The volume contains the texts of four courses, given by the authors at a summer school that sought to present the state of the art in the growing field of topological methods in the theory of o.d.e. (in finite and infinitedimension), and to provide a forum for discussion of the wide variety of mathematical tools which are involved. The topics covered range from the extensions of the Lefschetz fixed point and the fixed point index on ANR's, to the theory of parity of one-parameter families of Fredholm operators, and from the theory of coincidence degree for mappings on Banach spaces to homotopy methods for continuation principles. CONTENTS: P. Fitzpatrick: The parity as an invariant for detecting bifurcation of the zeroes of one parameter families of nonlinear Fredholm maps.- M. Martelli: Continuation principles and boundary value problems.- J. Mawhin: Topological degree and boundary value problems for nonlinear differential equations.- R.D. Nussbaum: The fixed point index and fixed point theorems.

The papers collected in this volume are contributions to the 33rd session of the Seminaire de Mathematiques Superieures (SMS) on "Topological Methods in Differential Equations and Inclusions". This session of the SMS took place at the Universite de Montreal in July 1994 and was a NATO Advanced Study Institute (ASI). The aim of the ASI was to bring together a considerable group of young researchers from various parts of the world and to present to them coherent surveys of some of the most recent advances in this area of Nonlinear Analysis. During the meeting 89 mathematicians from 20 countries have had the opportunity to get acquainted with various aspects of the subjects treated in the lectures as well as the chance to exchange ideas and learn about new problems arising in the field. The main topics teated in this ASI were the following: Fixed point theory for single- and multi-valued mappings including topological degree and its generalizations, and topological transversality theory; existence and multiplicity results for ordinary differential equations and inclusions; bifurcation and stability problems; ordinary differential equations in Banach spaces; second order differential equations on manifolds; the topological structure of the solution set of differential inclusions; effects of delay perturbations on dynamics of retarded delay differential equations; dynamics of reaction diffusion equations; non smooth critical point theory and applications to boundary value problems for quasilinear elliptic equations.

Topological Methods for Differential Equations and Inclusions covers the important topics involving topological methods in the theory of systems of differential equations. The equivalence between a control system and the corresponding differential inclusion is the central idea used to prove existence theorems in optimal control theory. Since the dynamics of economic, social, and biological systems are multi-valued, differential inclusions serve as natural models in macro systems with hysteresis.

This handbook is the third volume in a series of volumes devoted to self contained and up-to-date surveys in the tehory of ordinary differential equations, written by leading researchers in the area. All contributors have made an additional effort to achieve readability for mathematicians and scientists from other related fields so that the chapters have been made accessible to a wide audience. These ideas faithfully reflect the spirit of this multi-volume and hopefully it becomes a very useful tool for reseach, learing and teaching. This volumes consists of seven chapters covering a variety of problems in ordinary differential equations. Both pure mathematical research and real word applications are reflected by the contributions to this volume. - Covers a variety of problems in ordinary differential equations - Pure mathematical and real world applications - Written for mathematicians and scientists of many related fields

GENERALIZED ORDINARY DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS IN ABSTRACT SPACES AND APPLICATIONS Explore a unified view of differential equations through the use of the generalized ODE from leading academics in mathematics Generalized Ordinary Differential Equations in Abstract Spaces and Applications delivers a comprehensive treatment of new results of the theory of Generalized ODEs in abstract spaces. The book covers applications to other types of differential equations, including Measure Functional Differential Equations (measure FDEs). It presents a uniform collection of qualitative results of Generalized ODEs and offers readers an introduction to several theories, including ordinary differential equations, impulsive differential equations, functional differential equations, dynamical equations on time scales, and more. Throughout the book, the focus is on qualitative theory and on corresponding results for other types of differential equations, as well as the connection between Generalized Ordinary Differential Equations and impulsive differential equations, functional differential equations, measure differential equations and dynamic equations on time scales. The book’s descriptions will be of use in many mathematical contexts, as well as in the social and natural sciences. Readers will also benefit from the inclusion of: A thorough introduction to regulated functions, including their basic properties, equiregulated sets, uniform convergence, and relatively compact sets An exploration of the Kurzweil integral, including its definitions and basic properties A discussion of measure functional differential equations, including impulsive measure FDEs The interrelationship between generalized ODEs and measure FDEs A treatment of the basic properties of generalized ODEs, including the existence and uniqueness of solutions, and prolongation and maximal solutions Perfect for researchers and graduate students in Differential Equations and Dynamical Systems, Generalized Ordinary Differential Equations in Abstract Spaces and App­lications will also earn a place in the libraries of advanced undergraduate students taking courses in the subject and hoping to move onto graduate studies.

A study of topology and geometry, beginning with a comprehensible account of the extraordinary and rather mysterious impact of mathematical physics, and especially gauge theory, on the study of the geometry and topology of manifolds. The focus of the book is the Yang-Mills-Higgs field and some considerable effort is expended to make clear its origin and significance in physics. Much of the mathematics developed here to study these fields is standard, but the treatment always keeps one eye on the physics and sacrifices generality in favor of clarity. The author brings readers up the level of physics and mathematics needed to conclude with a brief discussion of the Seiberg-Witten invariants. A large number of exercises are included to encourage active participation on the part of the reader.

The area covered by this volume represents a broad choice of some interesting research topics in the field of dynamical systems and applications of nonlinear analysis to ordinary and partial differential equations. The contributed papers, written by well known specialists, make this volume a useful tool both for the experts (who can find recent and new results) and for those who are interested in starting a research work in one of these topics (who can find some updated and carefully presented papers on the state of the art of the corresponding subject).

An overall solution to the (robust) stability analysis and stabilisation problem of linear time-delay systems.