Cambridge Tracts in Mathematics

This monograph is the first to present the theory of global attractors of Hamiltonian partial differential equations. A particular focus is placed on the results obtained in the last three decades, with chapters on the global attraction to stationary states, to solitons, and to stationary orbits. The text includes many physically relevant examples and will be of interest to graduate students and researchers in both mathematics and physics. The proofs involve novel applications of methods of harmonic analysis, including Tauberian theorems, Titchmarsh''s convolution theorem, and the theory of quasimeasures. As well as the underlying theory, the authors discuss the results of numerical simulations and formulate open problems to prompt further research.