Positive operator semigroups. From finite to infinite dimensions (Q515823)

Positivity is a property which arises naturally in mathematical models of physical, chemical, biological and economic processes. It adds a useful, and often rather beautiful, mathematical structure to the dynamical systems and operators describing these processes. The purpose of this book, which is aimed primarily at beginning graduate students, is to give a ``gentle but up-to-date introduction'' to the theory of positive operator semigroups. The book comes in three parts. Part I gives a complete and coherent overview of the underlying finite-dimensional theory, which in this form has not been readily available in the existing literature. In particular, the authors present the main ideas of classical Perron-Frobenius theory in a way which makes the transition to the infinite-dimensional setting relatively straightforward, and they discuss applications to graph matrices, age-structured population models, and economic models. Part II of the book deals with the infinite-dimensional theory of (positive) operator semigroups, including not only elements of spectral and asymptotic theory but also some perturbation results. Part III begins with a section on advanced spectral theory and asymptotics, but then presents a range of applications of the theory of positive operator semigroups to a selection of problems which reflects the three authors' research interests. These include problems in population equations, neutron transport theory, delay equations, and flows in networks. The book ends with a series of useful appendices on relevant background material from linear algebra and functional analysis, and the interested reader is pointed to related works in the extensive and up-to-date bibliography. The book also has a reasonably detailed subject index. All in all, the book covers a remarkable range of material, from basic to relatively advanced, and its coherent and streamlined exposition of both the classical theory and modern applications makes it a very useful addition to the literature on positive operator semigroups (see the book's foreword for some comments on the state of the existing literature and the need for an up-to-date text). The book is written in an accessible and fairly informal way, and the authors' enthusiasm for their subject is palpable. Perhaps the book's greatest strength is that it succeeds in motivating the relatively subtle theory required in dealing with infinite-dimensional spaces by first discussing the simpler and more concrete finite-dimensional setting. This makes the subject accessible even to undergraduates with little previous training beyond some prior exposure to functional analysis and a firm command of basic linear algebra, and such newcomers to the subject will appreciate the large number of exercises included at the end of each chapter. Overall, the book works very well as a modern introduction to the theory of positive operator semigroups, and its broad scope and application-driven approach are likely to make it a standard reference work for newcomers to the subject and experts alike.