maximum principle

noun

, Mathematics.

1. the theorem that a function of a complex variable that is analytic in a domain and on its boundary attains its maximum absolute value on the boundary.

Example Sentences

“I have made a living off the maximum principle,” he quipped, referring to a fundamental technique for establishing inequalities in PDE.

From Nature

“Yes, I do. I’ve been working on it again for a while now, and I’ve made pretty good progress. I have some ideas. But now I’m stuck. I broke the problem down using several reduced models, but even the simplest one eludes me. I thought I’d gotten a handle on it with a maximum principle argument, but the whole thing collapsed. I need to talk.”

From Scientific American

If I were writing about Villani’s journey to the Fields Medal, I would pause and define what mathematicians mean by regularity and the maximum principle.

From Scientific American

The original Fielding tariff of 1897 had adopted the minimum and maximum principle, with the intention that a few low-tariff countries should share with Great Britain the advantages of the lower rates.

From Project Gutenberg