This book introduces advanced undergraduates to Riemannian geometry and mathematical general relativity. The overall strategy of the book is to explain the concept of curvature via the Jacobi equation which, through discussion of tidal forces, further helps motivate the Einstein field equations. After addressing concepts in geometry such as ......
This volume contains the proceedings of the International Conference on Vertex Operator Algebras, Number Theory, and Related Topics, held from June 11-15, 2018, at California State University, Sacramento, California. The mathematics of vertex operator algebras, vector-valued modular forms and finite group theory continues to provide a rich and ......
This volume contains the proceedings of the Arizona School of Analysis and Mathematical Physics, held from March 5-9, 2018, at the University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona. A main goal of this school was to introduce graduate students and postdocs to exciting topics of current research that are both influenced by physical intuition and require the ......
A physicist and science writer takes the reader on a journey from physics and biology to psychology in search of the nature of chance. Chance plays a greater role in our lives than most of us suspect--or can accept. Though we like to imagine that we are in control, science says otherwise. This witty, informative introduction to the unnerving ......
Scattering resonances generalize bound states/eigenvalues for systems in which energy can scatter to infinity. A typical resonance has a rate of oscillation (just as a bound state does) and a rate of decay. Although the notion is intrinsically dynamical, an elegant mathematical formulation comes from considering meromorphic continuations of ......
This volume contains the proceedings of the AMS Special Session on Spectral Calculus and Quasilinear Partial Differential Equations and the AMS Special Session on PDE Analysis on Fluid Flows, which were held in January 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. These two sessions shared the underlying theme of the analysis aspect of evolutionary PDEs and ......
The study of random growth models began in probability theory about 50 years ago, and today this area occupies a central place in the subject. The considerable challenges posed by these models have spurred the development of innovative probability theory and opened up connections with several other parts of mathematics, such as partial ......
Understanding tensors is essential for any physics student dealing with phenomena where causes and effects have different directions. A horizontal electric field producing vertical polarization in dielectrics; an unbalanced car wheel wobbling in the vertical plane while spinning about a horizontal axis; an electrostatic field on Earth observed to ......
Essays on Amazing Physical Phenomena and their Understanding by Mathematicians
This collection of 39 short stories gives the reader a unique opportunity to take a look at the scientific philosophy of Vladimir Arnold, one of the most original contemporary researchers. Topics of the stories included range from astronomy, to mirages, to motion of glaciers, to geometry of mirrors and beyond. In each case Arnold's explanation is ......