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Lecture

Linear PDEs of Order 2

In course

MATH-451: Numerical approximation of PDEs

The course is about the derivation, theoretical analysis and implementation of the finite element method for the numerical approximation of partial differential equations in one and two space dimensions. ...

Description

This lecture covers linear partial differential equations (PDEs) of order 2, focusing on elliptic second-order PDEs. The instructor explains the concept of ellipticity and positive definiteness in PDEs, emphasizing uniform ellipticity. The lecture also delves into the Laplace operator, Laplace equation, and boundary conditions. The presentation concludes with discussions on classical solutions, superposition principle, and uniqueness in PDEs.

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Instructor

Annalisa Buffa

Official source

Ontological neighbourhood

Mathematics

Discrete mathematics: Discrete exterior calculus

Related concepts (32)

Elliptic operator

In the theory of partial differential equations, elliptic operators are differential operators that generalize the Laplace operator. They are defined by the condition that the coefficients of the highest-order derivatives be positive, which implies the key property that the principal symbol is invertible, or equivalently that there are no real characteristic directions. Elliptic operators are typical of potential theory, and they appear frequently in electrostatics and continuum mechanics.

Dirichlet boundary condition

In the mathematical study of differential equations, the Dirichlet (or first-type) boundary condition is a type of boundary condition, named after Peter Gustav Lejeune Dirichlet (1805–1859). When imposed on an ordinary or a partial differential equation, it specifies the values that a solution needs to take along the boundary of the domain. In finite element method (FEM) analysis, essential or Dirichlet boundary condition is defined by weighted-integral form of a differential equation.

Boundary value problem

In the study of differential equations, a boundary-value problem is a differential equation subjected to constraints called boundary conditions. A solution to a boundary value problem is a solution to the differential equation which also satisfies the boundary conditions. Boundary value problems arise in several branches of physics as any physical differential equation will have them. Problems involving the wave equation, such as the determination of normal modes, are often stated as boundary value problems.

Laplace's equation

In mathematics and physics, Laplace's equation is a second-order partial differential equation named after Pierre-Simon Laplace, who first studied its properties. This is often written as or where is the Laplace operator, is the divergence operator (also symbolized "div"), is the gradient operator (also symbolized "grad"), and is a twice-differentiable real-valued function. The Laplace operator therefore maps a scalar function to another scalar function.

Laplace operator

In mathematics, the Laplace operator or Laplacian is a differential operator given by the divergence of the gradient of a scalar function on Euclidean space. It is usually denoted by the symbols , (where is the nabla operator), or . In a Cartesian coordinate system, the Laplacian is given by the sum of second partial derivatives of the function with respect to each independent variable. In other coordinate systems, such as cylindrical and spherical coordinates, the Laplacian also has a useful form.

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