Description
Book SynopsisA comprehensive exposition of the properties of semiconcave functions and their various applications, particularly to optimal control problems. It is suitable for graduate students and researchers in optimal control, the calculus of variations, and PDEs.
Trade Review"The main purpose of this book is to provide a systematic study of the notion of semiconcave functions, as well as a presentation of mathematical fields in which this notion plays a fundamental role. Many results are extracted from articles by the authors and their collaborators, with simplified—and often new—presentation and proofs.... One of the most attractive features of this book is the interplay between several fields of mathematical analysis.... Despite the many topics addressed in the book, the required mathematical background for reading it is limited because all the necessary notions are not only recalled, but also carefully explained, and the main results proved.
The book will be found very useful by experts in nonsmooth analysis, nonlinear control theory and PDEs, in particular, as well as by advanced graduate students in this field. They will appreciate the many detailed examples, the clear proofs and the elegant style of presentation, the fairly comprehensive and up-to-date bibliography and the very pertinent historical and bibliographical comments at the end of each chapter."
—Mathematical Reviews
Table of ContentsA Model Problem.- Semiconcave Functions.- Generalized Gradients and Semiconcavity.- Singularities of Semiconcave Functions.- Hamilton-Jacobi Equations.- Calculus of Variations.- Optimal Control Problems.- Control Problems with Exit Time.
