astronomy

Rolf Rannacher

Rolf Rannacher is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Rolf Rannacher rather than just read about it. In short: Rolf Rannacher (born 10 June 1948 in Leipzig) is a German mathematician and a professor of numerical analysis at Heidelberg University. Rannacher studied mathematics and physics at the Goethe University Frankfurt.

Key takeaways

Rolf Rannacher belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Rolf Rannacher to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Rolf Rannacher from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Rolf Rannacher (born 10 June 1948 in Leipzig) is a German mathematician and a professor of numerical analysis at Heidelberg University. Rannacher studied mathematics and physics at the Goethe University Frankfurt. There he received his doctorate in 1974 with dissertation Diskrete Störungstheorie für das Punktsystem linearer Operatoren und Sesquilinearformen mit Anwendungen auf Operatoren vom Schrödinger Typ (Discrete perturbation theory for the point system of linear operators and sesquilinear forms with applications to operators of the Schrödinger type). From 1974 to 1980 he was an assistant to Jens Frehse at the University of Bonn, where he habilitated in 1978 and after habilitation spent a year at the University of Michigan. He was from 1980 to 1983 a professor at the University of Erlangen–Nuremberg and from 1983 to 1988 a professor at Saarland University. Since 1988 he is a professor in Heidelberg. His research focuses on the numerical analysis of the finite element method (FEM) in partial differential equations (PDEs) based on functional analytic methods, for example, error estimation in the L ∞ {\displaystyle {\mathcal {L}}^{\infty }} -norm for FEM approximation in elliptic boundary value problems. His research also deals with numerical fluid mechanics, including high-performance computer software development with his long-time collaborator John Haywood. In the 1990s Rannacher dealt with adaptive mesh refinement in solving optimal control problems, often in collaboration with Claes Johnson and Endre Süli. At Heidelberg's Interdisziplinären Zentrum für Wissenschaftliches Rechnen (acronym IWR, Interdisciplinary Center for Scientific Computing), Rannacher was, in the early 1990s, one of the pioneers in the development of parallel computer algorithms for transputers. He was an Invited Speaker at the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) in Berlin in 1998 and at the ICM in Beijing in 2002. In 2009 he was made an honorary doctor of the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg.

Selected publications with Wolfgang Bangerth: Adaptive finite element methods for differential equations, Birkhäuser 2003; 2013 pbk reprint as editor with Georg Bader, Gabriel Wittum: Numerische Algorithmen auf Transputer-Systemen, Teubner/Vieweg 1993; 2013 pbk reprint as editor with Willi Jäger, Jürgen Warnatz: Reactive Flows, Diffusion and Transport: From Experiments via Mathematical Modeling to Numerical Simulation and Optimization. Final Report SFB 359, Springer 2006 (The SFB # 359 was funded from 1993 to 2004.) as editor with others: Trends in PDE Constrained Optimization, Birkhäuser 2014 as editor with others: Constrained Optimization and Optimal Control for Partial Differential Equations, Birkhäuser 2012 as editor with Wolfgang Hackbusch: Numerical Treatment of the Navier-Stokes Equations (Notes on Numerical Fluid Mechanics), Vieweg 1990 as editor with Guido Kanschat et al.: Numerical Methods in Multidimensional Radiative Transfer, Springer 2009 as editor with Giovanni Galdi: Fundamental Trends in Fluid-Structure Interaction, World Scientific 2010 as editor with Adélia Sequeida: Advances in Mathematical Fluid Mechanics: Dedicated to Giovanni Paolo Galdi on the Occasion of his 60th Birthday, Springer 2010 as editor with Giovanni Galdi, Malcolm Heywood: Contributions to Current Challenges in Mathematical Fluid Mechanics, Birkhäuser 2004 with Giovanni Galdi, Anne M. Robertson, Stefan Turek: Hemodynamical Flows: Modeling, Analysis and Simulation (Oberwolfach Seminars), Birkhäuser 2007

References

External links "Rolf Rannacher, Publications (with online links)". Institut für Angewandte Mathematik, Heidelberg.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Rolf Rannacher

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Rolf Rannacher claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Rolf Rannacher before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Rolf Rannacher ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Rolf Rannacher

In research: Rolf Rannacher appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Rolf Rannacher in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Rolf Rannacher is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1948 births, 20th-century German mathematicians, 21st-century German mathematicians, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Rolf Rannacher outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Rolf Rannacher in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Rolf Rannacher means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Rolf Rannacher out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Rolf Rannacher in simple terms?

Why does Rolf Rannacher matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Rolf Rannacher?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Rolf Rannacher.