Theory and Applications of Partial Differential Equations (Mathematical Concepts and Methods in Science and Engineering, 46)

This masterful text introduces first-year graduate students to the basic ideas of the theory of partial differential equations in the context of the three fundamental equations of classical mathematical physics - the wave and heat equations and the Laplace equation. The authors avoid abstractions and succeed in demonstrating ideas by way of relatively simple, straightforward applications. Their book also deals with more advanced topics, including - the De Giorgi-Nash-Moser theorem - nonlinear Dirichlet problems for elliptic equations - distributions and Sobolev spaces - and hyperbolic conservation laws in one space variable.