Martin Schechter

As is well known, The Great Divide (a.k.a. The Continental Divide) is formed by the Rocky Mountains stretching from north to south across North America. It creates a virtual "stone wall" so high that wind, rain, snow, etc. cannot cross it. This keeps the weather distinct on both sides. Since railroad trains cannot climb steep grades and tunnels through these mountains are almost formidable, the Canadian Pacific Railroad searched for a mountain pass providing the lowest grade for its tracks. Employees discovered a suitable mountain pass, called the Kicking Horse Pass, el. 5404 ft., near Banff, Alberta. (One can speculate as to the reason for the name.) This pass is also used by the Trans-Canada Highway. At the highest point of the pass the railroad tracks are horizontal with mountains rising on both sides. A mountain stream divides into two branches, one flowing into the Atlantic Ocean and the other into the Pacific. One can literally stand (as the author did) with one foot in the Atlantic Ocean and the other in the Pacific. The author has observed many mountain passes in the Rocky Mountains and Alps. What connections do mountain passes have with nonlinear partial dif ferential equations? To find out, read on ...

Linking Methods in Critical Point Theory

Fritz John

Lipman Bers

This book consists of two main parts. The first part, "Hyperbolic and Parabolic Equations", written by F. John, contains a well-chosen assortment of material intended to give an understanding of some problems and techniques involving hyperbolic and parabolic equations. The emphasis is on illustrating the subject without attempting to survey it. The point of view is classical, and this serves well in furnishing insight into the subject; it also makes it possible for the lectures to be read by someone familiar with only the fundamentals of real and complex analysis. The second part, "Elliptic Equations", written by L. Bers and M. Schechter, contains a very readable account of the results and methods of the theory of linear elliptic equations, including the maximum principle, Hilbert-space methods, and potential-theoretic methods. It also contains a brief discussion of some quasi-linear elliptic equations. The book is suitable for graduate students and researchers interested in partial differential equations.

Partial Differential Equations

Lecture Notes, Mathematics 365

This text introduces techniques related to physical theory. Entire book is devoted to a particle moving in a straight line; students develop techniques by answering questions about the particle. 1981 edition.

Martin Schechter

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