Selected Works of Norman Levinson

by John Nohel (Editor), David Sattinger (Editor), G.-C. Rota (Editor)

Overview

The deep and original ideas of Norman Levinson have had a lasting impact on fields as diverse as differential & integral equations, harmonic, complex & shas­ tic analysis, and analytic number theory during more than half a century. Yet, the extent of his contributions has not always been fully recognized in the mathematics community. For example, the horseshoe mapping constructed by Stephen Smale in 1960 played a central role in the development of the modern theory of dynamical systems and chaos. The horseshoe map was directly stimulated by Levinson's research on forced periodic oscillations of the Van der Pol oscillator, and specifi­ cally by his seminal work initiated by Cartwright and Littlewood. In other topics, Levinson provided the foundation for a rigorous theory of singularly perturbed dif­ ferential equations. He also made fundamental contributions to inverse scattering theory by showing the connection between scattering data and spectral data, thus relating the famous Gel'fand-Levitan method to the inverse scattering problem for the Schrodinger equation. He was the first to analyze and make explicit use of wave functions, now widely known as the Jost functions. Near the end of his life, Levinson returned to research in analytic number theory and made profound progress on the resolution of the Riemann Hypothesis. Levinson's papers are typically tightly crafted and masterpieces of brevity and clarity. It is our hope that the publication of these selected papers will bring his mathematical ideas to the attention of the larger mathematical community.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780817639785
Publisher:	Birkhäuser Boston
Publication date:	12/18/1997
Series:	Contemporary Mathematicians
Edition description:	1997
Pages:	536
Product dimensions:	7.01(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.05(d)

Table of Contents

— Volume 1.- I. Stability and Asymptotic Behavior of Solutions of Ordinary Differential Equations.- Commentary on [L 31] and [L 36].- [L 20] The Growth of the Solutions of a Differential Equation (1941).- [L 24] (with Mary L. Boas and R. P. Boas, Jr.), The Growth of the Solutions of a Differential Equation (1942).- [L 31] The Asymptotic Behavior of a System of Linear Differential Equations (1946).- [L 36] The Asymptotic Nature of Solutions of Linear Systems of Differential Equations (1948).- [L 40] On Stability of Non-Linear Systems of Differential Equations (1949).- [L 68] (with R. R. D. Kemp), On $$u\prime \prime + \left( {1 + \lambda g\left( x \right)} \right)u = 0$$ for $$\int_0sub\infty {\left| {g\left( x \right)} \right|dx}(1949).- [L 42] Determination of the Potential from the Asymptotic Phase (1949).- [L 43] The Inverse Sturm-Liouville Problem (1949).- [L 58] Certain Explicit Relationships between Phase Shift and Scattering Potential (1953).- IV. Eigenfunction Expansions and Spectral Theory for Ordinary Differential Equations.- Commentary on [L 49], [L 51], and [L 59].- [L 39] Criteria for the Limit-Point Case for Second Order Linear Differential Operators (1949).- [L 49] A Simplified Proof of the Expansions Theorem for Singular Second Order Linear Differential Equations (1951).- [L 50] Addendum to “A Simplified Proof of the Expansions Theorem for Singular Second Order Linear Differential Equations” (1951).- [L 51] (with E. A. Coddington), On the Nature of the Spectrum of Singular Second Order Linear Differential Equations (1951).- [L 53] TheL-Closure of Eigenfunctions Associated with Selfadjoint Boundary Value Problems (1952).- [L 59] The Expansion Theorem for Singular Self-Adjoint Linear Differential Operators (1954).- [L 65] Transform and Inverse Transform Expansions for Singular Self-Adjoint Differential Operators (1958).- V. Singular Perturbations of Ordinary and Partial Differential Equations.- Commentary on [L 45], [L 48], [L 60], [L 62], [L 63], [L 67], [L 56] and [L 46].- [L 45] Perturbations of Discontinuous Solutions of Non-Linear Systems of Differential Equations (1950).- [L 48] An Ordinary Differential Equation with an Interval of Stability, a Separation Point, and an Interval of Instability (1950).- [L 60] (with J. J. Levin), Singular Perturbations of Non-Linear Systems of Differential Equations and an Associated Boundary Layer Equation (1954).- [L 62] (with L. Flatto), Periodic Solutions of Singularly Perturbed Systems (1955).- [L 56] (with E. A. Coddington), ABoundary Value Problem for a Nonlinear Differential Equation with a Small Parameter (1952).- [L 63] (with S. Haber), A Boundary Value Problem for a Singularly Perturbed Differential Equation (1955).- [L 67] A Boundary Value Problem for a Singularly Perturbed Differential Equation (1958).- [L 46] The First Boundary Value Problem for$$ \in \Delta + {\rm A}\left( {x,y} \right){u_x} + {\rm B}\left( {x,y} \right){u_y} + C\left( {x,y} \right)u = D\left( {x,y} \right)$$ for small— (1950).- VI. Elliptic Partial Differential Equations.- Commentary on [L 75], [L 78], [L 87].- [L 75] Positive Eigenfunctions for $$\Delta u + \lambda f\left( u \right) = 0$$ (1962).- [L 78] Dirichlet Problem for $$\Delta u = f\left( {{\rm P},u} \right)$$ (1963).- [L 87] One-Sided Inequalities for Elliptic Differential Operators (1965).- VII. Integral Equations.- Commentary on [L 73].- [L 32] On the Asymptotic Shape of the Cavity Behind an Axially Symmetric Nose Moving Through an Ideal Fluid (1946).- [L 73] A Nonlinear Volterra Equation Arising in the Theory of Superfluidity (1960).- [L 89] Simplified Treatment of Integrals of Cauchy Type, the Hilbert Problem and Singular Integral Equations. Appendix: Poincare-Bertrand Formula (1965).