Proceedings of the Nato Advanced Study Institute, held in Montreal, Canada, from 8 to 19 July 2002

Dynamical system theory has developed rapidly over the past fifty years. It is a subject upon which the theory of limit cycles has a significant impact for both theoretical advances and practical solutions to problems. Hopf bifurcation from a center or a focus is integral to the theory of bifurcation of limit cycles, for which normal form theory is a central tool. Although Hopf bifurcation has been studied for more than half a century, and normal form theory for over 100 years, efficient computation in this area is still a challenge with implications for Hilbert’s 16th problem. This book introduces the most recent developments in this field and provides major advances in fundamental theory of limit cycles. Split into two parts, the first focuses on the study of limit cycles bifurcating from Hopf singularity using normal form theory with later application to Hilbert’s 16th problem, while the second considers near Hamiltonian systems using Melnikov function as the main mathematical tool. Classic topics with new results are presented in a clear and concise manner and are accompanied by the liberal use of illustrations throughout. Containing a wealth of examples and structured algorithms that are treated in detail, a good balance between theoretical and applied topics is demonstrated. By including complete Maple programs within the text, this book also enables the reader to reconstruct the majority of formulas provided, facilitating the use of concrete models for study. Through the adoption of an elementary and practical approach, this book will be of use to graduate mathematics students wishing to study the theory of limit cycles as well as scientists, across a number of disciplines, with an interest in the applications of periodic behavior.

This book addresses the global study of finite and infinite singularities of planar polynomial differential systems, with special emphasis on quadratic systems. While results covering the degenerate cases of singularities of quadratic systems have been published elsewhere, the proofs for the remaining harder cases were lengthier. This book covers all cases, with half of the content focusing on the last non-degenerate ones. The book contains the complete bifurcation diagram, in the 12-parameter space, of global geometrical configurations of singularities of quadratic systems. The authors’ results provide - for the first time - global information on all singularities of quadratic systems in invariant form and their bifurcations. In addition, a link to a very helpful software package is included. With the help of this software, the study of the algebraic bifurcations becomes much more efficient and less time-consuming. Given its scope, the book will appeal to specialists on polynomial differential systems, pure and applied mathematicians who need to study bifurcation diagrams of families of such systems, Ph.D. students, and postdoctoral fellows.

This book focuses on finiteness conjectures and results in ordinary differential equations (ODEs) and Diophantine geometry. During the past twenty-five years, much progress has been achieved on finiteness conjectures, which are the offspring of the second part of Hilbert's 16th problem. Even in its simplest case, this is one of the very few problems on Hilbert's list which remains unsolved. These results are about existence and estimation of finite bounds for the number of limit cycles occurring in certain families of ODEs. The book describes this progress, the methods used (bifurcation theory, asymptotic expansions, methods of differential algebra, or geometry) and the specific results obtained. The finiteness conjectures on limit cycles are part of a larger picture that also includes finiteness problems in other areas of mathematics, in particular those in Diophantine geometry where remarkable results were proved during the same period of time. There is a chapter devoted to finiteness results in D The volume can be used as an independent study text for advanced undergraduates and graduate students studying ODEs or applications of differential algebra to differential equations and Diophantine geometry. It is also is a good entry point for researchers interested these areas, in particular, in limit cycles of ODEs, and in finiteness problems. Contributors to the volume include Andrey Bolibrukh and Alexandru Buium. Available from the AMS by A. Buium is Arithmetic Differential Equations, as Volume 118 in the Mathematical Surveys and Monographs series.

This textbook contains the lecture series originally delivered at the "Advanced Course on Limit Cycles of Differential Equations" in the Centre de Rechercha Mathematica Barcelona in 2006. It covers the center-focus problem for polynomial vector fields and the application of abelian integrals to limit cycle bifurcations. Both topics are related to the authors' interests in Hilbert's sixteenth problem, but would also be of interest to those working more generally in the qualitative theory of dynamical systems.

This comprehensive volume contains the state of the art on ODE's and PDE's of different nature, functional differential equations, delay equations, and others, mostly from the dynamical systems point of view.A broad range of topics are treated through contributions by leading experts of their fields, presenting the most recent developments. A large variety of techniques are being used, stressing geometric, topological, ergodic and numerical aspects.The scope of the book is wide, ranging from pure mathematics to various applied fields. Examples of the latter are provided by subjects from earth and life sciences, classical mechanics and quantum-mechanics, among others.The proceedings have been selected for coverage in:• Index to Scientific & Technical Proceedings® (ISTP® / ISI Proceedings)• Index to Scientific & Technical Proceedings (ISTP CDROM version / ISI Proceedings)• CC Proceedings — Engineering & Physical Sciences

The book combines the features of a graduate-level textbook with those of a research monograph and survey of the recent results on analysis and geometry of differential equations in the real and complex domain. As a graduate textbook, it includes self-contained, sometimes considerably simplified demonstrations of several fundamental results, which previously appeared only in journal publications (desingularization of planar analytic vector fields, existence of analytic separatrices, positive and negative results on the Riemann-Hilbert problem, Ecalle-Voronin and Martinet-Ramis moduli, solution of the Poincare problem on the degree of an algebraic separatrix, etc.). As a research monograph, it explores in a systematic way the algebraic decidability of local classification problems, rigidity of holomorphic foliations, etc. Each section ends with a collection of problems, partly intended to help the reader to gain understanding and experience with the material, partly drafting demonstrations of the mor The exposition of the book is mostly geometric, though the algebraic side of the constructions is also prominently featured. on several occasions the reader is introduced to adjacent areas, such as intersection theory for divisors on the projective plane or geometric theory of holomorphic vector bundles with meromorphic connections. The book provides the reader with the principal tools of the modern theory of analytic differential equations and intends to serve as a standard source for references in this area.

In 2008, November 23-28, the workshop of ”Classical Problems on Planar Polynomial Vector Fields ” was held in the Banff International Research Station, Canada. Called "classical problems", it was concerned with the following: (1) Problems on integrability of planar polynomial vector fields. (2) The problem of the center stated by Poincaré for real polynomial differential systems, which asks us to recognize when a planar vector field defined by polynomials of degree at most n possesses a singularity which is a center. (3) Global geometry of specific classes of planar polynomial vector fields. (4) Hilbert’s 16th problem. These problems had been posed more than 110 years ago. Therefore, they are called "classical problems" in the studies of the theory of dynamical systems. The qualitative theory and stability theory of differential equations, created by Poincaré and Lyapunov at the end of the 19th century, had major developments as two branches of the theory of dynamical systems during the 20th century. As a part of the basic theory of nonlinear science, it is one of the very active areas in the new millennium. This book presents in an elementary way the recent significant developments in the qualitative theory of planar dynamical systems. The subjects are covered as follows: the studies of center and isochronous center problems, multiple Hopf bifurcations and local and global bifurcations of the equivariant planar vector fields which concern with Hilbert’s 16th problem. The book is intended for graduate students, post-doctors and researchers in dynamical systems. For all engineers who are interested in the theory of dynamical systems, it is also a reasonable reference. It requires a minimum background of a one-year course on nonlinear differential equations.

This book provides a self-contained presentation of the physical and mathematical laws governing complex systems. Complex systems arising in natural, engineering, environmental, life and social sciences are approached from a unifying point of view using an array of methodologies such as microscopic and macroscopic level formulations, deterministic and probabilistic tools, modeling and simulation. The book can be used as a textbook by graduate students, researchers and teachers in science, as well as non-experts who wish to have an overview of one of the most open, markedly interdisciplinary and fast-growing branches of present-day science.

A geometric process is a simple monotone process that was first introduced by the author in 1988. It is a generalization of renewal process. This book captures the extensive research work on geometric processes that has been done since then in both probability and statistics theory and various applications. Some results are published for the first time. A reference book for researchers and a handbook for practioners, it is also a useful textbook for postgraduate or senior undergraduate students.