Sturm-Liouville Theory and Its Applications - (Springer Undergraduate Mathematics) by Mohammed Al-Gwaiz (Paperback)

About the Book

This book provides a unified introduction to Fourier analysis and special functions based on the Sturm-Liouville theory in L². The author establishes the basic results of Sturm-Liouville theory and then provides plenty of examples and applications.

Book Synopsis

Developed from a course taught to senior undergraduates, this book provides a unified introduction to Fourier analysis and special functions based on the Sturm-Liouville theory in L². The treatment relies heavily on the convergence properties of sequences and series of numbers as well as on function. The text's presentation follows a clear, rigorous mathematical style that is highly readable and easy to follow. Coverage begins with a description of the mathematical tools for building the Sturm-Liouville theory. Next, the author develops the theory and then presents the fruits of the theory. In addition, the book covers Fourier transforms and extends Fourier series to non-periodic functions. The many worked examples and exercises with solutions make the book suitable for self-study as well as accessible to undergraduate students in mathematics, physics, engineering, and related fields.

From the Back Cover

Undergraduate textbooks on Fourier series which follow a pointwise approach to convergence miss the rich geometric content which comes with treating the subject within the inner product space L². This book, developed from a course taught to senior undergraduates, provides a unified introduction to Fourier analysis and special functions based on the Sturm-Liouville theory in L². The basic results of this theory, namely the orthogonality and completeness of its eigenfunctions, are established in Chapter 2; the remaining chapters present examples and applications. The last two chapters, on Fourier and Laplace transformations, while not part of the Sturm-Liouville theory, extend the Fourier series method for representing functions to integral representations.

The treatment relies heavily on the convergence properties of sequences and series of numbers as well as functions, and assumes a solid background in advanced calculus and an acquaintance with ordinary differential equations and linear algebra. Familiarity with the relevant theorems of real analysis, such as the Ascoli-Arzelà theorem, is also useful for following the proofs.

The presentation follows a clear and rigorous mathematical style that is both readable and well motivated, with many examples and applications used to illustrate the theory. Although addressed primarily to undergraduate students of mathematics, the book will also be of interest to students in related disciplines, such as physics and engineering, where Fourier analysis and special functions are used extensively for solving linear differential equations.

Review Quotes

From the reviews:

"As this book amply demonstrates, Sturm-Liouville theory, a special topic within ordinary different equations, affords the student a nearly perfect case-study-type initiation into higher mathematics. ... Summing Up: Recommended. General readers, undergraduates, professionals." (D. V. Feldman, Choice, Vol. 46 (2), October, 2008)

About the Author

Mohammed Algwaiz is Professor of Mathematics at King Saud University, Riyadh, and an experienced author having written Theory of Distributions for Marcel Dekker (vol 159, 1992, New York) and five books in Arabic on complex, real and Fourier analysis. He is also involved in developing public school curricula and textbooks for the Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia.