A unified and coherent treatment of analytical, computational and experimental techniques of nonlinear dynamics with numerous illustrative applications. Features a discourse on geometric concepts such as Poincaré maps. Discusses chaos, stability and bifurcation analysis for systems of differential and algebraic equations. Includes scores of examples to facilitate understanding.

Bifurcation and Chaos has dominated research in nonlinear dynamics for over two decades and numerous introductory and advanced books have been published on this subject. There remains, however, a dire need for a textbook which provides a pedagogically appealing yet rigorous mathematical bridge between these two disparate levels of exposition. This book is written to serve the above unfulfilled need. Following the footsteps of Poincare, and the renowned Andronov school of nonlinear oscillations, this book focuses on the qualitative study of high-dimensional nonlinear dynamical systems. Many of the qualitative methods and tools presented in this book were developed only recently and have not yet appeared in a textbook form. In keeping with the self-contained nature of this book, all topics are developed with an introductory background and complete mathematical rigor. Generously illustrated and written with a high level of exposition, this book will appeal to both beginners and advanced studentsof nonlinear dynamics interested in learning a rigorous mathematical foundation of this fascinating subject.

The present volume on Methods and Applications of Nonlinear Dynamics arose mainly from lectures given at the First International Course on Nonlinear Dynamics, which took place in Medellin, Colombia, on 1-5 September 1986. The aims of the Course were to discuss some of the fundamental theoretical ideas of modem nonlinear dynamics and their application to selected areas of physics, and also to help the participants to bridge the gap between textbook presentations and the contemporary research literature. The lectures were intended for and delivered to a PhD-level audience composed of physicists and mathematicians. They were not primarily intended for experts, but rather for scientists interested in performing experimental or theoretical research on nonlinear dynamical phenomena occurring in real physical systems.

The ?eld of applied nonlinear dynamics has attracted scientists and engineers across many different disciplines to develop innovative ideas and methods to study c- plex behavior exhibited by relatively simple systems. Examples include: population dynamics, ?uidization processes, applied optics, stochastic resonance, ?ocking and ?ightformations,lasers,andmechanicalandelectricaloscillators. Acommontheme among these and many other examples is the underlying universal laws of nonl- ear science that govern the behavior, in space and time, of a given system. These laws are universal in the sense that they transcend the model-speci?c features of a system and so they can be readily applied to explain and predict the behavior of a wide ranging phenomena, natural and arti?cial ones. Thus the emphasis in the past decades has been in explaining nonlinear phenomena with signi?cantly less att- tion paid to exploiting the rich behavior of nonlinear systems to design and fabricate new devices that can operate more ef?ciently. Recently, there has been a series of meetings on topics such as Experimental Chaos, Neural Coding, and Stochastic Resonance, which have brought together many researchers in the ?eld of nonlinear dynamics to discuss, mainly, theoretical ideas that may have the potential for further implementation. In contrast, the goal of the 2007 ICAND (International Conference on Applied Nonlinear Dynamics) was focused more sharply on the implementation of theoretical ideas into actual - vices and systems.

This textbook is aimed at newcomers to nonlinear dynamics and chaos, especially students taking a first course in the subject. The presentation stresses analytical methods, concrete examples, and geometric intuition. The theory is developed systematically, starting with first-order differential equations and their bifurcations, followed by phase plane analysis, limit cycles and their bifurcations, and culminating with the Lorenz equations, chaos, iterated maps, period doubling, renormalization, fractals, and strange attractors.

This book describes the state of the art in nonlinear dynamical reconstruction theory. The chapters are based upon a workshop held at the Isaac Newton Institute, Cambridge University, UK, in late 1998. The book's chapters present theory and methods topics by leading researchers in applied and theoretical nonlinear dynamics, statistics, probability, and systems theory. Features and topics: * disentangling uncertainty and error: the predictability of nonlinear systems * achieving good nonlinear models * delay reconstructions: dynamics vs. statistics * introduction to Monte Carlo Methods for Bayesian Data Analysis * latest results in extracting dynamical behavior via Markov Models * data compression, dynamics and stationarity Professionals, researchers, and advanced graduates in nonlinear dynamics, probability, optimization, and systems theory will find the book a useful resource and guide to current developments in the subject.

This book is devoted to new methods of control for complex dynamical systems and deals with nonlinear control systems having several degrees of freedom, subjected to unknown disturbances, and containing uncertain parameters. Various constraints are imposed on control inputs and state variables or their combinations. The book contains an introduction to the theory of optimal control and the theory of stability of motion, and also a description of some known methods based on these theories. Major attention is given to new methods of control developed by the authors over the last 15 years. Mechanical and electromechanical systems described by nonlinear Lagrange’s equations are considered. General methods are proposed for an effective construction of the required control, often in an explicit form. The book contains various techniques including the decomposition of nonlinear control systems with many degrees of freedom, piecewise linear feedback control based on Lyapunov’s functions, methods which elaborate and extend the approaches of the conventional control theory, optimal control, differential games, and the theory of stability. The distinctive feature of the methods developed in the book is that the c- trols obtained satisfy the imposed constraints and steer the dynamical system to a prescribed terminal state in ?nite time. Explicit upper estimates for the time of the process are given. In all cases, the control algorithms and the estimates obtained are strictly proven.

Linear, Time-varying Approximations to Nonlinear Dynamical Systems introduces a new technique for analysing and controlling nonlinear systems. This method is general and requires only very mild conditions on the system nonlinearities, setting it apart from other techniques such as those – well-known – based on differential geometry. The authors cover many aspects of nonlinear systems including stability theory, control design and extensions to distributed parameter systems. Many of the classical and modern control design methods which can be applied to linear, time-varying systems can be extended to nonlinear systems by this technique. The implementation of the control is therefore simple and can be done with well-established classical methods. Many aspects of nonlinear systems, such as spectral theory which is important for the generalisation of frequency domain methods, can be approached by this method.

In this book we have developed the asymptotic analysis of nonlinear dynamical systems. We have collected a large number of results, scattered throughout the literature and presented them in a way to illustrate both the underlying common theme, as well as the diversity of problems and solutions. While most of the results are known in the literature, we added new material which we hope will also be of interest to the specialists in this field. The basic theory is discussed in chapters two and three. Improved results are obtained in chapter four in the case of stable limit sets. In chapter five we treat averaging over several angles; here the theory is less standardized, and even in our simplified approach we encounter many open problems. Chapter six deals with the definition of normal form. After making the somewhat philosophical point as to what the right definition should look like, we derive the second order normal form in the Hamiltonian case, using the classical method of generating functions. In chapter seven we treat Hamiltonian systems. The resonances in two degrees of freedom are almost completely analyzed, while we give a survey of results obtained for three degrees of freedom systems. The appendices contain a mix of elementary results, expansions on the theory and research problems.

Although its roots can be traced to the 19th century, progress in the study of nonlinear dynamical systems has taken off in the last 30 years. While pertinent source material exists, it is strewn about the literature in mathematics, physics, biology, economics, and psychology at varying levels of accessibility. A compendium research methods reflect