Abstract
In the study of boundary integral equations, the theory of distributions naturally comes into use. This theory began with the use of the Dirac delta function by the British physicist P.A.M. Dirac during the 1930s and 1940s. It was found to be extremely useful in solving ordinary and partial differential equations and became very popular, but was rejected by many mathematicians because it was not a classical function and its usage lacked mathematical rigor. In 1950–51, the French mathematician L. Schwartz published Théorie des Distributions [168], making rigorous the theory concerning the usage of the delta function and other distributions. Today, this theory is fundamental in the study of partial differential equations. For a detailed account of the theory of distributions, we refer the reader to [27, 76, 107].
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© 2010 Atlantis Press/World Scientific
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Chen, G., Chen, G., Zhou, J. (2010). Theory of Distributions. In: Boundary Element Methods with Applications to Nonlinear Problems. Atlantis Studies in Mathematics for Engineering and Science, vol 7. Atlantis Press. https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-91216-27-5_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-91216-27-5_3
Publisher Name: Atlantis Press
Online ISBN: 978-94-91216-27-5
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