Alternatives to Mary Boas Math Methods Book

[Orodruin]

I am looking to replace the book I am using in a mathematical methods in physics course I am teaching. We currently use a more mathematical book in Swedish and it is missing some content which we would like to include. I had my eyes on the mathematical methods book by Mary Boas but it is kind of brief (hardly even mentions in the 3rd edition) on the Green's function side. A work-around would of course be to hand out extra lecture notes on the subject, but it is something I would prefer not to do. Does anyone know of a good alternative with more or less the same level, but including more content on Green's functions (solutions for the Poisson equation in 2 and 3D, mirroring techniques, etc)?

 

[andre220]

Perhaps try "Mathematics for Physics" by Stone and Goldbart, I just briefly looked through it and Chapter 5 (about 35 pages or so) is dedicated to Green's functions. And another albeit older source would be "Mathematical Methods for Phyics" by Wyld. Its a bit more advanced than Boas but Ch. 8 is dedicated to Green's functions with Poisson's equation in Section 8.7.

Hope this helps.

 

[Orodruin]

Thank you for the suggestions. I have looked briefly at Stone & Goldbart and I like the content, but perhaps a bit too advanced - I should probably have mentioned that the course is the first semester of the second year of an engineering physics program. I really would like to teach them some of those more advanced topics, but I fear I would awaken the wrath of the program director ;)
I will keep your suggestions in mind and check out Stone & Goldbart in more detail as well.

 

[vanhees71]

I like

S. Hassani, Mathematical Physics, Springer (2013)

At a somewhat less advanced level is

A. Prosperetti, Mathematics for Applications, Cambridge University Press (2011)

Both have a lot about Green's functions for the standard linear differential equations in physics.

 

[jasonRF]

Mathematical methods for physics and engineering, by Riley, Hobson and Bence is a reasonable book. Not sure if it has everything you want but it might be worth a look.

 

[DavitosanX]

I'm currently enrolled in a course that uses Eugene Butkov's Mathematical Physics. I find it easy to follow as a student, compared for instance to Arfken's Mathematical Methods for Physicists.

 

[Meir Achuz]

I'm currently enrolled in a course that uses Eugene Butkov's Mathematical Physics. I find it easy to follow as a student, compared for instance to Arfken's Mathematical Methods for Physicists.

Butkov and Arfken are each so much better than Boas, even though they are more advanced, that you should think about trying either one of them.

 

[Orodruin]

Thanks for the suggestions, I just asked for a review copy of the latest editions of Arfken as well as Boas. Riley has a lot of nice things, probably too much nice things (Swedish students tend to think they have bought "too much" if their course literature contains more than what is included in the course for some reason). I will check out Butkov as well as soon as I have some time.

 

[Kenny Felder]

I would like to mention another alternative, also published by Wiley. It is called "Mathematical Methods in Engineering and Physics." Full disclosure: I am a co-author. We of course believe that our book is better than Boas, Arfken, Kreyszig, Butkov, etc: clearer for students to follow, and more focused on physical applications instead of pure mathematical theory. Our book just came out a few months ago, so right now, most people don't know it exists. We're doing everything we can to help people find out about it and see if it fits their needs. So if you go to our Web page you will see a full table of contents, and much of them are downloadable for free so you can see if you like it. You will also see a link to Wiley's site where you can order a free eval copy if you are a professor. Please take a look: http://www.felderbooks.com/mathmethods

P.S. Delighted to see the name "Orodruin" (the Elvish name for Mount Doom)!