Relaxation in Optimization Theory and Variational Calculus

The relaxation method has enjoyed an intensive development during many decades and this new edition of this comprehensive text reflects in particular the main achievements in the past 20 years. Moreover, many further improvements and extensions are included, both in the direction of optimal control and optimal design as well as in numerics and applications in materials science, along with an updated treatment of the abstract parts of the theory.

• A comprehensive treatment of the relaxation method in optimization and the calculus of variations
• Updated and revised edition covering all recent developments
• Of interest to researchers and graduate students in applied mathematics