The main purpose of the present volume is to give a survey of some of the most significant achievements obtained by topological methods in nonlin ear analysis during the last three decades. It is intended, at least partly, as a continuation of Topological Nonlinear Analysis: Degree, Singularity and Varia tions, published in 1995. The survey articles presented are concerned with three main streams of research, that is topological degree, singularity theory and variational methods, They reflect the personal taste of the authors, all of them well known and distinguished specialists. A common feature of these articles is to start with a historical introduction and conclude with recent results, giving a dynamic picture of the state of the art on these topics. Let us mention the fact that most of the materials in this book were pre sented by the authors at the "Second Topological Analysis Workshop on Degree, Singularity and Variations: Developments of the Last 25 Years," held in June 1995 at Villa Tuscolana, Frascati, near Rome. Michele Matzeu Alfonso Vignoli Editors Topological Nonlinear Analysis II Degree, Singularity and Variations Classical Solutions for a Perturbed N-Body System Gianfausto Dell 'A ntonio O. Introduction In this review I shall consider the perturbed N-body system, i.e., a system composed of N point bodies of masses ml, ... mN, described in cartesian co ordinates by the system of equations (0.1) where f) V'k, m == - l--' m = 1, 2, 3."

This book presents a new degree theory for maps which commute with a group of symmetries. This degree is no longer a single integer but an element of the group of equivariant homotopy classes of maps between two spheres and depends on the orbit types of the spaces. The authors develop completely the theory and applications of this degree in a self-contained presentation starting with only elementary facts. The first chapter explains the basic tools of representation theory, homotopy theory and differential equations needed in the text. Then the degree is defined and its main abstract properties are derived. The next part is devoted to the study of equivariant homotopy groups of spheres and to the classification of equivariant maps in the case of abelian actions. These groups are explicitely computed and the effects of symmetry breaking, products and composition are thorougly studied. The last part deals with computations of the equivariant index of an isolated orbit and of an isolated loop of stationary points. Here differential equations in a variety of situations are considered: symmetry breaking, forcing, period doubling, twisted orbits, first integrals, gradients etc. Periodic solutions of Hamiltonian systems, in particular spring-pendulum systems, are studied as well as Hopf bifurcation for all these situations.

In view of the eminent importance of spectral theory of linear operators in many fields of mathematics and physics, it is not surprising that various attempts have been made to define and study spectra also for nonlinear operators. This book provides a comprehensive and self-contained treatment of the theory, methods, and applications of nonlinear spectral theory. The first chapter briefly recalls the definition and properties of the spectrum and several subspectra for bounded linear operators. Then some numerical characteristics for nonlinear operators are introduced which are useful for describing those classes of operators for which there exists a spectral theory. Since spectral values are closely related to solvability results for operator equations, various conditions for the local or global invertibility of a nonlinear operator are collected in the third chapter. The following two chapters are concerned with spectra for certain classes of continuous, Lipschitz continuous, or differentiable operators. These spectra, however, simply adapt the corresponding definitions from the linear theory which somehow restricts their applicability. Other spectra which are defined in a completely different way, but seem to have useful applications, are defined and studied in the following four chapters. The remaining three chapters are more application-oriented and deal with nonlinear eigenvalue problems, numerical ranges, and selected applications to nonlinear problems. The only prerequisite for understanding this book is a modest background in functional analysis and operator theory. It is addressed to non-specialists who want to get an idea of the development of spectral theory for nonlinear operators in the last 30 years, as well as a glimpse of the diversity of the directions in which current research is moving.

The main purpose of the present volume is to give a survey of some of the most significant achievements obtained by topological methods in nonlin ear analysis during the last three decades. It is intended, at least partly, as a continuation of Topological Nonlinear Analysis: Degree, Singularity and Varia tions, published in 1995. The survey articles presented are concerned with three main streams of research, that is topological degree, singularity theory and variational methods, They reflect the personal taste of the authors, all of them well known and distinguished specialists. A common feature of these articles is to start with a historical introduction and conclude with recent results, giving a dynamic picture of the state of the art on these topics. Let us mention the fact that most of the materials in this book were pre sented by the authors at the "Second Topological Analysis Workshop on Degree, Singularity and Variations: Developments of the Last 25 Years," held in June 1995 at Villa Tuscolana, Frascati, near Rome. Michele Matzeu Alfonso Vignoli Editors Topological Nonlinear Analysis II Degree, Singularity and Variations Classical Solutions for a Perturbed N-Body System Gianfausto Dell 'A ntonio O. Introduction In this review I shall consider the perturbed N-body system, i.e., a system composed of N point bodies of masses ml, ... mN, described in cartesian co ordinates by the system of equations (0.1) where f) V'k, m == - l--' m = 1, 2, 3."

Topological tools in Nonlinear Analysis had a tremendous develop ment during the last few decades. The three main streams of research in this field, Topological Degree, Singularity Theory and Variational Meth ods, have lately become impetuous rivers of scientific investigation. The process is still going on and the achievements in this area are spectacular. A most promising and rapidly developing field of research is the study of the role that symmetries play in nonlinear problems. Symmetries appear in a quite natural way in many problems in physics and in differential or symplectic geometry, such as closed orbits for autonomous Hamiltonian systems, configurations of symmetric elastic plates under pressure, Hopf Bifurcation, Taylor vortices, convective motions of fluids, oscillations of chemical reactions, etc . . . Some of these problems have been tackled recently by different techniques using equivariant versions of Degree, Singularity and Variations. The main purpose of the present volume is to give a survey of some of the most significant achievements obtained by topological methods in Nonlinear Analysis during the last two-three decades. The survey articles presented here reflect the personal taste and points of view of the authors (all of them well-known and distinguished specialists in their own fields) on the subject matter. A common feature of these papers is that of start ing with an historical introductory background of the different disciplines under consideration and climbing up to the heights of the most recent re sults."