Introduction.- Deterministic Control Theory.- Linear Quadratic Problems.- Control of Fields.- Chaos Control.- Non-Equilibrium Statistical Physics.- Optimal Control of Stochastic Processes.- Filters and Predictors.- Game Theory.- Optimization Problems.

This book covers systematically and in a simple language the mathematical and physical foundations of controlling deterministic and stochastic evolutionary processes in systems  with a high degree of complexity. Strong emphasis is placed on concepts, methods and techniques for modelling, assessment and the solution or estimation of control problems in an attempt to understand the large variability of these problems in several branches of physics, chemistry and biology as well as in technology and economics. The main focus of the book is on a clear physical and mathematical understanding of the dynamics and kinetics behind several kinds of control problems and their relation to self-organizing principles in complex systems. The book is a modern introduction and a helpful tool for researchers, engineers as well as post-docs and graduate students interested in an application oriented control theory and related topics.

From the reviews:"The monograph under review introduces control-theoretic issues which arise in, primarily, physics-related areas. The texts is, in fact, addressed to the physics community, and this is manifested in several ways. First, the style of presentation … . Secondly, the terminology … . Content-wise the monograph offers a variety of topics, more diverse … collected according to their physical context. … All in all, a reader … will find here a variety of issues, lively explanations and useful references to the literature." (Zvi Artstein, Mathematical Reviews, Issue 2007 c)“It is a text-book on control theory and applications mainly devoted to graduate students of physics, engineering, sciences and economics. The aim is to present the most useful theoretical concepts and techniques for understanding the ideas of control theory for physical systems. … The subject is very well presented also from the historical point of view and many different interesting applications field are proposed. … A reach list of references … and an useful analytic index are given.” (Anna Salvadori, Zentralblatt MATH, Vol. 1206, 2011)