to be done in this area. Face recognition is a problem that scarcely clamoured for attention before the computer age but, having surfaced, has involved a wide range of techniques and has attracted the attention of some fine minds (David Mumford was a Fields Medallist in 1974). This singular application of mathematical modelling to a messy applied problem of obvious utility and importance but with no unique solution is a pretty one to share with students: perhaps, returning to the source of our opening quotation, we may invert Duncan's earlier observation, 'There is an art to find the mind's construction in the face!'.

Linear and nonlinear waves, by G. B. Whitham. Pp.636. £50. 1999. ISBN 0 471 35942 4 (Wiley).

Preface Prologue: The Exponential Function Chapter 1: Abstract Integration Set-theoretic notations and terminology The concept of measurability Simple functions Elementary properties of measures Arithmetic in [0, ] Integration of positive functions Integration of complex functions The role played by sets of measure zero Exercises Chapter 2: Positive Borel Measures Vector spaces Topological preliminaries The Riesz representation theorem Regularity properties of Borel measures Lebesgue measure Continuity properties of measurable functions Exercises Chapter 3: Lp-Spaces Convex functions and inequalities The Lp-spaces Approximation by continuous functions Exercises Chapter 4: Elementary Hilbert Space Theory Inner products and linear functionals Orthonormal sets Trigonometric series Exercises Chapter 5: Examples of Banach Space Techniques Banach spaces Consequences of Baire's theorem Fourier series of continuous functions Fourier coefficients of L1-functions The Hahn-Banach theorem An abstract approach to the Poisson integral Exercises Chapter 6: Complex Measures Total variation Absolute continuity Consequences of the Radon-Nikodym theorem Bounded linear functionals on Lp The Riesz representation theorem Exercises Chapter 7: Differentiation Derivatives of measures The fundamental theorem of Calculus Differentiable transformations Exercises Chapter 8: Integration on Product Spaces Measurability on cartesian products Product measures The Fubini theorem Completion of product measures Convolutions Distribution functions Exercises Chapter 9: Fourier Transforms Formal properties The inversion theorem The Plancherel theorem The Banach algebra L1 Exercises Chapter 10: Elementary Properties of Holomorphic Functions Complex differentiation Integration over paths The local Cauchy theorem The power series representation The open mapping theorem The global Cauchy theorem The calculus of residues Exercises Chapter 11: Harmonic Functions The Cauchy-Riemann equations The Poisson integral The mean value property Boundary behavior of Poisson integrals Representation theorems Exercises Chapter 12: The Maximum Modulus Principle Introduction The Schwarz lemma The Phragmen-Lindelof method An interpolation theorem A converse of the maximum modulus theorem Exercises Chapter 13: Approximation by Rational Functions Preparation Runge's theorem The Mittag-Leffler theorem Simply connected regions Exercises Chapter 14: Conformal Mapping Preservation of angles Linear fractional transformations Normal families The Riemann mapping theorem The class L Continuity at the boundary Conformal mapping of an annulus Exercises Chapter 15: Zeros of Holomorphic Functions Infinite Products The Weierstrass factorization theorem An interpolation problem Jensen's formula Blaschke products The Muntz-Szas theorem Exercises Chapter 16: Analytic Continuation Regular points and singular points Continuation along curves The monodromy theorem Construction of a modular function The Picard theorem Exercises Chapter 17: Hp-Spaces Subharmonic functions The spaces Hp and N The theorem of F. and M. Riesz Factorization theorems The shift operator Conjugate functions Exercises Chapter 18: Elementary Theory of Banach Algebras Introduction The invertible elements Ideals and homomorphisms Applications Exercises Chapter 19: Holomorphic Fourier Transforms Introduction Two theorems of Paley and Wiener Quasi-analytic classes The Denjoy-Carleman theorem Exercises Chapter 20: Uniform Approximation by Polynomials Introduction Some lemmas Mergelyan's theorem Exercises Appendix: Hausdorff's Maximality Theorem Notes and Comments Bibliography List of Special Symbols Index

Real and Complex Analysis. By W. Rudin. Pp. 412. 84s. 1966. (McGraw-Hill, New York.)

This chapter is concerned with the introduction of the basic integral equations for two-dimensional elastic linear material problems. It starts by briefly reviewing the partial differential equations for linear elastic material and introducing the necessary notations involved in the formulation. These governing equations are also extended to deal with problems in which initial stress and strain type loads are applied. Such kind of loads are not only important to take into account temperature or other similar loads, but also to model nonlinear material behaviour when used in conjunction with a well established successive elastic solution technique.

Boundary Integral Equations

Every applied mathematician has used separation of variables. For a given boundary value problem (BVP) in two dimensions, the starting point of this powerful method is the separation of the given PDE into two ODEs. If the spectral analysis of either of these ODEs yields an appropriate transform pair, i.e., a transform consistent with the given boundary conditions, then the given BVP can be reduced to a BVP for an ODE. For simple BVPs it is straightforward to choose an appropriate transform and hence the spectral analysis can be avoided. In spite of its enormous applicability, this method has certain limitations. In particular, it requires the given domain, PDE, and boundary conditions to be separable, and also may not be applicable if the BVP is non-self-adjoint. Furthermore, it expresses the solution as either an integral or a series, neither of which are uniformly convergent on the boundary of the domain (for nonvanishing boundary conditions), which renders such expressions unsuitable for numerical computations. This paper describes a recently introduced transform method that can be applied to certain nonseparable and non-self-adjoint problems. Furthermore, this method expresses the solution as an integral in the complex plane that is uniformly convergent on the boundary of the domain. The starting point of the method is to write the PDE as a one-parameter family of equations formulated in a divergence form, and this allows one to consider the variables together. In this sense, the method is based on the “synthesis” as opposed to the “separation” of variables. The new method has already been applied to a plethora of BVPs and furthermore has led to the development of certain novel numerical techniques. However, a large number of related analytical and numerical questions remain open. This paper illustrates the method by applying it to two particular non-self-adjoint BVPs: one for the linearized KdV equation formulated on the half-line, and the other for the Helmholtz equation in the exterior of the disc (the latter is non-self-adjoint due to the radiation condition). The former problem played a crucial role in the development of the new method, whereas the latter problem was instrumental in the full development of the classical transform method. Although the new method can now be presented using only classical techniques, it actually originated in the theory of certain nonlinear PDEs called integrable, whose crucial feature is the existence of a Lax pair formulation. It is shown here that Lax pairs provide the generalization of the divergence formulation from a separable linear to an integrable nonlinear PDE.

/pdf/synthesis-as-opposed-to-separation-of-variables-a65y6kc4h3.pdf

Synthesis, as Opposed to Separation, of Variables

Fourier analysis in several complex variables

The classical equations of irrotational water waves have recently been reformulated as a system of two equations, one of which is an explicit non-local equation for the wave height and for the velocity potential evaluated on the free surface. Here, in the two-dimensional case: (a) we generalize the relevant formulation to the case of constant vorticity, as well as to the case where the free surface is described by a multivalued function; (b) in the case of travelling waves we derive an upper bound for the free surface; (c) in the case of constant vorticity we construct a sequence of nearly Hamiltonian systems which provide an approximation in the asymptotic limit of certain physical small parameters. In particular, the explicit dependence of the vorticity on the coefficients of the Korteweg–de Vries equation is clarified.

A non-local formulation of rotational water waves

In this paper, we address some of the rigorous foundations of the Fokas method, confining attention to boundary value problems for linear elliptic partial differential equations on bounded convex domains. The central object in the method is the global relation, which is an integral equation in the spectral Fourier space that couples the given boundary data with the unknown boundary values. Using techniques from complex analysis of several variables, we prove that a solution to the global relation provides a solution to the corresponding boundary value problem, and that the solution to the global relation is unique. The result holds for any number of spatial dimensions and for a variety of boundary value problems.

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspa.2011.0478

On the rigorous foundations of the Fokas method for linear elliptic partial differential equations

We provide a new approach to studying the Dirichlet-Neumann map for Laplace's equation on a convex polygon using Fokas' unified method for boundary value problems. By exploiting the complex analytic structure inherent in the unified method, we provide new proofs of classical results using mainly complex analytic techniques. The analysis takes place in a Banach space of complex valued, analytic functions and the methodology is based on classical results from complex analysis. Our approach gives way to new numerical treatments of the underlying boundary value problem and the associated Dirichlet-Neumann map. Using these new results we provide a family of well-posed weak problems associated with the Dirichlet-Neumann map, and prove relevant coercivity estimates so that standard techniques can be applied.

The spectral Dirichlet-Neumann map for Laplace's equation in a convex polygon

We provide a new approach to studying the Dirichlet--Neumann map for Laplace's equation on a convex polygon using Fokas' unified method for boundary value problems. By exploiting the complex analytic structure inherent in the unified method, we provide new proofs of classical results using mainly complex analytic techniques. The analysis takes place in a Banach space of complex valued, analytic functions and the methodology is based on classical results from complex analysis. Our approach gives way to new numerical treatments of the underlying boundary value problem and the associated Dirichlet--Neumann map. Using these new results we provide a family of well-posed weak problems associated with the Dirichlet--Neumann map and prove relevant coercivity estimates so that standard techniques can be applied.

A. C. L. Ashton

Papers

A non-local formulation of rotational water waves

On the rigorous foundations of the Fokas method for linear elliptic partial differential equations

The spectral Dirichlet-Neumann map for Laplace's equation in a convex polygon

The Spectral Dirichlet--Neumann Map for Laplace's Equation in a Convex Polygon

Elliptic PDEs with constant coefficients on convex polyhedra via the unified method