72 pages, PDF, 2004 lecture notes, compendium requested by Princeton University
Abstract:
Author's introduction:
"To start with partial differential equations, just like ordinary differential or integral equations, are **functional equations**. That means that the unknown, or unknowns, we are trying to determine are functions. In the case of partial differential equations (PDEs) these functions are to be determined from equations which involve, in
addition to the usual operations of addition and multiplication, partial derivatives of the functions. The simplest example, which has already been described in section 1 of this compendium, is the Laplace equation in R^3."
Applications presented are in particle physics, relativity theory and several other areas of modern physics.
http://www.math.princeton.edu/~seri/homepage/gws-2006-3.pdf
Rights:
Open access and free online downloads at:
http://www.math.princeton.edu/~seri/homepage/gws-2006-3.pdf
