P h y s i c s   o f   S t r i n g s

How do strings vibrate and what forces slow them? How can one still a vibrating body as quickly as possible? Can one deduce material properties of a body from measurements of its vibrations?

Several areas are ripe for investigation this semester:

• Explication and experimentation of the discrete three-spectra inverse problem of Boyko and Pivovarchik (Inverse Problems, 2008).
  Excellent progress on this problem was made by the Summer 2008 students; see their VIGRE poster.
  
• Eigenvalues for wave equations on networks.
  Following the work of last year's seminar, we are ready to consider thermoelastic strings, viscous damping, etc.
• Physical experiments with simple string networks: tritars and spider webs;
• Mathematical modeling of strings moving in viscous fluids.
  
• Inverse eigenvalue problems for damped strings.

• Report and data for the inverse problem for a discrete (beaded) string.
• Network code of Jesse Chan. See his connexions module for details and demo.
• Most internal software and reports are now maintained in the Physics of Strings OwlSpace archive.
• Relics from a few pre-OwlSpace seminars: Fall 2005, Spring 2006