Applied Linear Algebra: The
Decoupling Principle, 1/e
Lorenzo Sadun, University of
Texas at Austin
Copyright 2001, 349 pp. Cloth format ISBN 0-13-085645-2
Summary
A useful reference, this book
could easily be subtitled: All the Linear Algebra I Learned from Doing Physics that I
Wished Somebody had Taught Me First. Built upon the principles of diagonalization and
superposition, it contains many important physical applications-such as population
growth, normal modes of oscillations, waves, Markov chains, stability analysis, signal
processing, and electrostatics-in order to demonstrate the incredible power of linear
algebra in the world. The underlying ideas of breaking a vector into modes, and of
decoupling a complicated system by suitable choice of linear coordinates, are emphasized
throughout the book. KEY TOPICS: Chapter topics most useful to professional engineers and
physicists include-but are not limited to-the wave equation, continuos spectra,
fourier transforms, and Green's function. For electrical engineers, physicists, and
mechanical engineers.
Table of Contents
1. The Decoupling Principle.
2. Vector Spaces and Bases.
Vector Spaces. Linear
Independence, Basis and Dimension. Properties and Uses of a Basis. Change of Basis.
Building New Vector Spaces from Old Ones.
3. Linear Transformations and Operators.
Definitions and Examples. The
Matrix of a Linear Transformation. The Effect of a Change of Basis. Infinite Dimensional
Vector Spaces. Kernels, Ranges, and Quotient Maps.
4. An Introduction to Eigenvalues.
Definitions and Examples.
Bases of Eigenvectos. Eigenvalues and the Characteristic Polynomial. The Need for Complex
Eigenvalues. When is an Operator Diagonalizable? Traces, Determinants, and Tricks of the
Trade. Simultaneous Diagonalization of Two Operators. Exponentials of Complex Numbers and
Matrices. Power Vectors and Jordan Canonical Form.
5. Some Crucial Applications.
Discrete-Time Evolution:
x(n)=Ax(n-1). First-Order Continuous-Time Evolution: dx/dt=Ax. Second-Order
Continuous-Time Evolution: d2x/dt2=Ax. Reducing Second-Order Problems to First-Order.
Long-Time Behavior and Stability. Markov Chains and Probability Matrices. Linear Analysis
near Fixed Points of Nonlinear Problems.
6. Inner Products.
Real Inner Products:
Definitions and Examples. Complex Inner Products. Bras, Kets, and Duality. Expansion in
Orthonormal Bases: Finding Coefficients. Projections and the Gram-Schmidt Process.
Orthogonal Complements and Projections onto Subspaces. Least Squares Solutions. The Spaces
l2 and L2(0,1). Fourier Series on an Interval.
7. Adjoints, Hermitian Operators, and Unitary Operators.
Adjoints and Transposes.
Hermitian Operators. Quadratic Forms and Real Symmetric Matrices. Rotations, Orthogonal
Operators, and Unitary Operators. How the Four Classes are Related.
8. The Wave Equation.
Waves on the Line. Waves on
the Half Line; Dirichlet and Neumann Boundary Conditions. The Vibrating String. Standing
Waves and Fourier Series. Periodic Boundary Conditions. Equivalence of Traveling Waves and
Standing Waves. The Different Types of Fourier Series
9. Continuous Spectra and the Dirac Delta Function.
The Spectrum of a Linear
Operator. The Dirac o Function. Distributions. Generalized Eigenfunction Expansions; The
Spectral Theorem.
10. Fourier Transforms.
Existence of Fourier
Transforms. Basic Properties of Fourier Transforms. Convolutions and Differential
Equations. Partial Differential Equations. Bandwidth and Heisenberg's Uncertainty
Principle. Fourier Transforms on the Half Line.
11. Green's Functions.
Delta Functions and the
Superposition Principle. Inverting Operators. The Method of Images. Initial Value
Problems. Laplace's Equation on R2.
Index.