This book describes Italian mathematics in the period between the two World Wars. It analyzes the development by focusing on both the interior and the external influences. Italian mathematics in that period was shaped by a colorful array of strong personalities who concentrated their efforts on a select number of fields and won international recognition and respect in an incredibly short time. Consequently, Italy was considered a third mathematical power after France and Germany.
This book describes Italian mathematics in the period between the two World Wars. It analyzes the development by focusing on both the interior and the external influences. Italian mathematics in that period was shaped by a colorful array of strong personalities who concentrated their efforts on a select number of fields and won international recognition and respect in an incredibly short time. Consequently, Italy was considered a third mathematical power after France and Germany.
Vito Volterra (1860-1940) was one of the most famous representatives of Italian science in his day. Angelo Guerragio and Giovanni Paolini analyze Volterra’s most important contributions to mathematics and their applications, as well as his outstanding organizational achievements in scientific policy. Volterra was one of the founding fathers of functional analysis and the author of fundamental contributions in the field of integral equations, elasticity theory and population dynamics (Lotka-Volterra model). He delivered keynote lectures on the occasion of the International Congresses of Mathematicians held in Paris (1900), Rome (1908), Strasbourg (1920) and Bologna (1928). He became involved in the scientific development in united Italy and was appointed senator of the kingdom in 1905. One of his numerous non-mathematical activities was founding the National Research Council (Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, CNR). During the First World War he was active in military research. After the war he took a clear stand against fascism, which was the starting point for his exclusion. In 1926 he resigned as president of the world famous Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei and was later on excluded from the academy. In 1931 he was one of the few university lecturers who denied to swear an oath of allegiance to the fascistic regime. In 1938 he suffered from the impact of the racial laws. The authors draw a comprehensive picture of Vito Volterra, both as a great mathematician and an organizer of science.
The book is intended for people (graduates, researchers, but also undergraduates with a good mathematical background) involved in the study of (static) optimization problems (in finite-dimensional spaces). It contains a lot of material, from basic tools of convex analysis to optimality conditions for smooth optimization problems, for non smooth optimization problems and for vector optimization problems. The development of the subjects are self-contained and the bibliographical references are usually treated in different books (only a few books on optimization theory deal also with vector problems), so the book can be a starting point for further readings in a more specialized literature. Assuming only a good (even if not advanced) knowledge of mathematical analysis and linear algebra, this book presents various aspects of the mathematical theory in optimization problems. The treatment is performed in finite-dimensional spaces and with no regard to algorithmic questions. After two chapters concerning, respectively, introductory subjects and basic tools and concepts of convex analysis, the book treats extensively mathematical programming problems in the smmoth case, in the nonsmooth case and finally vector optimization problems. · Self-contained · Clear style and results are either proved or stated precisely with adequate references · The authors have several years experience in this field · Several subjects (some of them non usual in books of this kind) in one single book, including nonsmooth optimization and vector optimization problems · Useful long references list at the end of each chapter
This book offers an informal, easy-to-understand account of topics in modern physics and mathematics. The focus is, in particular, on statistical mechanics, soft matter, probability, chaos, complexity, and models, as well as their interplay. The book features 28 key entries and it is carefully structured so as to allow readers to pursue different paths that reflect their interests and priorities, thereby avoiding an excessively systematic presentation that might stifle interest. While the majority of the entries concern specific topics and arguments, some relate to important protagonists of science, highlighting and explaining their contributions. Advanced mathematics is avoided, and formulas are introduced in only a few cases. The book is a user-friendly tool that nevertheless avoids scientific compromise. It is of interest to all who seek a better grasp of the world that surrounds us and of the ideas that have changed our perceptions.
This book describes Italian mathematics in the period between the two World Wars. We analyze its development by focusing on both the interior and the external influences. Italian mathematics in that period was shaped by a colorful array of strong personalities who concentrated their efforts on a select number of fields and won international recognition and respect in an incredibly short time. Consequently, Italy was considered a third "mathematical power" after France and Germany, and qualified Italian universities became indispensable stops on the "tour," organized for the improvement of young foreign mathematicians. At that time, Italy was also dominated by a fascist regime. This political situation and the social and academic structure of Italian society are included in the analysis as influences external to mathematics itself. The authors have provided a fascinating study of a most difficult time in the history of the world and of mathematics.
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