Book Description

In 1836-1837 Sturm and Liouville published a series of papers on second order linear ordinary differential operators, which started the subject now known as the Sturm-Liouville problem. In 1910 Hermann Weyl published an article which started the study of singular Sturm-Liouville problems. Since then, the Sturm-Liouville theory remains an intensely active field of research, with many applications in mathematics and mathematical physics. The purpose of the present book is (a) to provide a modern survey of some of the basic properties of Sturm-Liouville theory and (b) to bring the reader to the forefront of knowledge about some aspects of this theory. To use the book, only a basic knowledge of advanced calculus and a rudimentary knowledge of Lebesgue integration and operator theory are assumed. An extensive list of references and examples is provided and numerous open problems are given. The list of examples includes those classical equations and functions associated with the names of Bessel, Fourier, Heun, Ince, Jacobi, Jorgens, Latzko, Legendre, Littlewood-McLeod, Mathieu, Meissner, Morse, as well as examples associated with the harmonic oscillator and the hydrogen atom. Many special functions of applied mathematics and mathematical physics occur in these examples.