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

Hilbert's talk at the second International Congress of 1900 in Paris marked the beginning of a new era in the calculus of variations. A development began which, within a few decades, brought tremendous success, highlighted by the 1929 theorem of Ljusternik and Schnirelman on the existence of three distinct prime closed geodesics on any compact surface of genus zero, and the 1930/31 solution of Plateau's problem by Douglas and RadA3. The book gives a concise introduction to variational methods and presents an overview of areas of current research in the field. The fourth edition gives a survey