Mathematics III
13. Remarks on Variational Calculus, gradient descent applications
The material of the 13th week, essentially corresponds to a deeper look at the first and second variation of functionals and the Euler-Lagrange equations. In the BG book this week corresponds to the third section of Chapter 9, with title ``Remarks on variational calculus'', from the paragraph 9.3.5 to the end of the paragraph 9.3.8. It includes the following concepts:
1) The first and the second variation of functionals;
2) Local maximizers/minimizers of variational problems;
3) The Euler-Lagrange equations;
4) Description of examples and some special cases.