MATP31 Distribution Theory, 7.5 credits, is an alternative-compulsory course for a Master of Science degree in mathematics. The course can be taken as an stand-alone course. The course is given at 25% study pace during the spring semester every other year (odd years). The language of instruction is English.

Course Content
The course gives an introduction to Distribution Theory, which is an important tool for the theory of partial differential equations. All functions are not differentiable. One of the purposes of distribution theory is to deal with this problem. It also turns out that results from Fourier analysis are more satisfactory in the distribution theoretical twist. Distribution theory is an important tool in the theory of partial differential equations and thus essential for e.g. theoretical physics. Research on partial differential equations has a strong global position in Lund. The course treats: fundamentals of distribution theory, test-functions, the concept of distributions, distributions with compact support, operations on distributions, convolution, homogenous distributions and the Fourier transform.

Teaching
The teaching consists of lectures and seminars.

Assessment
The course is assessed through a written and an oral examination. The oral examination may only be taken by those students who pass the written examination.

Course Literature

J. J. Duistermaat, J. A. C. Kolk, Distributions, Theory and Applications, Springer, 2010, e-book (main course book)
For students interested in other literature the following books are recommended:
- R. S. Strichartz, A Guide to Distribution Theory and Fourier Transforms (light reading)
- G. Friedlander & M. Joshi, Introduction to the Theory of Distributions (a concise and rigorous book)
- L. Hörmander, Linear Partial Differential Operators I (complete, but a bit challenging as a first book on distribution theory)

Official Course Description

Course Evaluation
Link to course evaluations on the department's website:

Course Evaluations, Mathematics at Faculty of Science