Monash Colloquium: Jon Chapman (Oxford)

Title: Asymptotics beyond all orders: the devil’s invention?

Speaker: Prof. S. Jon. Chapman (Oxford)

Date And Time: 8:30 pm – 10:00 pm AEST, Thu., 14 May 2020.

Venue: Zoom (register here for connection details)

Abstract: The lecture will introduce the concept of an asymptotic series, showing how useful divergent series can be, despite Abel’s reservations. We will then discuss Stokes’ phenomenon, whereby the coefficients in the series appear to change discontinuously. We will show how understanding Stokes phenomenon is the key which allows us to determine the qualitative and quantitative behaviour of the solution in many practical problems. Examples will be drawn from the areas of surface waves on fluids, crystal growth, dislocation dynamics, localised pattern formation, and Hele-Shaw flow.