Following the work of Yorke and Li in 1975, the theory of discrete dynamical systems and difference equations developed rapidly. The applications of difference equations also grew rapidly, especially with the introduction of graphical-interface software that can plot trajectories, calculate Lyapunov exponents, plot bifurcation diagrams, and find ba

​This book comprises selected papers of the 26th International Conference on Difference Equations and Applications, ICDEA 2021, held virtually at the University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, in July 2021. The book includes the latest and significant research and achievements in difference equations, discrete dynamical systems, and their applications in various scientific disciplines. The book is interesting for Ph.D. students and researchers who want to keep up to date with the latest research, developments, and achievements in difference equations, discrete dynamical systems, and their applications, the real-world problems.

These proceedings of the 20th International Conference on Difference Equations and Applications cover the areas of difference equations, discrete dynamical systems, fractal geometry, difference equations and biomedical models, and discrete models in the natural sciences, social sciences and engineering. The conference was held at the Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (Hubei, China), under the auspices of the International Society of Difference Equations (ISDE) in July 2014. Its purpose was to bring together renowned researchers working actively in the respective fields, to discuss the latest developments, and to promote international cooperation on the theory and applications of difference equations. This book will appeal to researchers and scientists working in the fields of difference equations, discrete dynamical systems and their applications.

This volume holds a collection of articles based on the talks presented at ICDEA 2007 in Lisbon, Portugal. The volume encompasses current topics on stability and bifurcation, chaos, mathematical biology, iteration theory, nonautonomous systems, and stochastic dynamical systems.

Modeling and Applied Mathematics Modeling the behavior of real physical systems by suitable evolution equa tions is a relevant, maybe the fundamental, aspect of the interactions be tween mathematics and applied sciences. Modeling is, however, only the first step toward the mathematical description and simulation of systems belonging to real world. Indeed, once the evolution equation is proposed, one has to deal with mathematical problems and develop suitable simula tions to provide the description of the real system according to the model. Within this framework, one has an evolution equation and the re lated mathematical problems obtained by adding all necessary conditions for their solution. Then, a qualitative analysis should be developed: this means proof of existence of solutions and analysis of their qualitative be havior. Asymptotic analysis may include a detailed description of stability properties. Quantitative analysis, based upon the application ofsuitable methods and algorithms for the solution of problems, ends up with the simulation that is the representation of the dependent variable versus the independent one. The information obtained by the model has to be compared with those deriving from the experimental observation of the real system. This comparison may finally lead to the validation of the model followed by its application and, maybe, further generalization.

This book provides an introduction to the theory of dynamical systems with the aid of the Mathematica® computer algebra package. The book has a very hands-on approach and takes the reader from basic theory to recently published research material. Emphasized throughout are numerous applications to biology, chemical kinetics, economics, electronics, epidemiology, nonlinear optics, mechanics, population dynamics, and neural networks. Theorems and proofs are kept to a minimum. The first section deals with continuous systems using ordinary differential equations, while the second part is devoted to the study of discrete dynamical systems.

This book provides a self-contained introduction to ordinary differential equations and dynamical systems suitable for beginning graduate students. The first part begins with some simple examples of explicitly solvable equations and a first glance at qualitative methods. Then the fundamental results concerning the initial value problem are proved: existence, uniqueness, extensibility, dependence on initial conditions. Furthermore, linear equations are considered, including the Floquet theorem, and some perturbation results. As somewhat independent topics, the Frobenius method for linear equations in the complex domain is established and Sturm–Liouville boundary value problems, including oscillation theory, are investigated. The second part introduces the concept of a dynamical system. The Poincaré–Bendixson theorem is proved, and several examples of planar systems from classical mechanics, ecology, and electrical engineering are investigated. Moreover, attractors, Hamiltonian systems, the KAM theorem, and periodic solutions are discussed. Finally, stability is studied, including the stable manifold and the Hartman–Grobman theorem for both continuous and discrete systems. The third part introduces chaos, beginning with the basics for iterated interval maps and ending with the Smale–Birkhoff theorem and the Melnikov method for homoclinic orbits. The text contains almost three hundred exercises. Additionally, the use of mathematical software systems is incorporated throughout, showing how they can help in the study of differential equations.

This book grew out of lecture notes I used in a course on difference equations that I taught at Trinity University for the past five years. The classes were largely pop ulated by juniors and seniors majoring in Mathematics, Engineering, Chemistry, Computer Science, and Physics. This book is intended to be used as a textbook for a course on difference equations at the level of both advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate. It may also be used as a supplement for engineering courses on discrete systems and control theory. The main prerequisites for most of the material in this book are calculus and linear algebra. However, some topics in later chapters may require some rudiments of advanced calculus. Since many of the chapters in the book are independent, the instructor has great flexibility in choosing topics for the first one-semester course. A diagram showing the interdependence of the chapters in the book appears following the preface. This book presents the current state of affairs in many areas such as stability, Z-transform, asymptoticity, oscillations and control theory. However, this book is by no means encyclopedic and does not contain many important topics, such as Numerical Analysis, Combinatorics, Special functions and orthogonal polyno mials, boundary value problems, partial difference equations, chaos theory, and fractals. The nonselection of these topics is dictated not only by the limitations imposed by the elementary nature of this book, but also by the research interest (or lack thereof) of the author.

Given the ease with which computers can do iteration it is now possible for almost anyone to generate beautiful images whose roots lie in discrete dynamical systems. Images of Mandelbrot and Julia sets abound in publications both mathematical and not. The mathematics behind the pictures are beautiful in their own right and are the subject of this text. Mathematica programs that illustrate the dynamics are included in an appendix.