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In the third edition the presentation of new topics has been deliberately kept simple for pedagogical purposes. Chapter 1 was completed by references to the tidal bore and magnetic envelope solitons. Two new sections devoted to magnetic envelope solitons and signal processing with solitons have been added to Chap. 4. Short comments on models describing blood-pressure pulse propagation in terms of solitons were added to chapter 5. A description of a new mechanical transmission line with two equilibrium states has been included in Chap. 6. Such an analog device is useful to illustrate the properties of kink-solitons and to observe solitary waves with a compact shape, called compactons. New references conceming recent advances in experimental techniques and lattice effects were added to Chap. 7. In Chap. 8 a short introduction to spatial optical solitons in continuous and discrete systems was included. Chapter 9 was completed by new sections devoted to nonlinear lattice models and energy localization. The concepts of self-trapped states and intrinsic localized modes or discrete breathers are dicussed. Different analog chains which make it possible to observe the characteristic features of discrete breathers, are described. Contrary to previous chapters where we have considered reversible or conservative systems where solitons can exist owing to the dynamical balance between linear dispersion and nonlinearity, Chapter 11 which is a new chapter, is devoted to irreversible systems where nonlinearity can balance the effects of dissipation leading to "diffusing solitary waves" or "diffusive solitons".
List of contents
1 Basic Concepts and the Discovery of Solitons.- 2 Linear Waves in Electrical Transmission Lines.- 3 Solitons in Nonlinear Transmission Lines.- 4 More on Transmission-Line Solitons.- 5 Hydrodynamic Solitons.- 6 Mechanical Solitons.- 7 Fluxons in Josephson Transmission Lines.- 8 Solitons in Optical Fibers.- 9 The Soliton Concept in Lattice Dynamics.- 10 A Look at Some Remarkable Mathematical Techniques.- 11 Diffusive solitons.- References.
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From the reviews
"In Waves Called Solitons, Michel Remoissenet stays focused on helping the reader understand what solitary waves are, to see how they maintain their integrity as they interact with one another, and to appreciate the roles that these coherent lumps of energy and information play in diverse areas of engineering, physical science, and biology. (...) this book will serve as the basic text for such an undergraduate course, introducing students to the emergence and dynamics of coherent states. I recommend it most highly." (A. Scott, SIAM Review, 2000)
"The revisions and enlargements present in the current edition make the text an even more motivating introduction to the subject of solitons." (Zentralblatt für Mathematik, 2000)
FROM REVIEWS OF PREVIOUS EDITIONS
"Unquestionably one of the most exciting introductory books to the world of Solitons. Remoissenet uses a clear presentation based on simple and pedagogical explanations motivated by a great number of experiments ... Without a doubt, this book succeeds to introduce this important field in a simple way." (PHYSICALIA)
