Sandro Salsa – författare

This is a book on optimal control problems (OCPs) for partial differential equations (PDEs) that evolved from a series of courses taught by the authors in the last few years at Politecnico di Milano, both at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The book covers the whole range spanning from the setup and the rigorous theoretical analysis of OCPs, the derivation of the system of optimality conditions, the proposition of suitable numerical methods, their formulation, their analysis, including their application to a broad set of problems of practical relevance.

Starting from simple problems that allow a “hands-on” treatment, the reader is progressively led to a general framework suitable to face a broader class of problems. Moreover, the inclusion of many pseudocodes allows the reader to easily implement the algorithms illustrated throughout the text.

The three parts of the book are suitable to readers with variable mathematical backgrounds, from advanced undergraduate to Ph.D. levels and beyond. We believe that applied mathematicians, computational scientists, and engineers may find this book useful for a constructive approach toward the solution of OCPs in the context of complex applications.

This work is an updated version of a book evolved from courses offered on partial differential equations (PDEs) over the last several years at the Politecnico di Milano. These courses had a twofold purpose: on the one hand, to teach students to appreciate the interplay between theory and modeling in problems arising in the applied sciences, and on the other to provide them with a solid theoretical background for numerical methods, such as finite elements. Accordingly, this textbook is divided into two parts. The first part, chapters 2 to 5, is more elementary in nature and focuses on developing and studying basic problems from the macro-areas of diffusion, propagation and transport, waves and vibrations. In the second part, chapters 6 to 10 concentrate on the development of Hilbert spaces methods for the variational formulation and the analysis of (mainly) linear boundary and initial-boundary value problems, while Chapter 11 deals with vector-valued conservation laws, extending the theory developed in Chapter 4. The main differences with respect to the previous editions are: a new section on reaction diffusion models for population dynamics in a heterogeneous environment; several new exercises in almost all chapters; a general restyling and a reordering of the last chapters. The book is intended as an advanced undergraduate or first-year graduate course for students from various disciplines, including applied mathematics, physics and engineering.

This textbook presents problems and exercises at various levels of difficulty in the following areas: Classical Methods in PDEs (diffusion, waves, transport, potential equations); Basic Functional Analysis and Distribution Theory; Variational Formulation of Elliptic Problems; and Weak Formulation for Parabolic Problems and for the Wave Equation. Thanks to the broad variety of exercises with complete solutions, it can be used in all basic and advanced PDE courses.

Leading researchers in the field of Optimal Transportation, with different views and perspectives, contribute to this Summer School volume: Monge-Ampère and Monge-Kantorovich theory, shape optimization and mass transportation are linked, among others, to applications in fluid mechanics granular material physics and statistical mechanics, emphasizing the attractiveness of the subject from both a theoretical and applied point of view.

The volume is designed to become a guide to researchers willing to enter into this challenging and useful theory.

The main purpose is on the one hand to train the students to appreciate the interplay between theory and modelling in problems arising in the applied sciences; on the other hand to give them a solid theoretical background for numerical methods, such as finite elements. Accordingly, this textbook is divided into two parts. The first one has a rather elementary character with the goal of developing and studying basic problems from the macro-areas of diffusion, propagation and transport, waves and vibrations. Ideas and connections with concrete aspects are emphasized whenever possible, in order to provide intuition and feeling for the subject. For this part, a knowledge of advanced calculus and ordinary differential equations is required. Also, the repeated use of the method of separation of variables assumes some basic results from the theory of Fourier series, which are summarized in an appendix.

The main topic of the second part is the development of Hilbert space methods for the variational formulation and analysis of linear boundary and initial-boundary value problems\emph{. }%. Given the abstract nature of these chapters, an effort has been made to provide intuition and motivation for the various concepts and results. The understanding of these topics requires some basic knowledge of Lebesgue measure and integration, summarized in another appendix.

At the end of each chapter, a number of exercises at different level of complexity is included. The most demanding problems are supplied with answers or hints. The exposition if flexible enough to allow substantial changes without compromising the comprehension and to facilitate a selection of topics for a one or two semester course.

Il testo è rivolto a studenti di ingegneria, matematica applicata e fisica ed è disegnato per corsi alle fine del triennio o all''inizio del biennio magistrale. obiettivo didattico è duplice: da un lato presentare ed analizzare alcuni classici modelli differenziali della Meccanica dei Continui, completati da esercizi svolti e da simulazioni numeriche, illustrate usando il metodo delle differenze finite; dall''altro introdurre la formulazione variazionale dei più importanti problemi iniziali/al bordo, accompagnate da simulazioni numeriche effettuate utilizzando il metodo degli elementi finiti. In ultima analisi, il percorso didattico è caratterizzato da una costante sinergia tra modello-teoria-simulazione numerica.