An Introduction to the Calculus of Variations

Product Description

An understanding of variational methods, the source of such fundamental theorems as the principle of least action and its various generalizations, is essential to the study of mathematical physics and applied mathematics.In this highly regarded text, aimed at advanced undergraduate and graduate students in mathematics, the author develops the calculus of variations both for its own intrinsic interest and because of its wide and powerful applications to modern mathematical physics.The first two chapters deal with the first and second variation of an integral in the simplest case, illustrated by applications of the principle of least action to dynamical problems. Chapters III and IV delve int…