Ergodic theory is hard to study because it is based on measure theory, which is a technically difficult subject to master for ordinary students, especially for physics majors. Many of the examples are introduced from a different perspective than in other books and theoretical ideas can be gradually absorbed while doing computer experiments. Theoretically less prepared students can appreciate the deep theorems by doing various simulations. The computer experiments are simple but they have close ties with theoretical implications. Even the researchers in the field can benefit by checking their conjectures, which might have been regarded as unrealistic to be programmed easily, against numerical output using some of the ideas in the book. One last remark: The last chapter explains the relation between entropy and data compression, which belongs to information theory and not to ergodic theory. It will help students to gain an understanding of the digital technology that has shaped the modern information society.

The seminal 1970 Moscow thesis of Grigoriy A. Margulis, published for the first time. Entitled "On Some Aspects of the Theory of Anosov Systems," it uses ergodic theoretic techniques to study the distribution of periodic orbits of Anosov flows. The thesis introduces the "Margulis measure" and uses it to obtain a precise asymptotic formula for counting periodic orbits. This has an immediate application to counting closed geodesics on negatively curved manifolds. The thesis also contains asymptotic formulas for the number of lattice points on universal coverings of compact manifolds of negative curvature.

The thesis is complemented by a survey by Richard Sharp, discussing more recent developments in the theory of periodic orbits for hyperbolic flows, including the results obtained in the light of Dolgopyat's breakthroughs on bounding transfer operators and rates of mixing.

Homology is a powerful tool used by mathematicians to study the properties of spaces and maps that are insensitive to small perturbations. This book uses a computer to develop a combinatorial computational approach to the subject. The core of the book deals with homology theory and its computation. Following this is a section containing extensions to further developments in algebraic topology, applications to computational dynamics, and applications to image processing. Included are exercises and software that can be used to compute homology groups and maps. The book will appeal to researchers and graduate students in mathematics, computer science, engineering, and nonlinear dynamics.

The present volume is an introduction to nonlinear waves and soliton theory in the special environment of compact spaces such as closed curves and surfaces and other domain contours.

The first part of the book introduces the mathematical concept required for treating the manifolds considered. An introduction to the theory of motion of curves and surfaces is given. The second and third parts discuss the modeling of various physical solitons on compact systems.

These proceedings are the fifth in the series Traffic and Granular Flow, and we hope they will be as useful a reference as their predecessors. Both the realistic modelling of granular media and traffic flow present important challenges at the borderline between physics and engineering, and enormous progress has been made since 1995, when this series started. Still the research on these topics is thriving, so that this book again contains many new results. Some highlights addressed at this conference were the influence of long range electric and magnetic forces and ambient fluids on granular media, new precise traffic measurements, and experiments on the complex decision making of drivers. No doubt the "hot topics" addressed in granular matter research have diverged from those in traffic since the days when the obvious analogies between traffic jams on highways and dissipative clustering in granular flow intrigued both c- munities alike. However, now just this diversity became a stimulating feature of the conference. Many of us feel that our joint interest in complex systems, where many simple agents, be it vehicles or particles, give rise to surprising and fascin- ing phenomena, is ample justification for bringing these communities together: Traffic and Granular Flow has fostered cooperation and friendship across the scientific disciplines.

This book explains why complex systems research is important in understanding the structure, function and dynamics of complex natural and social phenomena. It illuminates how complex collective behavior emerges from the parts of a system, due to the interaction between the system and its environment. Readers will learn the basic concepts and methods of complex system research. The book is not highly technical mathematically, but teaches and uses the basic mathematical notions of dynamical system theory, making the book useful for students of science majors and graduate courses.

Multibody Mechanics and Visualization is designed to appeal to computer-savvy students who will acquire significant skills in mathematical and physical modelling of mechanical systems in the process of producing attractive computer simulations and animations. The emphasis here is on general skills with all-round applicability rather than the ability to solve "cooked-up problems. The approachable style and clear presentation of this text will help you grasp the essentials of: modeling the kinematics and dynamics of arbitrary multibody mechanisms; formulating a mathematical description of general motions of such mechanisms; implementing the description in a computer-graphics application for the animation/visualization of the movement. Multibody Mechanics and Visualization plays down the prediction of dynamics by formal analysis of differential equations while preparing its students to perform such analyses with greater understanding later. The text relies on the following principles for effective tuition: an inductive approach to learning - discerning general patterns from particular observations; repetition and review of important principles to reinforce your learning through numerous examples; obvious visual guidance that shows you at a glance which information you need for different levels of understanding; computer tools, visual representations and elements of active learning integrated into the text to suit the way you want to learn. Supported in the text in parallel with the theoretical presentation is the simulation and animation application Mambo. In contrast with existing commercially available educational software tools, Mambo requires detailed input from you in order to define the specific geometry of a mechanism as well as the differential equations governing its behavior while allowing you to visualize the results of your efforts. The Mambo toolbox enables you to provide these specifications for mechanisms that would pose insurmountable algebraic challenges to manual calculation. With these tools, you will be able to see the implications of decisions made throughout the modeling process, to check your mathematical analyses, and to enjoy the fruit of your labor Mambo can be freely downloaded from the author's website and runs under any version of MS Windows(r). The toolbox is compatible with the Maple software environment and the Matlab(r) extended symbolic toolbox."

This book covers a new explanation of the origin of Hamiltonian chaos and its quantitative characterization. The author focuses on two main areas: Riemannian formulation of Hamiltonian dynamics, providing an original viewpoint about the relationship between geodesic instability and curvature properties of the mechanical manifolds; and a topological theory of thermodynamic phase transitions, relating topology changes of microscopic configuration space with the generation of singularities of thermodynamic observables. The book contains numerous illustrations throughout and it will interest both mathematicians and physicists.

The notion of a ?xed point plays a crucial role in numerous branches of mat- maticsand its applications. Informationabout the existence of such pointsis often the crucial argument in solving a problem. In particular, topological methods of ?xed point theory have been an increasing focus of interest over the last century. These topological methods of ?xed point theory are divided, roughly speaking, into two types. The ?rst type includes such as the Banach Contraction Principle where the assumptions on the space can be very mild but a small change of the map can remove the ?xed point. The second type, on the other hand, such as the Brouwer and Lefschetz Fixed Point Theorems, give the existence of a ?xed point not only for a given map but also for any its deformations. This book is an exposition of a part of the topological ?xed and periodic point theory, of this second type, based on the notions of Lefschetz and Nielsen numbers. Since both notions are homotopyinvariants, the deformationis used as an essential method, and the assertions of theorems typically state the existence of ?xed or periodic points for every map of the whole homotopy class, we refer to them as homotopy methods of the topological ?xed and periodic point theory.

This book is devoted to applications of complex nonlinear dynamic phenomena to real systems and device applications. In recent decades there has been significant progress in the theory of nonlinear phenomena, but there are comparatively few devices that actually take this rich behavior into account. The text applies and exploits this knowledge to propose devices which operate more efficiently and cheaply, while affording the promise of much better performance.

This work systematically investigates a large number of oscillatory network configurations that are able to describe many real systems such as electric power grids, lasers or even the heart muscle, to name but a few. The book is conceived as an introduction to the field for graduate students in physics and applied mathematics as well as being a compendium for researchers from any field of application interested in quantitative models.

This book attempts to give a presentation of the advance of our knowledge of phase portraits of quadratic systems, paying special attention to the historical development of the subject. This the only book that organizes the portraits into classes, using the notions of finite and infinite multiplicity and finite and infinite index. Classifications of phase portraits for various classes are given using the well-known methods of phase plane analysis.

The main purpose of the book is to acquaint mathematicians, physicists and engineers with classical mechanics as a whole, in both its traditional and its contemporary aspects. As such, it describes the fundamental principles, problems, and methods of classical mechanics, with the emphasis firmly laid on the working apparatus, rather than the physical foundations or applications. Chapters cover the n-body problem, symmetry groups of mechanical systems and the corresponding conservation laws, the problem of the integrability of the equations of motion, the theory of oscillations and perturbation theory.

Besides turbulence there is hardly any other scientific topic which has been considered as a prominent scientific challenge for such a long time. The special interest in turbulence is not only based on it being a difficult scientific problem but also on its meaning in the technical world and our daily life. This carefully edited book comprises recent basic research as well as research related to the applications of turbulence. Therefore, both leading engineers and physicists working in the field of turbulence were invited to the iTi Conference on Turbulence held in Bad Zwischenahn, Gemany 25th - 28th of September 2005. Discussed topics include, for example, scaling laws and intermittency, thermal convection, boundary layers at large Reynolds numbers, isotropic turbulence, stochastic processes, passive and active scalars, coherent structures, numerical simulations, and related subjects.

Complexity science has been a source of new insight in physical and social systems and has demonstrated that unpredictability and surprise are fundamental aspects of the world around us. This book is the outcome of a discussion meeting of leading scholars and critical thinkers with expertise in complex systems sciences and leaders from a variety of organizations, sponsored by the Prigogine Center at The University of Texas at Austin and the Plexus Institute, to explore strategies for understanding uncertainty and surprise. Besides contributions to the conference, it includes a key digest by the editors as well as a commentary by the late nobel laureate Ilya Prigogine, "Surprises in half of a century." The book is intended for researchers and scientists in complexity science, as well as for a broad interdisciplinary audience of both practitioners and scholars. It will well serve those interested in the research issues and in the application of complexity science to physical and social systems.

This upper-level undergraduate and beginning graduate textbook primarily covers the theory and application of Newtonian and Lagrangian, but also of Hamiltonian mechanics. In addition, included are elements of continuum mechanics and the accompanying classical field theory, wherein four-vector notation is introduced without explicit reference to special relativity. The author's writing style attempts to ease students through the primary and secondary results, thus building a solid foundation for understanding applications. Numerous examples illustrate the material and often present alternative approaches to the final results.

This book presents a coherent framework for understanding the dynamics of piecewise-smooth and hybrid systems. An informal introduction expounds the ubiquity of such models via numerous. The results are presented in an informal style, and illustrated with many examples. The book is aimed at a wide audience of applied mathematicians, engineers and scientists at the beginning postgraduate level. Almost no mathematical background is assumed other than basic calculus and algebra.

Stochastic Differential Equations have become increasingly important in modelling complex systems in physics, chemistry, biology, climatology and other fields. This book examines and provides systems for practitioners to use, and provides a number of case studies to show how they can work in practice.

Thank heavens for Jens Wittenburg, of the University of Karlsruhe in Germany. Anyone who 's been laboring for years over equation after equation will want to give him a great big hug. It is common practice to develop equations for each system separately and to consider the labor necessary for deriving all of these as inevitable. Not so, says the author. Here, he takes it upon himself to describe in detail a formalism which substantially simplifies these tasks.

Besides turbulence, there is hardly any other scientific topic which has been considered a prominent scientific challenge for such a long time. The special interest in turbulence is not only based on it being a difficult scientific problem but also on its meaning in the technical world and our daily life. This carefully edited book comprises recent basic research as well as research related to the applications of turbulence. Therefore, both leading engineers and physicists working in the field of turbulence were invited to the iTi Conference on Turbulence held in Bad Zwischenahn, Gemany 21st - 24th of September 2003. Topics discussed include, for example, scaling laws and intermittency, thermal convection, boundary layers at large Reynolds numbers, isotropic turbulence, stochastic processes, passive and active scalars, coherent structures, numerical simulations, and related subjects.

In this book, several world experts present (one part of) the mathematical heritage of Kolmogorov. Each chapter treats one of his research themes or a subject invented as a consequence of his discoveries. The authors present his contributions, his methods, the perspectives he opened to us, and the way in which this research has evolved up to now. Coverage also includes examples of recent applications and a presentation of the modern prospects.

This text is well-designed with respect to the exposition from the preliminary to the more advanced and the applications interwoven throughout. It provides the essential foundations for the theory as well as the basic facts relating to almost periodicity. In six structured and self-contained chapters, the author unifies the treatment of various classes of almost periodic functions, while uniquely addressing oscillations and waves in the almost periodic case.

This is the first text to present the latest results in almost periodic oscillations and waves. The presentation level and inclusion of several clearly presented proofs make this work ideal for graduate students in engineering and science. The concept of almost periodicity is widely applicable to continuuum mechanics, electromagnetic theory, plasma physics, dynamical systems, and astronomy, which makes the book a useful tool for mathematicians and physicists.

Nonautonomous dynamical systems provide a mathematical framework for temporally changing phenomena, where the law of evolution varies in time due to seasonal, modulation, controlling or even random effects. Our goal is to provide an approach to the corresponding geometric theory of nonautonomous discrete dynamical systems in infinite-dimensional spaces by virtue of 2-parameter semigroups (processes). These dynamical systems are generated by implicit difference equations, which explicitly depend on time. Compactness and dissipativity conditions are provided for such problems in order to have attractors using the natural concept of pullback convergence. Concerning a necessary linear theory, our hyperbolicity concept is based on exponential dichotomies and splittings. This concept is in turn used to construct nonautonomous invariant manifolds, so-called fiber bundles, and deduce linearization theorems. The results are illustrated using temporal and full discretizations of evolutionary differential equations.

This book provides an introduction to discrete dynamical systems - a framework of analysis that is commonly used in the ?elds of biology, demography, ecology, economics, engineering, ?nance, and physics. The book characterizes the fundamental factors that govern the quantitative and qualitative trajectories of a variety of deterministic, discrete dynamical systems, providing solution methods for systems that can be solved analytically and methods of qualitative analysis for those systems that do not permit or necessitate an explicit solution. The analysis focuses initially on the characterization of the factors that govern the evolution of state variables in the elementary context of one-dimensional, ?rst-order, linear, autonomous systems. The f- damental insights about the forces that a?ect the evolution of these - ementary systems are subsequently generalized, and the determinants of the trajectories of multi-dimensional, nonlinear, higher-order, non- 1 autonomous dynamical systems are established. Chapter 1 focuses on the analysis of the evolution of state variables in one-dimensional, ?rst-order, autonomous systems. It introduces a method of solution for these systems, and it characterizes the traj- tory of a state variable, in relation to a steady-state equilibrium of the system, examining the local and global (asymptotic) stability of this steady-state equilibrium. The ?rst part of the chapter characterizes the factors that determine the existence, uniqueness and stability of a steady-state equilibrium in the elementary context of one-dimensional, ?rst-order, linear autonomous systems.

Lectures: J. Chazarain, A. Piriou: Probl mes mixtes hyperboliques: Premi re partie: Les probl mes mixtes hyperboliques v rifiant 1a condition de Lopatinski uniforme; Deuxi me partie: Propagation et r flexion des singularit s.- L. G rding: Introduction to hyperbolicity.- T. Kato: Linear and quasi-linear equations of evolution of hyperbolic type.- K.W. Morton: Numerical methods for non-linear hyperbolic equations of mathematical physics.- Seminars: H. Brezis: First-order quasilinear equation on a torus.