Description

This well-rounded, thorough treatment for advanced undergraduates and graduate students introduces basic concepts of mathematical physics involved in the study of linear systems. The text emphasizes eigenvalues, eigenfunctions, and Green's functions. Prerequisites include differential equations and a first course in theoretical physics.
The three-part presentation begins with an exploration of systems with a finite number of degrees of freedom (described by matrices). In part two, the concepts developed for discrete systems in previous chapters are extended to continuous systems. New concepts useful in the treatment of continuous systems are also introduced. The final part examines approximation methods -- including perturbation theory, variational methods, and numerical methods -- relevant to addressing most of the problems of nature that confront applied physicists. Two Appendixes include background and supplementary material. 1960 edition.