Variational Methods : Applications to Nonlinear Partial Differential Equations and Hamiltonian Systems

Gives a concise introduction to variational methods and presents an overview of areas of current research in the calculus of variations. The fourth edition gives a survey on new developments in the field. In particular it includes the proof for the convergence of the Yamabe flow and a detailed treatment of the phenomenon of blow-up. Also the recently discovered results for backward bubbling in the heat flow for harmonic maps or surfaces are discussed. Aside from these more significant additions, a number of smaller changes throughout the text have been made and the references have been updated.