Methods for Solving Mathematical Physics Problems

Book excerpt: The aim of the book is to present to a wide range of readers (students, postgraduates, scientists, engineers, etc.) basic information on one of the directions of mathematics, methods for solving mathematical physics problems. The authors have tried to select for the book methods that have become classical and generally accepted. However, some of the current versions of these methods may be missing from the book because they require special knowledge. The book is of the handbook-teaching type. On the one hand, the book describes the main definitions, the concepts of the examined methods and approaches used in them, and also the results and claims obtained in every specific case. On the other hand, proofs of the majority of these results are not presented and they are given only in the simplest (methodological) cases. Another special feature of the book is the inclusion of many examples of application of the methods for solving specific mathematical physics problems of applied nature used in various areas of science and social activity, such as power engineering, environmental protection, hydrodynamics, elasticity theory, etc. This should provide additional information on possible applications of these methods. To provide complete information, the book includes a chapter dealing with the main problems of mathematical physics, together with the results obtained in functional analysis and boundary-value theory for equations with partial derivatives.