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We have decided to discontinue the publication of preprints on our preprint server as of 1 March 2024. The publication culture within mathematics has changed so much due to the rise of repositories such as ArXiV (www.arxiv.org) that we are encouraging all institute members to make their preprints available there. An institute's repository in its previous form is, therefore, unnecessary. The preprints published to date will remain available here, but we will not add any new preprints here.

MiS Preprint
13/2005

On the Method of Steepest Descent

Spyridon Kamvissis

Abstract

We review the history of the nonlinear steepest descent method for the asymptotic evaluation of the solutions of Riemann-Hilbert factorization problems. We stress some recent results on the "non-self-adjoint" extension of the theory. In particular we consider the case of the semiclassical focusing NLS problem. We explain how the nonlinear steepest descent method gives rise to a maximin variational problem for Green potentials with external field in two dimensions and we announce results on existence and regularity of solutions to this variational problem.

Received:
20.02.05
Published:
20.02.05
Keywords:
steepest descent, riemann-hilbert factorization

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Spyridon Kamvissis

On the method of steepest descent