. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..*................... 1 GENERAL INTRODUCTION ~.~O................................*............ 3 Part I: Confinement in Periodic Quantum Electrodynamics for Low Couplings

∗a summary of [JGJS99] †[email protected] problem [Coo87]. Thus, as in other areas, the research focus has shifted from finding exact algorithms, towards finding good approximation schemes. Nevertheless there are important special instances of graphical models, e.g. trees, where exact algorithms are efficient. And, as we will see, even in the framework of variational methods, we want to use e...

The concept of a shape space is linked both to concepts from geometry and from physics. On one hand, a path-based viscous flow approach leads to Riemannian distances between shapes, where shapes are boundaries of objects that mainly behave like fluids. On the other hand, a state-based elasticity approach induces a (by construction) non-Riemanniandissimilaritymeasure between shapes, which is giv...

Structure, function and dynamics of many biomolecular systems can be characterized by the energetic variational principle and the corresponding systems of partial differential equations (PDEs). This principle allows us to focus on the identification of essential energetic components, the optimal parametrization of energies, and the efficient computational implementation of energy variation or m...