V.I. Arnol'd - Böcker

In this text, the author constructs the mathematical apparatus of classical mechanics from the beginning, examining all the basic problems in dynamics, including the theory of oscillations, the theory of rigid body motion, and the Hamiltonian formalism.

Since the first edition of this book, geometrical methods in the theory of ordinary differential equations have become very popular and some progress has been made partly with the help of computers. Much of this progress is represented in this revised, expanded edition, including such topics as the Feigenbaum universality of period doubling, the Zoladec solution, the Iljashenko proof, the Ecalle and Voronin theory, the Varchenko and Hovanski theorems, and the Neistadt theory. In the selection of material for this book, the author explains basic ideas and methods applicable to the study of differential equations. Special efforts were made to keep the basic ideas free from excessive technicalities. Thus the most fundamental questions are considered in great detail, while of the more special and difficult parts of the theory have the character of a survey. Consequently, the reader needs only a general mathematical knowledge to easily follow this text. It is directed to mathematicians, aswell as all users of the theory of differential equations.

?Singularity theory is a far-reaching extension of maxima and minima investigations of differentiable functions, with implications for many different areas of mathematics, engineering (catastrophe theory and the theory of bifurcations), and science.

In this text, the author constructs the mathematical apparatus of classical mechanics from the beginning, examining all the basic problems in dynamics, including the theory of oscillations, the theory of rigid body motion, and the Hamiltonian formalism. This modern approch, based on the theory of the geometry of manifolds, distinguishes iteself from the traditional approach of standard textbooks. Geometrical considerations are emphasized throughout and include phase spaces and flows, vector fields, and Lie groups. The work includes a detailed discussion of qualitative methods of the theory of dynamical systems and of asymptotic methods like perturbation techniques, averaging, and adiabatic invariance.

Since the first edition of this book, geometrical methods in the theory of ordinary differential equations have become very popular and some progress has been made partly with the help of computers. Much of this progress is represented in this revised, expanded edition, including such topics as the Feigenbaum universality of period doubling, the Zoladec solution, the Iljashenko proof, the Ecalle and Voronin theory, the Varchenko and Hovanski theorems, and the Neistadt theory. In the selection of material for this book, the author explains basic ideas and methods applicable to the study of differential equations. Special efforts were made to keep the basic ideas free from excessive technicalities. Thus the most fundamental questions are considered in great detail, while of the more special and difficult parts of the theory have the character of a survey. Consequently, the reader needs only a general mathematical knowledge to easily follow this text. It is directed to mathematicians, aswell as all users of the theory of differential equations.

The present. volume is the second volume of the book "Singularities of Differentiable Maps" by V.1. Arnold, A. N. Varchenko and S. M. Gusein-Zade. The first volume, subtitled "Classification of critical points, caustics and wave fronts", was published by Moscow, "Nauka", in 1982. It will be referred to in this text simply as "Volume 1". Whilst the first volume contained the zoology of differentiable maps, that is it was devoted to a description of what, where and how singularities could be encountered, this volume contains the elements of the anatomy and physiology of singularities of differentiable functions. This means that the questions considered in it are about the structure of singularities and how they function. Another distinctive feature of the present volume is that we take a hard look at questions for which it is important to work in the complex domain, where the first volume was devoted to themes for which, on the whole, it was not important which field (real or complex) we were considering. Such topics as, for example, decomposition of singularities, the connection between singularities and Lie algebras and the asymptotic behaviour of different integrals depending on parameters become clearer in the complex domain. The book consists of three parts. In the first part we consider the topological structure of isolated critical points of holomorphic functions. We describe the fundamental topological characteristics of such critical points: vanishing cycles, distinguished bases, intersection matrices, monodromy groups, the variation operator and their interconnections and method of calculation.

... there is nothing so enthralling, so grandiose, nothing that stuns or captivates the human soul quite so much as a first course in a science. After the first five or six lectures one already holds the brightest hopes, already sees oneself as a seeker after truth. I too have wholeheartedly pursued science passionately, as one would a beloved woman. I was a slave, and sought no other sun in my life. Day and night I crammed myself, bending my back, ruining myself over my books; I wept when I beheld others exploiting science fot personal gain. But I was not long enthralled. The truth is every science has a beginning, but never an end - they go on for ever like periodic fractions. Zoology, for example, has discovered thirty-five thousand forms of life ... A. P. Chekhov. "On the road" In this book a start is made to the "zoology" of the singularities of differentiable maps. This theory is a young branch of analysis which currently occupies a central place in mathematics; it is the crossroads of paths leading from very abstract corners of mathematics (such as algebraic and differential geometry and topology, Lie groups and algebras, complex manifolds, commutative algebra and the like) to the most applied areas (such as differential equations and dynamical systems, optimal control, the theory of bifurcations and catastrophes, short-wave and saddle-point asymptotics and geometrical and wave optics).

From the reviews: "The reading is very easy and pleasant for the non-mathematician, which is really noteworthy. The two chapters enunciate the basic principles of the field, ... indicate connections with other fields of mathematics and sketch the motivation behind the various concepts which are introduced.... What is particularly pleasant is the fact that the authors are quite successful in giving to the reader the feeling behind the demonstrations which are sketched. Another point to notice is the existence of an annotated extended bibliography and a very complete index. This really enhances the value of this book and puts it at the level of a particularly interesting reference tool. I thus strongly recommend to buy this very interesting and stimulating book." Journal de Physique

Bifurcation theory and catastrophe theory are two of the best known areas within the field of dynamical systems. Both are studies of smooth systems, focusing on properties that seem to be manifestly non-smooth. Bifurcation theory is concerned with the sudden changes that occur in a system when one or more parameters are varied. Examples of such are familiar to students of differential equations, from phase portraits. Moreover, understanding the bifurcations of the differential equations that describe real physical systems provides important information about the behavior of the systems. Catastrophe theory became quite famous during the 1970's, mostly because of the sensation caused by the usually less than rigorous applications of its principal ideas to "hot topics", such as the characterization of personalities and the difference between a "genius" and a "maniac". Catastrophe theory is accurately described as singularity theory and its (genuine) applications. The authors have given a masterly exposition of these two theories, with penetrating insight.

A collection of five surveys on dynamical systems, indispensable for graduate students and researchers in mathematics and theoretical physics. Written in the modern language of differential geometry, the book covers all the new differential geometric and Lie-algebraic methods currently used in the theory of integrable systems.

This volume of the EMS is devoted to applications ofsingularity theory in mathematics and physics. The authorsArnol'd, Vasil'ev, Goryunov and Lyashkostudy bifurcationsets arising in various contexts such as the stability ofsingular points of dynamical systems, boundaries of thedomains of ellipticity and hyperbolicity of partialdifferentail equations, boundaries of spaces of oscillatinglinear equations with variable coefficients and boundariesof fundamental systems of solutions.The book also treats applications of the following topics:functions on manifolds with boundary, projections ofcomplete intersections, caustics, wave fronts, evolvents,maximum functions, shock waves, Petrovskij lacunas andgeneralizations of Newton's topological proof that Abelianintegralsare transcendental.The book contains descriptions of numberous very recentresearch results that have not yet appeared in monographform. There are also sections listing open problems,conjectures and directions offuture research. It will be ofgreat interest for mathematicians and physicists, who usesingularity theory as a reference and research aid.

From the reviews: "The reading is very easy and pleasant for the non-mathematician, which is really noteworthy. The two chapters enunciate the basic principles of the field, ...indicate connections with other fields of mathematics and sketch the motivation behind the various concepts which are introduced...What is particularly pleasant is the fact that the authors are quite successful in giving to the reader the feeling behind the demonstrations which are sketched. Another point to notice is the existence of an annotated extended bibliography and a very complete index. This really enhances the value of this book and puts it at the level of a particularly interesting reference tool. I thus strongly recommend to buy this very interesting and stimulating book. " Journal de Physique

From the reviews of the first edition:"...In general the articles ...are well written in a style that enables one to grasp the ideas. The actual style is a readable mix of the important results, outlines of proofs and complete proofs when it does not take too long together with readable explanations of what is going on. Also very useful are the large lists of references which are important not only for their mathematical content but also because the references given also contain articles in the Soviet literature which may not be familiar or possibly accessible to readers."New Zealand Math. Soc. Newsletter 1991"...Here ...a wealth of material is displayed for us, too much to even indicate in a review...Your reviewer was very impressed by the contents of both volumes (EMS 2 and 4), recommending them without any restriction. As far as he could judge, most presentations seem fairly complete..."Mededelingen van het Wiskundig genootshap 1992

From the reviews: "...My general impression is of a particularly nice book, with a well-balanced bibliography, recommended!"Mededelingen van Het Wiskundig Genootschap, 1995"...The authors offer here an up to date guide to the topic and its main applications, including a number of new results. It is very convenient for the reader, a carefully prepared and extensive bibliography ...makes it easy to find the necessary details when needed. The books (EMS 6 and EMS 39) describe a lot of interesting topics...Both volumes are a very valuable addition to the library of any mathematician or physicist interested in modern mathematical analysis."European Mathematical Society Newsletter, 1994

Bifurcation theory and catastrophe theory are two well-known areas within the field of dynamical systems. Both are studies of smooth systems, focusing on properties that seem to be manifestly non-smooth. Bifurcation theory is concerned with the sudden changes that occur in a system when one or more parameters are varied. Examples of such are familiar to students of differential equations, from phase portraits. Understanding the bifurcations of the differential equations that describe real physical systems provides important information about the behavior of the systems. Catastrophe theory became quite famous during the 1970's, mostly because of the sensation caused by the usually less than rigorous applications of its principal ideas to "hot topics", such as the characterization of personalities and the difference between a "genius" and a "maniac". Catastrophe theory is accurately described as singularity theory and its (genuine) applications. The authors of this book, previously published as Volume 5 of the Encyclopaedia, have given a masterly exposition of these two theories, with penetrating insight.

A collection of five surveys on dynamical systems, indispensable for graduate students and researchers in mathematics and theoretical physics. Written in the modern language of differential geometry, the book covers all the new differential geometric and Lie-algebraic methods currently used in the theory of integrable systems.

In the first volume of this survey (Arnol'd et al. (1988), hereafter cited as "EMS 6") we acquainted the reader with the basic concepts and methods of the theory of singularities of smooth mappings and functions. This theory has numerous applications in mathematics and physics; here we begin describing these applica­ tions. Nevertheless the present volume is essentially independent of the first one: all of the concepts of singularity theory that we use are introduced in the course of the presentation, and references to EMS 6 are confined to the citation of technical results. Although our main goal is the presentation of analready formulated theory, the readerwill also come upon some comparatively recent results, apparently unknown even to specialists. We pointout some of these results. 2 3 In the consideration of mappings from C into C in§ 3. 6 of Chapter 1, we define the bifurcation diagram of such a mapping, formulate a K(n, 1)-theorem for the complements to the bifurcation diagrams of simple singularities, give the definition of the Mond invariant N in the spirit of "hunting for invariants", and we draw the reader's attention to a method of constructing the image of a mapping from the corresponding function on a manifold with boundary. In§ 4. 6 of the same chapter we introduce the concept of a versal deformation of a function with a nonisolated singularity in the dass of functions whose critical sets are arbitrary complete intersections of fixed dimension.