Chapman and Hall/CRC General Quantum Variational Calculus (Advances in Applied Mathematics)

Quantum calculus is the modern name for the investigation of calculus without limits. Quantum calculus, or q-calculus, began with F.H. Jackson in the early twentieth century, but this kind of calculus had already been worked out by renowned mathematicians Euler and Jacobi. Lately, quantum calculus has aroused a great amount of interest due to the high demand of mathematics that model quantum computing. The q-calculus appeared as a connection between mathematics and physics. It has a lot of applications in different mathematical areas such as number theory, combinatorics, orthogonal polynomials, basic hypergeometric functions and other quantum theory sciences, mechanics, and the theory of relativity. Recently, the concept of general quantum difference operators that generalize quantum calculus has been defined. General Quantum Variational Calculus is specially designed for those who wish to understand this important mathematical concept, as the text encompasses recent developments of general quantum variational calculus. The material is presented in a highly readable, mathematically solid format. Many practical problems are illustrated, displaying a wide variety of solution techniques. This book is addressed to a wide audience of specialists such as mathematicians, physicists, engineers, and biologists. It can be used as a textbook at the graduate level and as a reference for several disciplines.