The volume contains carefully selected papers presented at the International Conference on Differential & Difference Equations and Applications held in Ponta Delgada – Azores, from July 4-8, 2011 in honor of Professor Ravi P. Agarwal. The objective of the gathering was to bring together researchers in the fields of differential & difference equations and to promote the exchange of ideas and research. The papers cover all areas of differential and difference equations with a special emphasis on applications.
In recent years, the study of difference equations has acquired a new significance, due in large part to their use in the formulation and analysis of discrete-time systems, the numerical integration of differential equations by finite-difference schemes, and the study of deterministic chaos. The second edition of Difference Equations: Theory and Applications provides a thorough listing of all major theorems along with proofs. The text treats the case of first-order difference equations in detail, using both analytical and geometrical methods. Both ordinary and partial difference equations are considered, along with a variety of special nonlinear forms for which exact solutions can be determined. Numerous worked examples and problems allow readers to fully understand the material in the text. They also give possible generalization of the theorems and application models. The text's expanded coverage of application helps readers appreciate the benefits of using difference equations in the modeling and analysis of "realistic" problems from a broad range of fields. The second edition presents, analyzes, and discusses a large number of applications from the mathematical, biological, physical, and social sciences. Discussions on perturbation methods and difference equation models of differential equation models of differential equations represent contributions by the author to the research literature. Reference to original literature show how the elementary models of the book can be extended to more realistic situations. Difference Equations, Second Edition gives readers a background in discrete mathematics that many workers in science-oriented industries need as part of their general scientific knowledge. With its minimal mathematical background requirements of general algebra and calculus, this unique volume will be used extensively by students and professional in science and technology, in areas such as applied mathematics, control theory, population science, economics, and electronic circuits, especially discrete signal processing.
This book provides a comprehensive introduction to the theory of ordinary differential equations with a focus on mechanics and dynamical systems as important applications of the theory. The text is written to be used in the traditional way or in a more applied way. The accompanying CD contains Maple worksheets for the exercises, and special Maple code for performing various tasks. In addition to its use in a traditional one or two semester graduate course in mathematics, the book is organized to be used for interdisciplinary courses in applied mathematics, physics, and engineering.
This book presents the theory of asymptotic integration for both linear differential and difference equations. This type of asymptotic analysis is based on some fundamental principles by Norman Levinson. While he applied them to a special class of differential equations, subsequent work has shown that the same principles lead to asymptotic results for much wider classes of differential and also difference equations. After discussing asymptotic integration in a unified approach, this book studies how the application of these methods provides several new insights and frequent improvements to results found in earlier literature. It then continues with a brief introduction to the relatively new field of asymptotic integration for dynamic equations on time scales. Asymptotic Integration of Differential and Difference Equations is a self-contained and clearly structured presentation of some of the most important results in asymptotic integration and the techniques used in this field. It will appeal to researchers in asymptotic integration as well to non-experts who are interested in the asymptotic analysis of linear differential and difference equations. It will additionally be of interest to students in mathematics, applied sciences, and engineering. Linear algebra and some basic concepts from advanced calculus are prerequisites.
Difference Equations, Second Edition, presents a practical introduction to this important field of solutions for engineering and the physical sciences. Topic coverage includes numerical analysis, numerical methods, differential equations, combinatorics and discrete modeling. A hallmark of this revision is the diverse application to many subfields of mathematics. Phase plane analysis for systems of two linear equations Use of equations of variation to approximate solutions Fundamental matrices and Floquet theory for periodic systems LaSalle invariance theorem Additional applications: secant line method, Bison problem, juvenile-adult population model, probability theory Appendix on the use of Mathematica for analyzing difference equaitons Exponential generating functions Many new examples and exercises
This volume provides an introduction to the properties of functional differential equations and their applications in diverse fields such as immunology, nuclear power generation, heat transfer, signal processing, medicine and economics. In particular, it deals with problems and methods relating to systems having a memory (hereditary systems). The book contains eight chapters. Chapter 1 explains where functional differential equations come from and what sort of problems arise in applications. Chapter 2 gives a broad introduction to the basic principle involved and deals with systems having discrete and distributed delay. Chapters 3-5 are devoted to stability problems for retarded, neutral and stochastic functional differential equations. Problems of optimal control and estimation are considered in Chapters 6-8. For applied mathematicians, engineers, and physicists whose work involves mathematical modeling of hereditary systems. This volume can also be recommended as a supplementary text for graduate students who wish to become better acquainted with the properties and applications of functional differential equations.
The last fifty years have witnessed several monographs and hundreds of research articles on the theory, constructive methods and wide spectrum of applications of boundary value problems for ordinary differential equations. In this vast field of research, the conjugate (Hermite) and the right focal point (Abei) types of problems have received the maximum attention. This is largely due to the fact that these types of problems are basic, in the sense that the methods employed in their study are easily extendable to other types of prob lems. Moreover, the conjugate and the right focal point types of boundary value problems occur frequently in real world problems. In the monograph Boundary Value Problems for Higher Order Differential Equations published in 1986, we addressed the theory of conjugate boundary value problems. At that time the results on right focal point problems were scarce; however, in the last ten years extensive research has been done. In Chapter 1 of the mono graph we offer up-to-date information of this newly developed theory of right focal point boundary value problems. Until twenty years ago Difference Equations were considered as the dis cretizations of the differential equations. Further, it was tacitly taken for granted that the theories of difference and differential equations are parallel. However, striking diversities and wide applications reported in the last two decades have made difference equations one of the major areas of research.
The theory of difference equations is now enjoying a period of Renaissance. Witness the large number of papers in which problems, having at first sight no common features, are reduced to the investigation of subsequent iterations of the maps f· IR. m ~ IR. m, m > 0, or (which is, in fact, the same) to difference equations The world of difference equations, which has been almost hidden up to now, begins to open in all its richness. Those experts, who usually use differential equations and, in fact, believe in their universality, are now discovering a completely new approach which re sembles the theory of ordinary differential equations only slightly. Difference equations, which reflect one of the essential properties of the real world-its discreteness-rightful ly occupy a worthy place in mathematics and its applications. The aim of the present book is to acquaint the reader with some recently discovered and (at first sight) unusual properties of solutions for nonlinear difference equations. These properties enable us to use difference equations in order to model complicated os cillating processes (this can often be done in those cases when it is difficult to apply ordinary differential equations). Difference equations are also a useful tool of syn ergetics- an emerging science concerned with the study of ordered structures. The application of these equations opens up new approaches in solving one of the central problems of modern science-the problem of turbulence.
This book grew out of lecture notes I used in a course on difference equations that I taught at Trinity University for the past five years. The classes were largely pop ulated by juniors and seniors majoring in Mathematics, Engineering, Chemistry, Computer Science, and Physics. This book is intended to be used as a textbook for a course on difference equations at the level of both advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate. It may also be used as a supplement for engineering courses on discrete systems and control theory. The main prerequisites for most of the material in this book are calculus and linear algebra. However, some topics in later chapters may require some rudiments of advanced calculus. Since many of the chapters in the book are independent, the instructor has great flexibility in choosing topics for the first one-semester course. A diagram showing the interdependence of the chapters in the book appears following the preface. This book presents the current state of affairs in many areas such as stability, Z-transform, asymptoticity, oscillations and control theory. However, this book is by no means encyclopedic and does not contain many important topics, such as Numerical Analysis, Combinatorics, Special functions and orthogonal polyno mials, boundary value problems, partial difference equations, chaos theory, and fractals. The nonselection of these topics is dictated not only by the limitations imposed by the elementary nature of this book, but also by the research interest (or lack thereof) of the author.
