An Introduction to Dynamical Systems

Developed and class-tested by a distinguished team of authors at two universities, this text is intended for courses in nonlinear dynamics in either mathematics or physics.

This book offers a comprehensive and accessible introduction to the mathematical theory of stationary Variational-Hemivariational Inequalities (VHIs), a rapidly growing area of research with significant applications in science and engineering. Unlike traditional approaches that rely heavily on abstract inclusion results for pseudomonotone operators, this work presents a more user-friendly method grounded in basic Functional Analysis. VHIs include variational inequalities and hemivariational inequalities as special cases. The book systematically categorizes and names different VHIs, making it easier for readers to understand the specific problems being addressed.

This book offers an introduction to a classical problem in ergodic theory and smooth dynamics, namely, the Kolmogorov–Bernoulli (non)equivalence problem, and presents recent results in this field. Starting with a crash course on ergodic theory, it uses the class of ergodic automorphisms of the two tori as a toy model to explain the main ideas and technicalities arising in the aforementioned problem. The level of generality then increases step by step, extending the results to the class of uniformly hyperbolic diffeomorphisms, and concludes with a survey of more recent results in the area concerning, for example, the class of partially hyperbolic diffeomorphisms. It is hoped that with this type of presentation, nonspecialists and young researchers in dynamical systems may be encouraged to pursue problems in this area.

Inverse limits with set-valued functions are quickly becoming a popular topic of research due to their potential applications in dynamical systems and economics. This brief provides a concise introduction dedicated specifically to such inverse limits. The theory is presented along with detailed examples which form the distinguishing feature of this work. The major differences between the theory of inverse limits with mappings and the theory with set-valued functions are featured prominently in this book in a positive light.

This book offers an introduction to a classical problem in ergodic theory and smooth dynamics, namely, the Kolmogorov–Bernoulli (non)equivalence problem, and presents recent results in this field. Starting with a crash course on ergodic theory, it uses the class of ergodic automorphisms of the two tori as a toy model to explain the main ideas and technicalities arising in the aforementioned problem. The level of generality then increases step by step, extending the results to the class of uniformly hyperbolic diffeomorphisms, and concludes with a survey of more recent results in the area concerning, for example, the class of partially hyperbolic diffeomorphisms. It is hoped that with this type of presentation, nonspecialists and young researchers in dynamical systems may be encouraged to pursue problems in this area.

There are two major changes in the Fourth Edition of Differential Equations and Their Applications. The first concerns the computer programs in this text. In keeping with recent trends in computer science, we have replaced all the APL programs with Pascal and C programs. The Pascal programs appear in the text in place of the APL programs, where they are followed by the Fortran programs, while the C programs appear in Appendix C.