, as well as to researchers interested in control theory, optimization and other applications.