Texts in Applied Mathematics – serie

The main theme is the integration of the theory of linear PDE and the theory of finite difference and finite element methods. For each type of PDE, elliptic, parabolic, and hyperbolic, the text contains one chapter on the mathematical theory of the differential equation, followed by one chapter on finite difference methods and one on finite element methods. The chapters on elliptic equations are preceded by a chapter on the two-point boundary value problem for ordinary differential equations. Similarly, the chapters on time-dependent problems are preceded by a chapter on the initial-value problem for ordinary differential equations. There is also one chapter on the elliptic eigenvalue problem and eigenfunction expansion. The presentation does not presume a deep knowledge of mathematical and functional analysis. The required background on linear functional analysis and Sobolev spaces is reviewed in an appendix. The book is suitable for advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students of applied mathematics and engineering.

The main theme is the integration of the theory of linear PDE and the theory of finite difference and finite element methods. For each type of PDE, elliptic, parabolic, and hyperbolic, the text contains one chapter on the mathematical theory of the differential equation, followed by one chapter on finite difference methods and one on finite element methods. The chapters on elliptic equations are preceded by a chapter on the two-point boundary value problem for ordinary differential equations. Similarly, the chapters on time-dependent problems are preceded by a chapter on the initial-value problem for ordinary differential equations. There is also one chapter on the elliptic eigenvalue problem and eigenfunction expansion. The presentation does not presume a deep knowledge of mathematical and functional analysis. The required background on linear functional analysis and Sobolev spaces is reviewed in an appendix. The book is suitable for advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students of applied mathematics and engineering.

Mathematics is playing an ever more important role in the physical and biological sciences, provoking a blurring of boundaries between scientific disciplines and a resurgence of interest in the modern as well as the classical techniques of applied mathematics. This renewal of interest, both in - search and teaching, has led to the establishment of the series Texts in Applied Mathematics (TAM). The development of new courses is a natural consequence of a high level of excitement on the research frontier as newer techniques, such as nume- cal and symbolic computer systems, dynamical systems, and chaos, mix with and reinforce the traditional methods of applied mathematics. Thus, the purpose of this textbook series is to meet the current and future needs of these advances and to encourage the teaching of new courses. TAM will publish textbooks suitable for use in advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate courses, and will complement the Applied Mat- matical Sciences (AMS) series, whichwill focus on advanced textbooks and research-level monographs. Pasadena, California J.E. Marsden Providence, Rhode Island L. Sirovich College Park, Maryland S.S. Antman Preface to the Second Edition This edition contains a signi?cant amount of new material. The main r- son for this is that the subject of applied dynamical systems theory has seen explosive growth and expansion throughout the 1990s. Consequently, a student needs a much larger toolbox today in order to begin research on signi?cant problems.

Partial differential equations are fundamental to the modeling of natural phenomena, arising in every field of science. Consequently, the desire to understand the solutions of these equations has always had a prominent place in the efforts of mathematicians; it has inspired such diverse fields as complex function theory, functional analysis and algebraic topology. Like algebra, topology, and rational mechanics, partial differential equations are a core area of mathematics. This book aims to provide the background necessary to initiate work on a Ph.D. thesis in PDEs for beginning graduate students. Prerequisites include a truly advanced calculus course and basic complex variables. Lebesgue integration is needed only in Chapter 10, and the necessary tools from functional analysis are developed within the course. The book can be used to teach a variety of different courses. This new edition features new problems throughout and the problems have been rearranged in each section from simplest to most difficult. New examples have also been added. The material on Sobolev spaces has been rearranged and expanded. A new section on nonlinear variational problems with "Young-measure" solutions appears. The reference section has also been expanded.

The primary emphasis of this book is the modeling, analysis, and control of mechanical systems. The methods and results presented can be applied to a large class of mechanical control systems, including applications in robotics, autonomous vehicle control, and multi-body systems. The book is unique in that it presents a unified, rather than an inclusive, treatment of control theory for mechanical systems. A distinctive feature of the presentation is its reliance on techniques from differential and Riemannian geometry.The book contains extensive examples and exercises, and will be suitable for a growing number of courses in this area. It begins with the detailed mathematical background, proceeding through innovative approaches to physical modeling, analysis, and design techniques. Numerous examples illustrate the proposed methods and results, while the many exercises test basic knowledge and introduce topics not covered in the main body of the text.The audience of this book consists of two groups. The first group is comprised of graduate students in engineering or mathematical sciences who wish to learn the basics of geometric mechanics, nonlinear control theory, and control theory for mechanical systems. Readers will be able to immediately begin exploring the research literature on these subjects. The second group consists of researchers in mechanics and control theory. Nonlinear control theoreticians will find explicit links between concepts in geometric mechanics and nonlinear control theory. Researchers in mechanics will find an overview of topics in control theory that have relevance to mechanics.

Perturbation theory, one of the most intriguing and essential topics in mathematics, and its applications to the natural and engineering sciences is the main focus of this workbook. In a systematic introductory manner, this unique book deliniates boundary layer theory for ordinary and partial differential equations, multi-timescale phenomena for nonlinear oscillations, diffusion and nonlinear wave equations. The book provides analysis of simple examples in the context of the general theory, as well as a final discussion of the more advanced problems. Precise estimates and excursions into the theoretical background makes this workbook valuable to both the applied sciences and mathematics fields. As a bonus in its last chapter the book includes a collection of rare and useful pieces of literature, such as the summary of the Perturbation theory of Matrices.Detailed illustrations, stimulating examples and exercises as well as a clear explanation of the underlying theory makes this workbook ideal for senior undergraduate and beginning graduate students in applied mathematics as well as science and engineering fields.

The title gives a reasonable ?rst-order approximation to what this book is about. To explain why, let’s start with the expression “di?erential equations.” These are essential in science and engineering, because the laws of nature t- ically result in equations relating spatial and temporal changes in one or more variables.Todevelopanunderstandingofwhatisinvolvedin?ndingsolutions, the book begins with problems involving derivatives for only one independent variable, and these give rise to ordinary di?erential equations. Speci?cally, the ?rst chapter considers initial value problems (time derivatives), and the second concentrates on boundary value problems (space derivatives). In the succeeding four chapters problems involving both time and space derivatives, partial di?erential equations, are investigated. This brings us to the next expression in the title: “numerical methods.” This is a book about how to transform differential equations into problems that can be solved using a computer.The fact is that computers are only able to solve discrete problems and generally do this using ?nite-precision arithmetic. What this means is that in deriving and then using a numerical algorithmthecorrectnessofthediscreteapproximationmustbeconsidered,as must the consequences of round-o? error in using ?oating-point arithmetic to calculatetheanswer.Oneoftheinterestingaspectsofthesubjectisthatwhat appears to be an obviously correct numerical method can result in complete failure. Consequently, although the book concentrates on the derivation and use of numerical methods, the theoretical underpinnings are also presented andusedinthedevelopment.

Unlike the many other textbooks on the topic of linear algebra, this book stands out from the crowd by including mathematical and computational chapters along with examples and exercises with Matlab. In recent years, the use of computers in many areas of engineering and science has made it essential for students to get training in numerical methods and computer programming. Here, the authors use both Matlab and SciLab software as well as covering core standard material. The book is a combination and update of two earlier French books by the authors. One of the key features here is the worked-out examples and exercises at the end of each chapter. The reader is asked to do some numerical experiments in Matlab and then to prove the results theoretically. This excellent work is intended for libraries; scientists and researchers; pharmaceutical industry.

This undergraduate textbook aims to introduce students of science and engineering to the fascinating field of optimization. It brings together mathematical programming, variational problems, and optimal control, thus giving students an overall view of the subject. Applied mathematicians, physicists, engineers, and scientists will all find this introduction to optimization useful.

Mathematicsisplayinganevermoreimportantroleinthephysicalandbiol- ical sciences, provoking a blurring of boundaries between scienti?c disciplines and a resurgence of interest in the modern as well as the classical techniques of applied mathematics. This renewal of interest, both in research and tea- ing, has led to the establishment of the series Texts in Applied Mathematics (TAM). The development of new courses is a natural consequence of a high level of excitement on the research frontier as newer techniques, such as numerical and symbolic computer systems, dynamical systems, and chaos, mix with and reinforce the traditional methods of applied mathematics. Thus, the purpose ofthistextbookseriesistomeetthecurrentandfutureneedsoftheseadvances and to encourage the teaching of new courses. TAM will publish textbooks suitable for use in advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate courses, and will complement the Applied Mat- matical Sciences (AMS) series, which will focus on advanced textbooks and research-level monographs. Pasadena, California J.E. Marsden Providence, Rhode Island L. Sirovich College Park, Maryland S.S. Antman Preface The algorithms, methods, and Matlab implementations described in this text have been developed during almost a decade of collaboration. During this time we have worked to simplify the basic methods and make the ideas more accessible to a broad audience. Many people, both students and colleagues, have helped during the development of this project and we are grateful for all their suggestions and input.

Mathematics is playing an ever more important role in the physical and biological sciences, provoking a blurring of boundaries between scienti?c disciplines and a resurgence of interest in the modern as well as the classical techniques of applied mathematics. This renewal of interest, both in research and teaching, has led to the establishment of the series Texts in Applied Mathematics (TAM). The development of new courses is a natural consequence of a high level of excitement on the research frontier as newer techniques, such as numerical and s- bolic computer systems, dynamical systems, and chaos, mix with and reinforce the traditional methods of applied mathematics. Thus, the purpose of this textbook - ries is to meet the current and future needs of these advances and to encourage the teaching of new couses. TAM will publish textbooks suitable for use in advanced undergraduate and - ginning graduate courses, and will complement the Applied Mathematical Sciences (AMS) series, which will focus on advanced textbooks and research-level mo- graphs. Pasadena, California J.E. Marsden New York, New York L. Sirovich College Park, Maryland S.S. Antman To my parentsA????? and?o?????? and to my brother?????o. Carry Home.????o???. For my children Natalie, Sebastian, and Isobel.

Mathematics is playing an ever more important role in the physical and biological sciences, provoking a blurring of boundaries between scienti?c disciplines and a resurgence of interest in the modern as well as the cl- sical techniques of applied mathematics. This renewal of interest, both in research and teaching, has led to the establishment of the series Texts in Applied Mathematics (TAM). The development of new courses is a natural consequence of a high level of excitement on the research frontier as newer techniques, such as numerical and symbolic computer systems, dynamical systems, and chaos, mix with and reinforce the traditional methods of applied mathematics. Thus, the purpose of this textbook series is to meet the current and future needs of these advances and to encourage the teaching of new courses. TAMwillpublishtextbookssuitableforuseinadvancedundergraduate and beginning graduate courses, and will complement the Applied Mat- matical Sciences (AMS) series, which will focus on advanced textbooks and research-level monographs. Pasadena, California J.E. Marsden Providence, Rhode Island L. Sirovich College Park, Maryland S.S. Antman Preface to the Third Edition This edition contains four new sections on the following topics: the BDDC domain decomposition preconditioner (Section 7.8), a convergent ad- tive algorithm (Section 9.5), interior penalty methods (Section 10.5) and 1 Poincar´ e-Friedrichs inequalities for piecewise W functions (Section 10.6).

FOAM. This acronym has been used for over ?fty years at Rensselaer to designate an upper-division course entitled, Foundations of Applied Ma- ematics. This course was started by George Handelman in 1956, when he came to Rensselaer from the Carnegie Institute of Technology. His objective was to closely integrate mathematical and physical reasoning, and in the p- cess enable students to obtain a qualitative understanding of the world we live in. FOAM was soon taken over by a young faculty member, Lee Segel. About this time a similar course, Introduction to Applied Mathematics, was introduced by Chia-Ch’iao Lin at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Together Lin and Segel, with help from Handelman, produced one of the landmark textbooks in applied mathematics, Mathematics Applied to - terministic Problems in the Natural Sciences. This was originally published in 1974, and republished in 1988 by the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, in their Classics Series. This textbook comes from the author teaching FOAM over the last few years. In this sense, it is an updated version of the Lin and Segel textbook.

Mathematics is playing an ever more important role in the physical and biological sciences, provoking a blurring of boundaries between scientific dis­ ciplines and a resurgence of interest in the modern as well as the classical techniques of applied mathematics. This renewal of interest, both in research and teaching, has led to the establishment of the series: Texts in Applied Mathe­ matics (TAM). The development of new courses is a natural consequence of a high level of excitement on the research frontier as newer techniques, such as numerical and symbolic computer systems, dynamical systems, and chaos, mix with and reinforce the traditional methods of applied mathematics. Thus, the purpose of this textbook series is to meet the current and future needs of these advances and encourage the teaching of new courses. TAM will publish textbooks suitable for use in advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate courses, and will complement the Applied Mathematical Sciences (AMS) series, which will focus on advanced textbooks and research level monographs. Preface A successful concurrent numerical simulation requires physics and math­ ematics to develop and analyze the model, numerical analysis to develop solution methods, and computer science to develop a concurrent implemen­ tation. No single course can or should cover all these disciplines. Instead, this course on concurrent scientific computing focuses on a topic that is not covered or is insufficiently covered by other disciplines: the algorith­ mic structure of numerical methods.

There are two major changes in the Fourth Edition of Differential Equations and Their Applications. The first concerns the computer programs in this text. In keeping with recent trends in computer science, we have replaced all the APL programs with Pascal and C programs. The Pascal programs appear in the text in place of the APL programs, where they are followed by the Fortran programs, while the C programs appear in Appendix C.Mathematics is playing an ever more important role in the physical and biological sciences, provoking a blurring of boundaries between scientific disciplines and a resurgence of interest in the modern as well as the classical techniques of applied mathematics. This renewal of interest, both in research and teaching, has led to the establishment of the series: Texts in Applied Mathematics (TAM). The development of new courses is a natural consequence of a high Ievel of excitement on the research frontieras newer techniques, such as numerical and symbolic computer systems, dynamical systems, and chaos, mix with and reinforce the traditional methods of applied mathematics. Thus, the purpose of this textbook series is to meet the current and future needs of these advances and encourage the teaching of new courses. TAM will publish textbooks suitable for use in advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate courses, and will complement the Applied Mathematical Sciences (AMS) series, which will focus on advanced textbooks and research Ievel monographs.

Mathematics is playing an ever more important role in the physical and biological sciences, provoking a blurring of boundaries between scientific disciplines and a resurgence of interest in the modern as well as the clas­ sical techniques of applied mathematics. This renewal of interest, both in research and teaching, had led to the establishment of the series: Texts in Applied Mathematics (TAM). The development of new courses is a natural consequence of a high level of excitement on the research frontier as newer techniques, such as numerical and symbolic computer systems, dynamical systems, and chaos, mix with and reinforce the traditional methods of applied mathematics. Thus, the purpose of this textbook series is to meet the current and future needs of these advances and encourage the teaching of new courses. TAM will publish textbooks suitable for use in advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate courses, and will complement the Applied Math­ ematical Sciences (AMS) series, which will focus on advanced textbooks and research level monographs. Preface As in Part I, this book concentrates on understanding the behavior of dif­ ferential equations, rather than on solving the equations. Part I focused on differential equations in one dimension; this volume attempts to understand differential equations in n dimensions. The existence and uniqueness theory carries over with almost no changes.

Mathematics is playing an ever more important role in the physical and biological sciences, provoking a blurring of boundaries between scientific disciplines and a resurgence of interest in the modern as well as the classical techniques of applied mathematics. This renewal of interest, both in research and teaching, has led to the establishment of the series: Texts in Applied Mathematics ( TAM). The development of new courses is a natural consequence of a high level of excitement on the research frontier as newer techniques, such as numerical and symbolic computer systems, dynamical systems, and chaos, mix with and reinforce the traditional methods of applied mathematics. Thus, the purpose of this textbook series is to meet the current and future needs of these advances and encourage the teaching of new courses. TAM will publish textbooks suitable for use in advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate courses, and will complement the Applied Mathematical Sciences (AMS) series, which will focus on advanced textbooks and research level monographs. About the Authors Daniel Kaplan specializes in the analysis of data using techniques motivated by nonlinear dynamics. His primary interest is in the interpretation of irregular physiological rhythms, but the methods he has developed have been used in geo­ physics, economics, marine ecology, and other fields. He joined McGill in 1991, after receiving his Ph.D from Harvard University and working at MIT. His un­ dergraduate studies were completed at Swarthmore College. He has worked with several instrumentation companies to develop novel types of medical monitors.

Infinite dimensional systems is now an established area of research. Given the recent trend in systems theory and in applications towards a synthesis of time- and frequency-domain methods, there is a need for an introductory text which treats both state-space and frequency-domain aspects in an integrated fashion. The authors' primary aim is to write an introductory textbook for a course on infinite dimensional linear systems. An important consideration by the authors is that their book should be accessible to graduate engineers and mathematicians with a minimal background in functional analysis. Consequently, all the mathematical background is summarized in an extensive appendix. For the majority of students, this would be their only acquaintance with infinite dimensional systems.

Mathematics is playing an ever more important role in the physical and biological sciences, provoking a blurring of boundaries between scientific disciplines and a resurgence of interest in the modem as weIl as the classical techniques of applied mathematics. This renewal of interest, both in research and teaching, has led to the establishment of the series: Texts in Applied Mathematics (TAM). The development of new courses is a natural consequence of a high level of excitement on the research frontier as newer techniques, such as numerical and symbolic computer systems, dynamical systems, and chaos, mix with and reinforce the traditional methods of applied mathematics. Thus, the purpose of this textbook series is to meet the current and future needs of these advances and encourage the teaching of new courses. TAM will publish textbooks suitable for use in advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate courses, and will complement the Applied Mathematical Sci­ ences (AMS) series, which will focus on advanced textbooks and research level monographs.

Many books on stability theory of motion have been published in various lan­ guages, including English. Most of these are comprehensive monographs, with each one devoted to a separate complicated issue of the theory. Generally, the examples included in such books are very interesting from the point of view of mathematics, without necessarily having much practical value. Usually, they are written using complicated mathematical language, so that except in rare cases, their content becomes incomprehensible to engineers, researchers, students, and sometimes even to professors at technical universities. The present book deals only with those issues of stability of motion that most often are encountered in the solution of scientific and technical problems. This allows the author to explain the theory in a simple but rigorous manner without going into minute details that would be of interest only to specialists. Also, using appropriate examples, he demonstrates the process of investigating the stability of motion from the formulation of a problem and obtaining the differential equations of perturbed motion to complete analysis and recommendations. About one fourth of the examples are from various areas of science and technology. Moreover, some of the examples and the problems have an independent value in that they could be applicable to the design of various mechanisms and devices. The present translation is based on the third Russian edition of 1987.

Mathematics in Medicine and the Life Sciences grew from lectures given by the authors at New York University, the University of Utah, and Michigan State University. The material is written for students who have had but one term of calculus, but it contains material that can be used in modeling courses in applied mathematics at all levels through early graduate courses. Numerous exercises are given as well, and solutions to selected exercises are included. Numerous illustrations depict physiological processes, population biology phenomena, models of them, and the results of computer simulations.Mathematical models and methods are becoming increasingly important in medicine and the life sciences. This book provides an introduction to a wide diversity of problems ranging from population phenomena to demographics, genetics, epidemics and dispersal; in physiological processes, including the circulation, gas exchange in the lungs, control of cell volume, the renal counter-current multiplier mechanism, and muscle mechanics; to mechanisms of neural control. Each chapter is graded in difficulty, so a reading of the first parts of each provides an elementary introduction to the processes and their models. Materials that deal with the same topics but in greater depth are included later. Finally, exercises and some solutions are given to test the reader on important parts of the material in the text, or to lead the reader to the discovery of interesting extensions of that material.

Mathematics is playing an ever more important role in the physical and biological sciences, provoking a blurring of boundaries between scientific disciplines and a resurgence of interest in the modern as well as the clas­ sical techniques of applied mathematics. This renewal of interest, both in research and teaching, has led to the establishment of the series: Texts in Applied Mathematics (TAM). The development of new courses is a natural consequence of a high level of excitement on the research frontier as newer techniques, such as numerical and symbolic computer systems, dynamical systems, and chaos, mix with and reinforce the traditional methods of applied mathematics. Thus, the purpose of this textbook series is to meet the current and future needs of these advances and encourage the teaching of new courses. TAM will publish textbooks suitable for use in advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate courses, and will complement the Applied Math­ ematical Sciences (AMS) series, which will focus on advanced textbooks and research level monographs.

Mathematics is playing an ever more important role in the physical and biological sciences, provoking a blurring of boundaries between scientific disciplines and a resurgence of interest in the modern as well as the classical techniques of applied mathematics. This renewal of interest, both in re­ search and teaching, has led to the establishment of the series Texts in Applied Mathematics (TAM). The development of new courses is a natural consequence of a high level of excitement on the research frontier as newer techniques, such as numeri­ cal and symbolic computer systems, dynamical systems, and chaos, mix with and reinforce the traditional methods of applied mathematics. Thus, the purpose of this textbook series is to meet the current and future needs of these advances and to encourage the teaching of new courses. TAM will publish textbooks suitable for use in advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate courses, and will complement the Applied Mathe­ matical Sciences (AMS) series, which will focus on advanced textbooks and research-level monographs. Pasadena, California J.E. Marsden Providence, Rhode Island L. Sirovich Houston, Texas M. Golubitsky College Park, Maryland S.S. Antman Preface to the Third Edition It is more than 25 years since I finished the manuscript of the first edition of this volume, and it is indeed gratifying that the book has been in use over such a long period and that the publishers have requested a third edition.

Mathematics is playing an ever more important role in the physical and biological sciences, provoking a blurring of boundaries between scientific disciplines and a resurgence of interest in the modern as well as the clas­ sical techniques of applied mathematics. This renewal of interest, both in research and teaching, has led to the establishment of the series Texts in Applied Mathematics (TAM). The development of new courses is a natural consequence of a high level of excitement on the research frontier as newer techniques, such as numerical and symbolic computer systems, dynamical systems, and chaos, mix with and reinforce the traditional methods of applied mathematics. Thus, the purpose of this textbook series is to meet the current and future needs of these advances and to encourage the teaching of new courses. TAM will publish textbooks suitable for use in advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate courses, and will complement the Applied Mathe­ matical Sciences (AMS) series, which will focus on advanced textbooks and research-level monographs.

This book covers numerical methods for partial differential equations: discretization methods such as finite difference, finite volume and finite element methods; solution methods for linear and nonlinear systems of equations and grid generation.The book takes account of both the theory and implementation, providing simultaneously both a rigorous and an inductive presentation of the technical details. It contains modern topics such as adaptive methods, multilevel methods and methods for convection-dominated problems. Detailed illustrations and extensive exercises are included.It will provide mathematics students with an introduction to the theory and methods, guiding them in their selection of methods and helping them to understand and pursue finite element programming. For engineering and physics students it will provide a general framework for formulation and analysis of methods providing a broader perspective to specific applications.

Mathematics is playing an ever more important role in the physical and biological sciences, provoking a blurring of boundaries between scientific disciplines and a resurgence of interest in the modern as well as the classical techniques of applied mathematics. This renewal of interest, both in re­ search and teaching, has led to the establishment of the series Texts in Applied Mathematics (TAM). The development of new courses is a natural consequence of a high level of excitement on the research frontier as newer techniques, such as numeri­ cal and symbolic computer systems, dynamical systems, and chaos, mix with and reinforce the traditional methods of applied mathematics. Thus, the purpose of this textbook series is to meet the current and future needs of these advances and to encourage the teaching of new courses. TAM will publish textbooks suitable for use in advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate courses, and will complement the Applied Mathe­ matical Sciences (AMS) series, which will focus on advanced textbooks and research-level monographs.

Mathematics is playing an ever more important role in the physical and biological sciences, provoking a blurring of boundaries between scientific disciplines and a resurgence of interest in the modern as well as the classical techniques of applied mathematics. This renewal of interest, both in re­ search and teaching, has led to the establishment of the series Texts in Applied Mathematics (TAM). The development of new courses is a natural consequence of a high level of excitement on the research frontier as newer techniques, such as numeri­ cal and symbolic computer systems, dynamical systems, and chaos, mix with and reinforce the traditional methods of applied mathematics. Thus, the purpose of this textbook series is to meet the current and future needs of these advances and to encourage the teaching of new courses. TAM will publish textbooks suitable for use in advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate courses, and will complement the Applied Mathe­ matical Sciences (AMS) series, which will focus on advanced textbooks and research-level monographs.

From the Preface: "The material in this book is based on notes for a course which I gave several times at Brown University. The target of the course was juniors and seniors majoring in applied mathematics, engineering and other sciences. My basic goal in the course was to teach standard methods, or what I regard as a basic "bag of tricks". In my opinion the material contained here, for the most part, does not depart widely from traditional subject matter. One such departure is the discussion of discrete linear systems. Besides being interesting in its own right, this topic is included because the treatment of such systems leads naturally to the use of discrete Fourier series, discrete Fourier transforms, and their extension, the Z-transform. On making the transition to continuous systems we derive their continuous analogues, viz., Fourier series, Fourier transforms, Fourier integrals and Laplace transforms. A main advantage to the approach taken is that a wide variety of techniques are seen to result from one or two very simple but central ideas. Above all, this course is intended as being one which gives the student a "can-do" frame of mind about mathematics. Students should be given confidence in using mathematics and not be made fearful of it. I have, therefore, forgone the theorem-proof format for a more informal style. Finally, a concerted effort was made to present an assortment of examples from diverse applications with the hope of attracting the interest of the student, and an equally dedicated effort was made to be kind to the reader."

The subject of differential and difference equations is an old and much-honored chapter in science, one which germinated in applied fields such as celestial mechanics, nonlinear oscillations, and fluid dynamics. In recent years, due primarily to the proliferation of computers, dynamical systems has once more turned to its roots in applications with perhaps a more mature look. Many of the available books and expository narratives either require extensive mathematical preparation, or are not designed to be used as textbooks. The authors have filled this void with the present book.