Nonlinear hyperbolic waves in multidimensions (Q2734568)

The book introduces necessary mathematical details required for the study of shock waves. Besides having an introductory material on nonlinear hyperbolic waves, the monograph contains mainly the work of the author and his research group on the propagation of nonlinear wave fronts and shock fronts with examples arising in gas dynamic.NEWLINENEWLINENEWLINEThe book comprises ten chapters. The first three chapters are introductory in nature, and are needed in following the details presented in the remainder of the book. Chapter 4 deals with the derivation of the transport equation for the amplitude of a high frequency wave for a general hyperbolic system of quasilinear equations in multidimensions, assuming that the amplitude varies continuously on a curved pulse, which is characterized by a one-parameter family of wave fronts; a comparison with alternative approaches is provided in the last section. Chapter 5 deals with stability of solutions in a neighbourhood of a sonic type of singularity. Chapter 6 describes the weakly nonlinear ray theory and its validity within the framework of a polytropic gas, and explains how to use the theory to find successive positions of the wave front at later times as long as the front remains smooth. Chapters 7 to 10 deal with the infinite system of compatible conditions that hold on the shock front, and then indicate a method for finding an approximate solution of the infinite system by introducing a truncation procedure; the results are compared with other approximate methods.NEWLINENEWLINENEWLINEThe book is addressed to final year undergraduates and researches in applied mathematics, in particular to those interested in the study of gas dynamic waves; the book may provide the basis for a course although the absence of exercises poses difficulties. Nevertheless, it is a valuable addition to the literature. I hope it provides a useful material for the interested reader.