G. Ladas - Böcker

In recent years there has been a resurgence of interest in the study of delay differential equations motivated largely by new applications in physics, biology, ecology, and physiology. The aim of this monograph is to present a reasonably self-contained account of the advances in the oscillation theory of this class of equations. Throughout, the main topics of study are motivated by applications as diverse as the populations of blowflies, logistic equations in ecology, the survival of red blood cells in animals, integro-differential equations, and the motion of the tips of growing plants.The authors begin by reviewing the basic theory of delay differential equations including the fundamental results of existence and uniqueness of solutions and the theory of the Laplace and z-transforms. Consequently, little prior knowledge of the subject is required other than a firm grounding in the main techniques of differential equation theory. As a result this book provides an invaluable reference to the recent work both for mathematicians and for all those whose reseach includes the study of this fascinating class of differential equations.

Extending and generalizing the results of rational equations,Dynamics of Third Order Rational Difference Equations with Open Problems and Conjectures focuses on the boundedness nature of solutions, the global stability of equilibrium points, the periodic character of solutions, and the convergence to periodic solutions, including their periodic trichotomies. The book also provides numerous thought-provoking open problems and conjectures on the boundedness character, global stability, and periodic behavior of solutions of rational difference equations. After introducing several basic definitions and general results, the authors examine 135 special cases of rational difference equations that have only bounded solutions and the equations that have unbounded solutions in some range of their parameters. They then explore the seven known nonlinear periodic trichotomies of third order rational difference equations. The main part of the book presents the known results of each of the 225 special cases of third order rational difference equations. In addition, the appendices supply tables that feature important information on these cases as well as on the boundedness character of all fourth order rational difference equations. A Framework for Future Research The theory and techniques developed in this book to understand the dynamics of rational difference equations will be useful in analyzing the equations in any mathematical model that involves difference equations. Moreover, the stimulating conjectures will promote future investigations in this fascinating, yet surprisingly little known area of research.

The Eighth International Conference on Difference Equations and Applications was held at Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic. This volume comprises refereed papers presented at this conference. These papers cover all important themes, conjectures, and open problems in the fields of discrete dynamical systems and ordinary and partial difference equations, classical and contemporary, theoretical and applied.

This series on the International Conference on Difference Equations and Applications has established a tradition within the mathematical community. It brings together scientists from many different areas of research to highlight current interests, challenges and unsolved problems. This volume comprises selected papers presented at the Fifth International Conference on Difference Equations, held at Temuco, Chile. Experts from around the globe examine many facets of difference equations, including extended hyperbolic difference equations, oscillation criteria, invertability, one- and two-dimensional perturbed maps and much more. It provides a valuable source of reference for graduates and researchers.

This volume comprises selected papers presented at the Sixth International Conference on Difference Equations which was held at Augsburg, Germany. It covers all themes in the fields of discrete dynamical systems and ordinary and partial difference equations, classical and contemporary, theoretical and applied. It provides a useful reference text for graduates and researchers working in this area of mathematics.

This volume presents a systematic study of the global behaviour of solutions of nonlinear scalar difference equations of order greater than one. Of particular interest are aspects such as global asymptotic stability, periodicity, permanence and persistence, and also semicycles of solutions. As well as exposing the reader to the frontiers of the subject, open problems are also formulated. The book has six chapters. Chapter 1 presents an introduction to the subject and deals with preliminaries. Chapter 2 considers global stability results. Chapter 3 is devoted to rational recursive structures. Chapter 4 describes various applications. The topic of Chapter 5 is periodic cycles, and Chapter 6 discusses a number of open problems and conjectures involving interesting types of difference equations. Each chapter in cludes notes and references. The volume concludes with three appendices, a comprehensive bibliography, and name and subject indexes. This text is designed for graduate students and researchers whose work involves difference and differential equations.

This volume is an outcome of the EQUADIFF 87 conference in Greece. It addresses a wide spectrum of topics in the theory and applications of differential equations, ordinary, partial, and functional. The book is intended for mathematics and scientists.

Sharkovsky's Theorem, Li and Yorke's "period three implies chaos" result, and the (3x+1) conjecture are beautiful and deep results that demonstrate the rich periodic character of first-order, nonlinear difference equations. To date, however, we still know surprisingly little about higher-order nonlinear difference equations.During the last ten years, the authors of this book have been fascinated with discovering periodicities in equations of higher order which for certain values of their parameters have one of the following characteristics:1.Every solution of the equation is periodic with the same period.2.Every solution of the equation is eventually periodic with a prescribed period.3.Every solution of the equation converges to a periodic solution with the same period.This monograph presents their findings along with some thought-provoking questions and many open problems and conjectures worthy of investigation. The authors also propose investigation of the global character of solutions of these equations for other values of their parameters and working toward a more complete picture of the global behavior of their solutions.With the results and discussions it presents, Periodicities in Nonlinear Difference Equations places a few more stones in the foundation of the basic theory of nonlinear difference equations. Researchers and graduate students working in difference equations and discrete dynamical systems will find much to intrigue them and inspire further work in this area.

The Eighth International Conference on Difference Equations and Applications was held at Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic. This volume comprises refereed papers presented at this conference. These papers cover all important themes, conjectures, and open problems in the fields of discrete dynamical systems and ordinary and partial difference equations, classical and contemporary, theoretical and applied.

Extending and generalizing the results of rational equations,Dynamics of Third Order Rational Difference Equations with Open Problems and Conjectures focuses on the boundedness nature of solutions, the global stability of equilibrium points, the periodic character of solutions, and the convergence to periodic solutions, including their periodic trichotomies. The book also provides numerous thought-provoking open problems and conjectures on the boundedness character, global stability, and periodic behavior of solutions of rational difference equations. After introducing several basic definitions and general results, the authors examine 135 special cases of rational difference equations that have only bounded solutions and the equations that have unbounded solutions in some range of their parameters. They then explore the seven known nonlinear periodic trichotomies of third order rational difference equations. The main part of the book presents the known results of each of the 225 special cases of third order rational difference equations. In addition, the appendices supply tables that feature important information on these cases as well as on the boundedness character of all fourth order rational difference equations. A Framework for Future Research The theory and techniques developed in this book to understand the dynamics of rational difference equations will be useful in analyzing the equations in any mathematical model that involves difference equations. Moreover, the stimulating conjectures will promote future investigations in this fascinating, yet surprisingly little known area of research.