Within our knowledge, the series of the International Conference on Cognitive Neurodynamics (ICCN) is the only conference series dedicating to cognitive neurodynamics. This volume is the proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Cognitive Neurodynamics held in 2009, which reviews the progress in this field since the 1st ICCN -2007. The topics include: Neural coding and realistic neural network dynamics, Neural population dynamics, Firing Oscillations and Patterns in Neuronal Networks, Brain imaging, EEG, MEG, Sensory and Motor Dynamics, Global cognitive function, Multi-scalar Neurodynamics - from Physiology to Systems Theory, Neural computing, Emerging Technologies for Brain Computer Interfaces, Neural dynamics of brain disorders.

Nonlinear differential or difference equations are encountered not only in mathematics, but also in many areas of physics (evolution equations, propagation of a signal in an optical fiber), chemistry (reaction-diffusion systems), and biology (competition of species). This book introduces the reader to methods allowing one to build explicit solutions to these equations. A prerequisite task is to investigate whether the chances of success are high or low, and this can be achieved without any a priori knowledge of the solutions, with a powerful algorithm presented in detail called the Painleve test. If the equation under study passes the Painleve test, the equation is presumed integrable. If on the contrary the test fails, the system is nonintegrable or even chaotic, but it may still be possible to find solutions. The examples chosen to illustrate these methods are mostly taken from physics. These include on the integrable side the nonlinear Schroedinger equation (continuous and discrete), the Korteweg-de Vries equation, the Henon-Heiles Hamiltonians, on the nonintegrable side the complex Ginzburg-Landau equation (encountered in optical fibers, turbulence, etc), the Kuramoto-Sivashinsky equation (phase turbulence), the Kolmogorov-Petrovski-Piskunov equation (KPP, a reaction-diffusion model), the Lorenz model of atmospheric circulation and the Bianchi IX cosmological model. Written at a graduate level, the book contains tutorial text as well as detailed examples and the state of the art on some current research.

This volume comprises the communications presented at the ETC 11, the EUROMECH European Turbulence conference held in 2007 in Porto.

The scientific committee has chosen the contributions out of the following topics: Acoustics of turbulent flows; Atmospheric turbulence; Control of turbulent flows; Geophysical and astrophysical turbulence; Instability and transition; Intermittency and scaling; Large eddy simulation and related techniques; MHD turbulence; Reacting and compressible turbulence; Transport and mixing; Turbulence in multiphase and non-Newtonian flows; Vortex dynamics and structure formation; Wall bounded flows.

The guiding light of this monograph is a question easy to understand but difficult to answer: {What is the shape of the universe? In other words, how do we measure the shortest distance between two points of the physical space? Should we follow a straight line, as on a flat table, fly along a circle, as between Paris and New York, or take some other path, and if so, what would that path look like? If you accept that the model proposed here, which assumes a gravitational law extended to a universe of constant curvature, is a good approximation of the physical reality (and I will later outline a few arguments in this direction), then we can answer the above question for distances comparable to those of our solar system. More precisely, this monograph provides a mathematical proof that, for distances of the order of 10 AU, space is Euclidean. This result is, of course, not surprising for such small cosmic scales. Physicists take the flatness of space for granted in regions of that size. But it is good to finally have a mathematical confirmation in this sense. Our main goals, however, are mathematical. We will shed some light on the dynamics of N point masses that move in spaces of non-zero constant curvature according to an attraction law that naturally extends classical Newtonian gravitation beyond the flat (Euclidean) space. This extension is given by the cotangent potential, proposed by the German mathematician Ernest Schering in 1870. He was the first to obtain this analytic expression of a law suggested decades earlier for a 2-body problem in hyperbolic space by Janos Bolyai and, independently, by Nikolai Lobachevsky. As Newton's idea of gravitation was to introduce a force inversely proportional to the area of a sphere the same radius as the Euclidean distance between the bodies, Bolyai and Lobachevsky thought of a similar definition using the hyperbolic distance in hyperbolic space. The recent generalization we gave to the cotangent potential to any number N of bodies, led to the discovery of some interesting properties. This new research reveals certain connections among at least five branches of mathematics: classical dynamics, non-Euclidean geometry, geometric topology, Lie groups, and the theory of polytopes.

These lecture notes provide a fresh approach to investigating singularly perturbed systems using asymptotic and geometrical techniques. It gives many examples and step-by-step techniques, which will help beginners move to a more advanced level. Singularly perturbed systems appear naturally in the modelling of many processes that are characterized by slow and fast motions simultaneously, for example, in fluid dynamics and nonlinear mechanics. This book's approach consists in separating out the slow motions of the system under investigation. The result is a reduced differential system of lesser order. However, it inherits the essential elements of the qualitative behaviour of the original system. Singular Perturbations differs from other literature on the subject due to its methods and wide range of applications. It is a valuable reference for specialists in the areas of applied mathematics, engineering, physics, biology, as well as advanced undergraduates for the earlier parts of the book, and graduate students for the later chapters.

Chaos and nonlinear dynamics initially developed as a new emergent field with its foundation in physics and applied mathematics. The highly generic, interdisciplinary quality of the insights gained in the last few decades has spawned myriad applications in almost all branches of science and technology-and even well beyond. Wherever the quantitative modeling and analysis of complex, nonlinear phenomena are required, chaos theory and its methods can play a key role. This second volume concentrates on reviewing further relevant, contemporary applications of chaotic nonlinear systems as they apply to the various cutting-edge branches of engineering. This encompasses, but is not limited to, topics such as the spread of epidemics; electronic circuits; chaos control in mechanical devices; secure communication; and digital watermarking. Featuring contributions from active and leading research groups, this collection is ideal both as a reference work and as a 'recipe book' full of tried and tested, successful engineering applications.

This book presents recent developments and results found by participants of the Third International Conference on the Dynamics of Information Systems, which took place at the University of Florida, Gainesville FL, USA on February 16-18, 2011. The purpose of this conference was to bring together scientists and engineers from industry, government, and universities to exchange knowledge and results in a broad range of topics relevant to the theory and practice of the dynamics of information systems. Dynamics of Information plays an increasingly critical role in our society. The influence of information on social, biological, genetic, and military systems must be better understood to achieve large advances in the capability and understanding of these systems. Applications are widespread and include: research in evolutionary theory, optimization of information workflow, military applications, climate networks, collision work, and much more. Dynamics of Information plays an increasingly critical role in our society. The influence of information on social, biological, genetic, and military systems must be better understood to achieve large advances in the capability and understanding of these systems. Applications are widespread and include: research in evolutionary theory, optimization of information workflow, military applications, climate networks, collision work, and much more.

This book contains a collection of recent advanced contributions in the field of nonlinear dynamics and synchronization, including selected applications in the area of theoretical electrical engineering. The present book is divided into twenty-one chapters grouped in five parts. The first part focuses on theoretical issues related to chaos and synchronization and their potential applications in mechanics, transportation, communication and security. The second part handles dynamic systems modelling and simulation with special applications to real physical systems and phenomena. The third part discusses some fundamentals of electromagnetics (EM) and addresses the modelling and simulation in some real physical electromagnetic scenarios. The fourth part mainly addresses stability concerns. Finally, the last part assembles some sample applications in the area of optimization, data mining, pattern recognition and image processing.

The theory of nonlinear oscillations and stability of motion is a fundamental part of the study of numerous real world phenomena. These phenomena, particularly auto-oscillations of the first and second kind, capture, para metric, subharmonic and ultraharmonic resonance, asymptotic behavior and orbits' stability, constitute the core of problems treated in "Nonlinear Mechanics", and their study is connected with the names of H. Poincare, A. M. Lyapunov, N. M. Krylov and N. N. Bogolyubov. Professor Demetrios Magiros, a widely known scientist in the theories of oscillations and nonlinear differential equations, has devoted his numerous works to this significant part of modern physical science. His scientific results can be classified in the following way: I) creation of methods of analysis of subharmonic resonances under the nonlinear effect, 2) determination and analysis of the main modes of nonlinear oscillations on the basis of infinite determinants, 3) analysis of problems of celestial mechanics, 4) classification of stability of solutions of dynamic systems concepts, 5) mathematical analogs of physical and social systems. He has developed new methods and solutions for a great number of difficult problems of nonlinear mechanics making a significant contri bution to the theory and applications of the field. Urgency, depth of perception of the considered phenomena, and practi cal directness are characteristics of his work.

What makes the 21st century different from the 20th century? This century is the century of extremes -- political, economic, social, and global black-swan events happening with increasing frequency and severity. Book of Extremes is a tour of the current reality as seen through the lens of complexity theory the only theory capable of explaining why the Arab Spring happened and why it will happen again; why social networks in the virtual world behave like flashmobs in the physical world; why financial bubbles blow up in our faces and will grow and burst again; why the rich get richer and will continue to get richer regardless of governmental policies; why the future of economic wealth and national power lies in comparative advantage and global trade; why natural disasters will continue to get bigger and happen more frequently; and why the Internet invented by the US -- is headed for a global monopoly controlled by a non-US corporation. It is also about the extreme innovations and heroic innovators yet to be discovered and recognized over the next 100 years.Complexity theory combines the predictable with the unpredictable. It assumes a nonlinear world of long-tailed distributions instead of the classical linear world of normal distributions. In the complex 21st century, almost nothing is linear or normal. Instead, the world is highly connected, conditional, nonlinear, fractal, and punctuated. Life in the 21st century is a long-tailed random walk Levy walks -- through extreme events of unprecedented impact. It is an exciting time to be alive.
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This fourth issue on "progress in turbulence" is based on the fourth ITI conference (ITI interdisciplinary turbulence initiative), which took place in Bertinoro, North Italy. Leading researchers from the engineering and physical sciences presented latest results in turbulence research. Basic as well as applied research is driven by the rather notorious difficult and essentially unsolved problem of turbulence. In this collection of contributions clear progress can be seen in different aspects, ranging from new quality of numerical simulations to new concepts of experimental investigations and new theoretical developments. The importance of turbulence is shown for a wide range of applications including: combustion, energy, flow control, urban flows, are few examples found in this volume. A motivation was to bring fundamentals of turbulence in connection with renewable energy. This lead us to add a special topic relevant to the impact of turbulence on the wind energy conversion. The structure of the present book is as such that contributions have been bundled according to covering topics i.e. I Basic Turbulence Aspects, II Particle Laden Flows, III Modeling and Simulations, IV, Experimental Methods, V Special Flows, VI Atmospheric Boundary Layer, VII Boundary Layer, VIII Wind Energy and IX Convection. This book is dedicated to the memory of Prof. Tim Nickels. Shortly after giving an invited lecture at the 4th ITI conference, the turbulence community lost a world-class scientist, a friend and devoted family man.

"Topics in Nonlinear Dynamics, Volume 3, Proceedings of the 30th IMAC, A Conference and Exposition on Structural Dynamics, 2012, "the third volume of six from the Conference, brings together 26 contributions to this important area of research and engineering. The collection presents early findings and case studies on fundamental and applied aspects of Structural Dynamics, including papers on:
Application of Nonlinearities: Aerospace Structures
Nonlinear Dynamics Effects Under Shock Loading
Application of Nonlinearities: Vibration Reduction
Nonlinear Dynamics: Testing
Nonlinear Dynamics: Simulation
Nonlinear Dynamics: Identification
Nonlinear Dynamics: Localization"

This thesis describes the first demonstration of a cooperative optical non-linearity based on Rydberg excitation. Whereas in conventional non-linear optics the non-linearity arises directly from the interaction between light and matter, in a cooperative process it is mediated by dipole-dipole interactions between light-induced excitations. For excitation to high Rydberg states where the electron is only weakly bound, the dipole-dipole interactions are extremely large and long range, enabling an enormous enhancement of the non-linear effect. Consequently, cooperative non-linear optics using Rydberg excitations opens a new era for quantum optics enabling large single photon non-linearity to be accessible in free space for the first time. The thesis describes the theoretical underpinnings of the non- linear effect, the pioneering experimental results and implications for experiments in the single photon regime.

The aim of this work is to bridge the gap between the well-known Newtonian mechanics and the studies on chaos, ordinarily reserved to experts. Several topics are treated: Lagrangian, Hamiltonian and Jacobi formalisms, studies of integrable and quasi-integrable systems. The chapter devoted to chaos also enables a simple presentation of the KAM theorem. All the important notions are recalled in summaries of the lectures. They are illustrated by many original problems, stemming from real-life situations, the solutions of which are worked out in great detail for the benefit of the reader. This book will be of interest to undergraduate students as well as others whose work involves mechanics, physics and engineering in general.

Topics in Nonlinear Dynamics, Volume 1: Proceedings of the 31st IMAC, A Conference and Exposition on Structural Dynamics, 2013, the first volume of seven from the Conference, brings together contributions to this important area of research and engineering. The collection presents early findings and case studies on fundamental and applied aspects of Structural Dynamics, including papers on: Nonlinear Oscillations Nonlinearities ... In Practice Nonlinear System Identification: Methods Nonlinear System Identification: Friction & Contact Nonlinear Modal Analysis Nonlinear Modeling & Simulation Nonlinear Vibration Absorbers Constructive Utilization of Nonlinearity

The papers in this volume present an overview of the general aspects and practical applications of dynamic inverse methods, through the interaction of several topics, ranging from classical and advanced inverse problems in vibration, isospectral systems, dynamic methods for structural identification, active vibration control and damage detection, imaging shear stiffness in biological tissues, wave propagation, to computational and experimental aspects relevant for engineering problems.

Dynamical system theory has developed rapidly over the past fifty years. It is a subject upon which the theory of limit cycles has a significant impact for both theoretical advances and practical solutions to problems. Hopf bifurcation from a center or a focus is integral to the theory of bifurcation of limit cycles, for which normal form theory is a central tool. Although Hopf bifurcation has been studied for more than half a century, and normal form theory for over 100 years, efficient computation in this area is still a challenge with implications for Hilbert's 16th problem.

This book introduces the most recent developments in this field and provides major advances in fundamental theory of limit cycles. Split into two parts, the first focuses on the study of limit cycles bifurcating from Hopf singularity using normal form theory with later application to Hilbert's 16th problem, while the second considers near Hamiltonian systems using Melnikov function as the main mathematical tool.

Classic topics with new results are presented in a clear and concise manner and are accompanied by the liberal use of illustrations throughout. Containing a wealth of examples and structured algorithms that are treated in detail, a good balance between theoretical and applied topics is demonstrated. By including complete Maple programs within the text, this book also enables the reader to reconstruct the majority of formulas provided, facilitating the use of concrete models for study.

Through the adoption of an elementary and practical approach, this book will be of use to graduate mathematics students wishing to study the theory of limit cycles as well as scientists, across a number of disciplines, with an interest in the applications of periodic behavior."

This volume is an introduction to nonlinear waves and soliton theory in the special environment of compact spaces such a closed curves and surfaces and other domain contours. It assumes familiarity with basic soliton theory and nonlinear dynamical systems. The first part of the book introduces the mathematical concept required for treating the manifolds considered, providing relevant notions from topology and differential geometry. An introduction to the theory of motion of curves and surfaces - as part of the emerging field of contour dynamics - is given. The second and third parts discuss the modeling of various physical solitons on compact systems, such as filaments, loops and drops made of almost incompressible materials thereby intersecting with a large number of physical disciplines from hydrodynamics to compact object astrophysics. This book is intended for graduate students and researchers in mathematics, physics and engineering. This new edition has been thoroughly revised, expanded and updated.

This book presents and extend different known methods to solve different types of strong nonlinearities encountered by engineering systems. A better knowledge of the classical methods presented in the first part lead to a better choice of the so-called base functions . These are absolutely necessary to obtain the auxiliary functions involved in the optimal approaches which are presented in the second part.
Every chapter introduces a distinct approximate method applicable to nonlinear dynamical systems. Each approximate analytical approach is accompanied by representative examples related to nonlinear dynamical systems from to various fields of engineering."

This book is an introduction to nonlinear programming. It deals with the theoretical foundations and solution methods, beginning with the classical procedures and reaching up to "modern" methods like trust region methods or procedures for nonlinear and global optimization. A comprehensive bibliography including diverse web sites with information about nonlinear programming, in particular software, is presented. Without sacrificing the necessary mathematical rigor, excessive formalisms are avoided. Several examples, exercises with detailed solutions, and applications are provided, making the text adequate for individual studies. The book is written for students from the fields of applied mathematics, engineering, economy, and computation.

The idea of modeling the behaviour of phenomena at multiple scales has become a useful tool in both pure and applied mathematics. Fractal-based techniques lie at the heart of this area, as fractals are inherently multiscale objects; they very often describe nonlinear phenomena better than traditional mathematical models. In many cases they have been used for solving inverse problems arising in models described by systems of differential equations and dynamical systems. "Fractal-Based Methods in Analysis" draws together, for the first time in book form, methods and results from almost twenty years of research in this topic, including new viewpoints and results in many of the chapters. For each topic the theoretical framework is carefully explained using examples and applications. The second chapter on basic iterated function systems theory is designed to be used as the basis for a course and includes many exercises. This chapter, along with the three background appendices on topological and metric spaces, measure theory, and basic results from set-valued analysis, make the book suitable for self-study or as a source book for a graduate course. The other chapters illustrate many extensions and applications of fractal-based methods to different areas. This book is intended for graduate students and researchers in applied mathematics, engineering and social sciences. Herb Kunze is a professor of mathematics at the University of Guelph in Ontario. Davide La Torre is an associate professor of mathematics in the Department of Economics, Management and Quantitative Methods of the University of Milan. Franklin Mendivil is a professor of mathematics at Acadia University in Nova Scotia. Edward Vrscay is a professor in the department of Applied Mathematics at the University of Waterloo in Ontario. The major focus of their research is on fractals and the applications of fractals.

At?rstsight,thisbookisaboutfacerecognitioninthebrain.Itsmorelasting value, however,lies in the paradigmatic way in which this particular problem is treated. From the basic ideas that are worked out here in concrete detail, it is a naturaland simple next step to at leastimagine, if not realizein model form, much more generalstructures and processes,thus helping to bridge the still tremendous chasm between mind and brain. It is the purpose of this foreword to point out these generic traits. For centuries, thinking about the brain has been dominated by the most complexmechanisticdevicesofthetime,clockwork,communicatinghydraulic tubesor,today,thecomputer.Thecomputer,takenasincarnationoftheU- versal Turing Machine, can implement any conceivable process, so that also a functional brain can surely be simulated on it, an idea that, beginning in the ?fties of the last century, has been seducing scientists to create "art- cial intelligence" in the computer. As a result we now have an information technology that displays many functional capabilities formerly regarded as the exclusive domain of the mind. As fascinating as this is, doting on "int- ligent machines" is systematically diverting our attention awayfrom the true problems of understanding the working of the brain.

This book provides a comprehensive introduction to the theory of ordinary differential equations with a focus on mechanics and dynamical systems as important applications of the theory. The text is written to be used in the traditional way or in a more applied way. In addition to its use in a traditional one or two semester graduate course in mathematics, the book is organized to be used for interdisciplinary courses in applied mathematics, physics, and engineering.

This book reports on important nonlinear aspects or deterministic chaos issues in the systems of multi-phase reactors. The reactors treated in the book include gas-liquid bubble columns, gas-liquid-solid fluidized beds and gas-liquid-solid magnetized fluidized beds. The authors take pressure fluctuations in the bubble columnsas time series for nonlinear analysis, modeling and forecasting. They present qualitative and quantitative non-linear analysis tools which include attractor phase plane plot, correlation dimension, Kolmogorov entropy and largest Lyapunov exponent calculations and local non-linear short-term prediction."

With many areas of science reaching across their boundaries and becoming more and more interdisciplinary, students and researchers in these fields are confronted with techniques and tools not covered by their particular education. Especially in the life- and neurosciences quantitative models based on nonlinear dynamics and complex systems are becoming as frequently implemented as traditional statistical analysis. Unfamiliarity with the terminology and rigorous mathematics may discourage many scientists to adopt these methods for their own work, even though such reluctance in most cases is not justified. This book bridges this gap by introducing the procedures and methods used for analyzing nonlinear dynamical systems. In Part I, the concepts of fixed points, phase space, stability and transitions, among others, are discussed in great detail and implemented on the basis of example elementary systems. Part II is devoted to specific, non-trivial applications: coordination of human limb movement (Haken-Kelso-Bunz model), self-organization and pattern formation in complex systems (Synergetics), and models of dynamical properties of neurons (Hodgkin-Huxley, Fitzhugh-Nagumo and Hindmarsh-Rose). Part III may serve as a refresher and companion of some mathematical basics that have been forgotten or were not covered in basic math courses. Finally, the appendix contains an explicit derivation and basic numerical methods together with some programming examples as well as solutions to the exercises provided at the end of certain chapters. Throughout this book all derivations are as detailed and explicit as possible, and everybody with some knowledge of calculus should be able to extract meaningful guidance follow and apply the methods of nonlinear dynamics to their own work. "This book is a masterful treatment, one might even say a gift, to the interdisciplinary scientist of the future." "With the authoritative voice of a genuine practitioner, Fuchs is a master teacher of how to handle complex dynamical systems." "What I find beautiful in this book is its clarity, the clear definition of terms, every step explained simply and systematically." (J.A.Scott Kelso, excerpts from the foreword)