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This book deals with an important topic in rational continuum physics, thermodynamics.Although slim, it is fairly well self-contained; some basic notions in continuum mechanics, which a well-intentioned reader should but may not be familiar with, are collected in a final appendix. Modern continuum thermodynamics is a field theory devised to handle a large class of processes that typically are neither spatially homogeneous nor sequences of equilibrium states. The most basic chapter addresses the continuum theory of heat conduction, in which the constitutive laws furnish a mathematical characterization of the macroscopic manifestations of those fluctuations in position and velocity of the microscopic matter constituents that statistical thermodynamics considers collectively. In addition to a nonstandard exposition of the conceptual steps leading to the classical heat equation, the crucial assumption that energy and entropy inflows should be proportional is discussed and a hyperbolic version of that prototypical parabolic PDE is presented. Thermomechanics comes next, a slightly more complex paradigmatic example of a field theory where microscopic and macroscopic manifestations of motion become intertwined. Finally, a virtual power format for thermomechanics is proposed, whose formulation requires that temperature is regarded formally as the time derivative of thermal displacement. It is shown that this format permits an alternative formulation of the theory of heat conduction, and a physical interpretation of the notion of thermal displacement is given. It is addressed to mathematical modelers – or mathematical modelers to be – of continuous material bodies, be they mathematicians, physicists, or mathematically versed engineers.

Thermodynamics. --- Chemistry, Physical and theoretical --- Dynamics --- Mechanics --- Physics --- Heat --- Heat-engines --- Quantum theory --- Mathematical Applications in the Physical Sciences. --- Mathematical physics. --- Physical mathematics --- Mathematics

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This contributed volume contains a collection of articles on state-of-the-art developments on the construction of theoretical integral techniques and their application to specific problems in science and engineering. The chapters in this book are based on talks given at the Fifteenth International Conference on Integral Methods in Science and Engineering, held July 16-20, 2018 at the University of Brighton, UK, and are written by internationally recognized researchers. The topics addressed are wide ranging, and include: Asymptotic analysis Boundary-domain integral equations Viscoplastic fluid flow Stationary waves Interior Neumann shape optimization Self-configuring neural networks This collection will be of interest to researchers in applied mathematics, physics, and mechanical and electrical engineering, as well as graduate students in these disciplines and other professionals for whom integration is an essential tool.

Integral equations. --- Numerical analysis. --- Integral Equations. --- Numerical Analysis. --- Mathematical Applications in the Physical Sciences. --- Equations, Integral --- Functional equations --- Functional analysis --- Mathematical analysis --- Mathematical physics. --- Physical mathematics --- Physics --- Mathematics

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This primer offers a concise introduction to Loop Quantum Gravity (LQG) - a theoretical framework for uniting Quantum Mechanics (QM) with General Relativity (GR). The emphasis is on the physical aspects of the framework and its historical development in terms of self-dual variables, still most suited for a first, pedagogical encounter with LQG. The text starts by reviewing GR and the very basics of Quantum Field Theory (QFT), and then explains in a concise and clear manner the steps leading from the Einstein-Hilbert action for gravity to the construction of the quantum states of geometry, known as spin-networks, and which provide the basis for the kinematical Hilbert space of quantum general relativity. Along the way the various associated concepts of tetrads, spin-connection and holonomies are introduced. Having thus provided a minimal introduction to the LQG framework, some applications to the problems of black hole entropy and of quantum cosmology are briefly surveyed. Last but not least, a list of the most common criticisms of LQG is presented, which are then tackled one by one in order to convince the reader of the physical viability of the theory. A set of appendices provides accessible introductions to several key notions such as the Peter-Weyl theorem, duality of differential forms and Regge calculus, among others. The presentation is aimed at graduate students and researchers who have some familiarity with the tools of QM and GR, but are intimidated by the technicalities required to browse through the existing LQG literature. This primer aims at making the formalism appear a little less bewildering to the uninitiated and helps lower the barrier for entry into the field.

Gravitation. --- Mathematical physics. --- Physics. --- Classical and Quantum Gravitation, Relativity Theory. --- Mathematical Physics. --- Mathematical Methods in Physics. --- Mathematical Applications in the Physical Sciences.

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This primer offers a concise introduction to Loop Quantum Gravity (LQG) - a theoretical framework for uniting Quantum Mechanics (QM) with General Relativity (GR). The emphasis is on the physical aspects of the framework and its historical development in terms of self-dual variables, still most suited for a first, pedagogical encounter with LQG. The text starts by reviewing GR and the very basics of Quantum Field Theory (QFT), and then explains in a concise and clear manner the steps leading from the Einstein-Hilbert action for gravity to the construction of the quantum states of geometry, known as spin-networks, and which provide the basis for the kinematical Hilbert space of quantum general relativity. Along the way the various associated concepts of tetrads, spin-connection and holonomies are introduced. Having thus provided a minimal introduction to the LQG framework, some applications to the problems of black hole entropy and of quantum cosmology are briefly surveyed. Last but not least, a list of the most common criticisms of LQG is presented, which are then tackled one by one in order to convince the reader of the physical viability of the theory. A set of appendices provides accessible introductions to several key notions such as the Peter-Weyl theorem, duality of differential forms and Regge calculus, among others. The presentation is aimed at graduate students and researchers who have some familiarity with the tools of QM and GR, but are intimidated by the technicalities required to browse through the existing LQG literature. This primer aims at making the formalism appear a little less bewildering to the uninitiated and helps lower the barrier for entry into the field.

Gravitation. --- Mathematical physics. --- Physics. --- Classical and Quantum Gravitation, Relativity Theory. --- Mathematical Physics. --- Mathematical Methods in Physics. --- Mathematical Applications in the Physical Sciences.

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To the naked eye, the most evident defining feature of the planets is their motion across the night sky. It was this motion that allowed ancient civilizations to single them out as different from fixed stars. But how does the geometry of the Solar System give rise to the observed motions of the planets and their moons? Although the motions of the planets may be described as simple elliptical orbits around the Sun, they must be observed from a particular vantage point--the Earth, which spins daily on its axis and circles around the Sun each year, resulting in more complicated patterns. The Observer’s Guide to Planetary Motion provides accurate tables of the best time for observing each planet, together with other notable events in their orbits, helping amateur astronomers plan when and what to observe. Along the way, many questions are answered: Why does Mars take over two years between apparitions (the times when it is visible from Earth) in the night sky, while Uranus and Neptune take almost exactly a year? Why do planets appear higher in the night sky when they’re visible in the winter months? Why do Saturn’s rings appear to open and close every 15 years? This book places seemingly disparate astronomical events into an understandable three-dimensional  structure.

Planets --- Astronomy --- Astronomy. --- Astronomy, Observations and Techniques. --- Popular Science in Astronomy. --- Mathematical Applications in the Physical Sciences. --- Observations, Astronomical. --- Astronomy—Observations. --- Mathematical physics. --- Physical mathematics --- Physics --- Astronomical observations --- Observations, Astronomical --- Mathematics