Methoden der mathematischen Physik

Methoden der mathematischen Physik (translated into English as Methods of Mathematical Physics) is a 1924 book in two volumes, totaling about 1000 pages. It was published under the names of Richard Courant and David Hilbert and gives a full look at the "methods of mathematical physics" used at that time. The second volume focuses on the theory of partial differential equations.

The book includes early ideas of the finite element method, which Courant later worked on and that became important for numerical analysis. The material came from Hilbert's lectures, and while Courant led the editing, many people at the University of Göttingen helped write it, making it a group effort.

When it first came out in 1924, it didn’t seem closely connected to the quantum theory questions that were central to theoretical physics at the time. But that changed within two years, after the Schrödinger equation was created. This made the Hilbert–Courant methods very useful for the new wave mechanics.

The book had a second edition in 1931/7, a wartime edition in the USA in 1943, and a third German edition in 1968. The English version, also called Methods of Mathematical Physics, came out in 1953 and was revised by Courant. The second volume was improved by the faculty of the Courant Institute. These books quickly became classic references and are among the most cited books in advanced courses on mathematical physics.