Introduction to Applied Nonlinear Dynamical Systems and Chaos (Texts in Applied Mathematics) [Hardcover]

Stephen Wiggins (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0387001778 | ISBN-13: 978-0387001777 | Publication Date: October 1, 2003 | Edition: 2nd

This introduction to applied nonlinear dynamics and chaos places emphasis on teaching the techniques and ideas that will enable students to take specific dynamical systems and obtain some quantitative information about their behavior. The new edition has been updated and extended throughout, and contains a detailed glossary of terms. From the reviews: "Will serve as one of the most eminent introductions to the geometric theory of dynamical systems." --Monatshefte für Mathematik

Editorial Reviews

Review

From the reviews of the second edition: "This is a very substantial revision of the author’s original textbook published in 1990. It does not only contain much new material, for instance on invariant manifold theory and normal forms, it has also been restructured. … The presentation is intended for advanced undergraduates … . This second edition … will serve as one of the most eminent introductions to the geometric theory of dynamical systems." (R. Bürger, Monatshefte für Mathematik, Vol. 145 (4), 2005) "This is an extensively rewritten version of the first edition which appeared in 1990, taking into account the many changes in the subject during the intervening time period. … The book is suitable for use as a textbook for graduate courses in applied mathematics or cognate fields. It is written in a readable style, with considerable motivation and many insightful examples. … Overall, the book provides a very accessible, up-to-date and comprehensive introduction to applied dynamical systems." (P.E. Kloeden, ZAMM-Zeitschrift für Angewandte Mathematik und Mechanik, Vol. 85 (1), 2005) "The second edition of this popular text … is an encyclopedic introduction to dynamical systems theory and applications that includes substantial revisions and new material. It should be on the reading list of every student of the subject … . Also, the new organization makes the book more suitable as a textbook that can be used in graduate courses. This book will also be a useful reference for applied scientists … as well as a guide to the literature." (Carmen Chicone, Mathematical Reviews, 2004h) "This volume includes a significant amount of new material. … Each chapter starts with a narrative … and ends with a large collection of excellent exercises. … An extensive bibliography … provide a useful guide for future study. … This is a highly recommended book for advanced undergraduate and first-year graduate students. It contains most of the necessary mathematical tools … to apply the results of the subject to problems in the physical and engineering sciences." (Tibor Krisztin, Acta Scientiarum Mathematicarum, Vol. 75, 2009)

From the Back Cover

This volume is intended for advanced undergraduate or first-year graduate students as an introduction to applied nonlinear dynamics and chaos. The author has placed emphasis on teaching the techniques and ideas that will enable students to take specific dynamical systems and obtain some quantitative information about the behavior of these systems. He has included the basic core material that is necessary for higher levels of study and research. Thus, people who do not necessarily have an extensive mathematical background, such as students in engineering, physics, chemistry, and biology, will find this text as useful as students of mathematics. This new edition contains extensive new material on invariant manifold theory and normal forms (in particular, Hamiltonian normal forms and the role of symmetry). Lagrangian, Hamiltonian, gradient, and reversible dynamical systems are also discussed. Elementary Hamiltonian bifurcations are covered, as well as the basic properties of circle maps. The book contains an extensive bibliography as well as a detailed glossary of terms, making it a comprehensive book on applied nonlinear dynamical systems from a geometrical and analytical point of view.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 808 pages
• Publisher: Springer; 2nd edition (October 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0387001778
• ISBN-13: 978-0387001777
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 6.1 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #945,475 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #92 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Physics > Chaos Theory

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Effective overview of a useful subject, June 9, 2001

By 

Dr. Lee D. Carlson (Baltimore, Maryland USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Introduction to Applied Nonlinear Dynamical Systems and Chaos (Hardcover)

The subject of dynamical systems has been around for over a century now, having been defined by Henri Poincare in the early 1900s, but having its roots in Hamiltonian and Lagrangian mechanics in the 19th century. In this book ths author has done a fine job of overviewing the subject of dynamical systems, particularly with regards to systems that exhibit chaotic behavior. There are 292 illustrations given in the book, and they effectively assist in the understanding of a sometimes abstract subject.

After a brief introduction to the terminology of dynamical systems in Section 1.1, the author moves on to as study of the Poincare map in the next section. Recognizing that the construction of the Poincare map is really an art rather than a science, the author gives several examples of the Poincare map and discusses in detail the properties of each. Structural stability, genericity, transversality are defined, and, as preparation for the material later on, the Poincare map of the damped, forced Duffing oscillator is constructed. The later system serves as the standard example for dynamical systems exhibiting chaotic behavior.

The simplification of dynamical systems by means of normal forms is the subject of the next part, which gives a thorough discussion of center manifolds. Unfortunately, the center manifold theorem is not proved, but references to the proof are given.

Local bifurcation theory is studied in the next part, with bifurcations of fixed points of vector fields and maps given equal emphasis. The author defines rigorously what it means to bifurcate from a fixed point, and gives a classification scheme in terms of eigenvalues of the linearized map about the fixed point. Most importantly, the author cautions the reader in that dynamical systems having time-dependent parameters and passing through bifurcation values can exhibit behavior that is dramatically different from systems with constant parameters. He does give an interesting example that illustrates this, but does not go into the singular perturbation theory needed for an effective analysis of such systems.

An introduction to global bifurcations and chaos is given in the next part, which starts off with a detailed construction of the Smale horseshoe map. Symbolic dynamics, so important in the construction of the actual proof of chaotic behavior is only outlined though, with proofs of the important results delegated to the references. The Conley-Moser conditions are discussed also, with the treatment of sector bundles being the best one I have seen in the literature. The theory is illustrated nicely for the case of two-dimensional maps with homoclinic points. The all-important Melnikov method for proving the existence of transverse homoclinic orbits to hyperbolic periodic orbits is discussed and is by far one of the most detailed I have seen in the literature. The author employs many useful diagrams to give the reader a better intuition behind what is going on. He employs also the pips and lobes terminology of Easton to study the geometry of the homoclinic tangles. Homoclinic bifurcation theory is also treated in great detail. This is followed by an overview of the properties of orbits homoclinic to hyperbolic fixed points. A brief introduction to Lyapunov exponents and strange attractors is also given.

This book has served well as a reference book and should be useful to students and other individuals who are interested in going into this area. It is a subject that has found innumerable applications, and it will continue to grow as more tools and better computational facilities are developed to study the properties of dynamical systems.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great reference or grad school level course text on general nonlinear dynamics, April 14, 2007

By 

Scott C. Locklin "Selectos nisi das mihi libe... (Berkeley CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Introduction to Applied Nonlinear Dynamical Systems and Chaos (Texts in Applied Mathematics) (Hardcover)

This book served as the "hidden basis" for a course in nonlinear dynamics by the late John David Crawford back at the University of Pittsburgh (the overt basis was Glendinning's book, which has proved less appealing as a reference). It's subsequently been useful to me in its treatment of Melnikov's method, and to review ideas in bifurcation theory.

As the other reviewer pointed out, it is weak in the section on symbolic dynamics. In its defense, I only know of one book which treats symbolic dynamics in a way that isn't utterly confusing, so perhaps leaving a lot of it out helps keep the student on track towards what the author is trying to present. Certainly, if he stuck to his theorem heavy style, one could get very lost in symbolic dynamics land. I'll also complain he never mention's Painleve's property. There are probably deep "theorist" reasons I'll never understand for his not mentioning this weird little thing. I hear the full treatment of Painleve's property is pretty complex, but I have always found it very helpful in understanding what integrability really is, in my "seat of the pants" way. I also would have liked more detail on Peixoto's theorem. Sure it's only useful in R2; if you're on the 'applied' side of things (or a student, learning by examining practical examples) -how often will you leave R2-land?

These complaints are minor, and they're probably effectively complaints that the book's author has a different purpose in mind than I would for writing such an introductory text, were I actually qualified to do such a thing. Wiggins writes very clearly, and he writes for physicists rather than mathematicians, and brings an amateur in the subject to a fairly high level of sophistication by the end of the text. The problem sets are also excellent.