This text describes the statistcal behavior of complex systems and shows how the fractional calculus can be used to model the behavior. The discussion emphasizes physical phenomena whose evolution is best described using the fractional calculus, such as systems with long-range spatial interactions or long-time memory. The book gives general strategies for understanding wave propagation through random media, the nonlinear response of complex materials, and the fluctuations of heat transport in heterogeneous materials.

This text describes how fractal phenomena, both deterministic and random, change over time, using the fractional calculus. The intent is to identify those characteristics of complex physical phenomena that require fractional derivatives or fractional integrals to describe how the process changes over time. The discussion emphasizes the properties of physical phenomena whose evolution is best described using the fractional calculus, such as systems with long-range spatial interactions or long-time memory. In many cases, classic analytic function theory cannot serve for modeling complex phenomena; "Physics of Fractal Operators" shows how classes of less familiar functions, such as fractals, can serve as useful models in such cases. Because fractal functions, such as the Weierstrass function (long known not to have a derivative), do in fact have fractional derivatives, they can be cast as solutions to fractional differential equations. The traditional techniques for solving differential equations, including Fourier and Laplace transforms as well as Green's functions, can be generalized to fractional derivatives. Physics of Fractal Operators addresses a general strategy for understanding wave propagation through random media, the nonlinear response of complex materials, and the fluctuations of various forms of transport in heterogeneous materials. This strategy builds on traditional approaches and explains why the historical techniques fail as phenomena become more and more complicated.

In the 50 years since Mandelbrot identified the fractality of coastlines, mathematicians and physicists have developed a rich and beautiful theory describing the interplay between analytic, geometric and probabilistic aspects of the mathematics of fractals. Using classical and abstract analytic tools developed by Cantor, Hausdorff, and Sierpinski, they have sought to address fundamental questions: How can we measure the size of a fractal set? How do waves and heat travel on irregular structures? How are analysis, geometry and stochastic processes related in the absence of Euclidean smooth structure? What new physical phenomena arise in the fractal-like settings that are ubiquitous in nature?This book introduces background and recent progress on these problems, from both established leaders in the field and early career researchers. The book gives a broad introduction to several foundational techniques in fractal mathematics, while also introducing some specific new and significant results of interest to experts, such as that waves have infinite propagation speed on fractals. It contains sufficient introductory material that it can be read by new researchers or researchers from other areas who want to learn about fractal methods and results.

This volume is a collection of papers devoted to the 70th birthday of Professor Vladimir Rabinovich. The opening article (by Stefan Samko) includes a short biography of Vladimir Rabinovich, along with some personal recollections and bibliography of his work. It is followed by twenty research and survey papers in various branches of analysis (pseudodifferential operators and partial differential equations, Toeplitz, Hankel, and convolution type operators, variable Lebesgue spaces, etc.) close to Professor Rabinovich's research interests. Many of them are written by participants of the International workshop “Analysis, Operator Theory, and Mathematical Physics” (Ixtapa, Mexico, January 23–27, 2012) having a long history of scientific collaboration with Vladimir Rabinovich, and are partially based on the talks presented there.The volume will be of great interest to researchers and graduate students in differential equations, operator theory, functional and harmonic analysis, and mathematical physics.​

The book contains the contributions to the conference on "Partial Differential Equations" held in Holzhau (Germany) in July 1994, where outstanding specialists from analysis, geometry and mathematical physics reviewed recent progress and new interactions in these areas. Topics of special interest at the conference and which now form the core of this volume are hyperbolic operators, spectral theory for elliptic operators, eta-invariant, singular configura- tions and asymptotics, Bergman-kernel, attractors of non-autonomous evolution equations, pseudo-differential boundary value problems, Mellin pseudo- differential operators, approximation and stability problems for elliptic operators, and operator determinants. In spectral theory adiabatic and semiclassical limits, Dirichlet decoupling and domain perturbations, capacity of obstacles, limiting absorption problems, N-body scattering, and number of bound states are considered. Schrödinger operators are studied with magnetic fields, with random and with many-body potentials, and for nonlinear problems. In semigroup theory the Feller property, errors for product formulas, fractional powers of generators, and functional integration for relativistic semigroups are analyzed.

​​Advances in science and technology are driven by the development of rigorous mathematical foundations for the study of both theoretical and experimental models. With certain methodological variations, this type of study always comes down to the application of analytic or computational integration procedures, making such tools indispensible. With a wealth of cutting-edge research in the field, Integral Methods in Science and Engineering: Progress in Numerical and Analytic Techniques provides a detailed portrait of both the construction of theoretical integral techniques and their application to specific problems in science and engineering. The chapters in this volume are based on talks given by well-known researchers at the Twelfth International Conference on Integral Methods in Science and Engineering, July 23–27, 2012, in Porto Alegre, Brazil. They address a broad range of topics, from problems of existence and uniqueness for singular integral equations on domain boundaries to numerical integration via finite and boundary elements, conservation laws, hybrid methods, and other quadrature-related approaches. The contributing authors bring their expertise to bear on a number of topical problems that have to date resisted solution, thereby offering help and guidance to fellow professionals worldwide. Integral Methods in Science and Engineering: Progress in Numerical and Analytic Techniques will be a valuable resource for researchers in applied mathematics, physics, and mechanical and electrical engineering, for graduate students in these disciplines, and for various other professionals who use integration as an essential tool in their work.​

It is very well known that differential equations are related with the rise of physical science in the last several decades and they are used successfully for models of real-world problems in a variety of fields from several disciplines. Additionally, difference equations represent the discrete analogues of differential equations. These types of equations started to be used intensively during the last several years for their multiple applications, particularly in complex chaotic behavior. A certain class of differential and related difference equations is represented by their respective fractional forms, which have been utilized to better describe non-local phenomena appearing in all branches of science and engineering. The purpose of this book is to present some common results given by mathematicians together with physicists, engineers, as well as other scientists, for whom differential and difference equations are valuable research tools. The reported results can be used by researchers and academics working in both pure and applied differential equations.

The dynamics of complex systems can clarify the creation of structures in Nature. This creation is driven by the collective interaction of constitutive elements of the system. Such interactions are frequently nonlinear and are directly responsible for the lack of prediction in the evolution process. The self-organization accompanying these processes occurs all around us and is constantly being rediscovered, under the guise of a new jargon, in apparently unrelated disciplines.This volume offers unique perspectives on aspects of fractals and complexity and, through the examination of complementary techniques, provides a unifying thread in this multidisciplinary endeavor. Do nonlinear interactions play a role in the complexity management of socio-econo-political systems? Is it possible to extract the global properties of genetic regulatory networks without knowing the details of individual genes? What can one learn by transplanting the self-organization effects known in laser processes to the study of emotions? What can the change in the level of complexity tell us about the physiological state of the organism? The reader will enjoy finding the answers to these questions and many more in this book.

In the last two decades, fractional (or non integer) differentiation has played a very important role in various fields such as mechanics, electricity, chemistry, biology, economics, control theory and signal and image processing. For example, in the last three fields, some important considerations such as modelling, curve fitting, filtering, pattern recognition, edge detection, identification, stability, controllability, observability and robustness are now linked to long-range dependence phenomena. Similar progress has been made in other fields listed here. The scope of the book is thus to present the state of the art in the study of fractional systems and the application of fractional differentiation. As this volume covers recent applications of fractional calculus, it will be of interest to engineers, scientists, and applied mathematicians.

"Fractional Dynamics: Applications of Fractional Calculus to Dynamics of Particles, Fields and Media" presents applications of fractional calculus, integral and differential equations of non-integer orders in describing systems with long-time memory, non-local spatial and fractal properties. Mathematical models of fractal media and distributions, generalized dynamical systems and discrete maps, non-local statistical mechanics and kinetics, dynamics of open quantum systems, the hydrodynamics and electrodynamics of complex media with non-local properties and memory are considered. This book is intended to meet the needs of scientists and graduate students in physics, mechanics and applied mathematics who are interested in electrodynamics, statistical and condensed matter physics, quantum dynamics, complex media theories and kinetics, discrete maps and lattice models, and nonlinear dynamics and chaos. Dr. Vasily E. Tarasov is a Senior Research Associate at Nuclear Physics Institute of Moscow State University and an Associate Professor at Applied Mathematics and Physics Department of Moscow Aviation Institute.