Hamiltonian Systems With Three Or More Degrees Of Freedom

A survey of current knowledge about Hamiltonian systems with three or more degrees of freedom and related topics. The Hamiltonian systems appearing in most of the applications are non-integrable. Hence methods to prove non-integrability results are presented and the different meaning attributed to non-integrability are discussed. For systems near an integrable one, it can be shown that, under suitable conditions, some parts of the integrable structure, most of the invariant tori, survive. Many of the papers discuss near-integrable systems. From a topological point of view, some singularities must appear in different problems, either caustics, geodesics, moving wavefronts, etc. This is also related to singularities in the projections of invariant objects, and can be used as a signature of these objects. Hyperbolic dynamics appear as a source on unpredictable behaviour and several mechanisms of hyperbolicity are presented. The destruction of tori leads to Aubrey-Mather objects, and this is touched on for a related class of systems. Examples without periodic orbits are constructed, against a classical conjecture. Other topics concern higher dimensional systems, either finite (networks and localised vibrations on them) or infinite, like the quasiperiodic Schrödinger operator or nonlinear hyperbolic PDE displaying quasiperiodic solutions. Most of the applications presented concern celestial mechanics problems, like the asteroid problem, the design of spacecraft orbits, and methods to compute periodic solutions.

Classical mechanics is a subject that is teeming with life. However, most of the interesting results are scattered around in the specialist literature, which means that potential readers may be somewhat discouraged by the effort required to obtain them. Addressing this situation, Hamiltonian Dynamical Systems includes some of the most significant papers in Hamiltonian dynamics published during the last 60 years. The book covers bifurcation of periodic orbits, the break-up of invariant tori, chaotic behavior in hyperbolic systems, and the intricacies of real systems that contain coexisting order and chaos. It begins with an introductory survey of the subjects to help readers appreciate the underlying themes that unite an apparently diverse collection of articles. The book concludes with a selection of papers on applications, including in celestial mechanics, plasma physics, chemistry, accelerator physics, fluid mechanics, and solid state mechanics, and contains an extensive bibliography. The book provides a worthy introduction to the subject for anyone with an undergraduate background in physics or mathematics, and an indispensable reference work for researchers and graduate students interested in any aspect of classical mechanics.

Based on the recent NATO Advanced Study Institute "Chaotic Worlds: From Order to Disorder in Gravitational N-Body Dynamical Systems", this state of the art textbook, written by internationally renowned experts, provides an invaluable reference volume for all students and researchers in gravitational n-body systems. The contributions are especially designed to give a systematic development from the fundamental mathematics which underpin modern studies of ordered and chaotic behaviour in n-body dynamics to their application to real motion in planetary systems. This volume presents an up-to-date synoptic view of the subject.

This book demonstrates that while elliptic and hyperbolic tori determine the distribution of maximal invariant tori, they themselves form n-parameter families. Therefore, torus bifurcations of high co-dimension may be found in a single given Hamiltonian system, absent untypical conditions or external parameters. The text moves logically from the integrable case, in which symmetries allow for reduction to bifurcating equilibria, to non-integrability, where smooth parametrisations must be replaced by Cantor sets.

In this volume, the authors present a collection of surveys on various aspects of the theory of bifurcations of differentiable dynamical systems and related topics. By selecting these subjects, they focus on those developments from which research will be active in the coming years. The surveys are intended to educate the reader on the recent literature on the following subjects: transversality and generic properties like the various forms of the so-called Kupka-Smale theorem, the Closing Lemma and generic local bifurcations of functions (so-called catastrophe theory) and generic local bifurcations in 1-parameter families of dynamical systems, and notions of structural stability and moduli. Covers recent literature on various topics related to the theory of bifurcations of differentiable dynamical systems Highlights developments that are the foundation for future research in this field Provides material in the form of surveys, which are important tools for introducing the bifurcations of differentiable dynamical systems

Systems with sub-processes evolving on many different time scales are ubiquitous in applications: chemical reactions, electro-optical and neuro-biological systems, to name just a few. This volume contains papers that expose the state of the art in mathematical techniques for analyzing such systems. Recently developed geometric ideas are highlighted in this work that includes a theory of relaxation-oscillation phenomena in higher dimensional phase spaces. Subtle exponentially small effects result from singular perturbations implicit in certain multiple time scale systems. Their role in the slow motion of fronts, bifurcations, and jumping between invariant tori are all explored here. Neurobiology has played a particularly stimulating role in the development of these techniques and one paper is directed specifically at applying geometric singular perturbation theory to reveal the synchrony in networks of neural oscillators.

This book is devoted to the phenomenon of quasi-periodic motion in dynamical systems. Such a motion in the phase space densely fills up an invariant torus. This phenomenon is most familiar from Hamiltonian dynamics. Hamiltonian systems are well known for their use in modelling the dynamics related to frictionless mechanics, including the planetary and lunar motions. In this context the general picture appears to be as follows. On the one hand, Hamiltonian systems occur that are in complete order: these are the integrable systems where all motion is confined to invariant tori. On the other hand, systems exist that are entirely chaotic on each energy level. In between we know systems that, being sufficiently small perturbations of integrable ones, exhibit coexistence of order (invariant tori carrying quasi-periodic dynamics) and chaos (the so called stochastic layers). The Kolmogorov-Arnol'd-Moser (KAM) theory on quasi-periodic motions tells us that the occurrence of such motions is open within the class of all Hamiltonian systems: in other words, it is a phenomenon persistent under small Hamiltonian perturbations. Moreover, generally, for any such system the union of quasi-periodic tori in the phase space is a nowhere dense set of positive Lebesgue measure, a so called Cantor family. This fact implies that open classes of Hamiltonian systems exist that are not ergodic. The main aim of the book is to study the changes in this picture when other classes of systems - or contexts - are considered.

This book contains papers based on talks given at the International Conference Dynamical Systems: 100 years after Poincaré held at the University of Oviedo, Gijón in Spain, September 2012. It provides an overview of the state of the art in the study of dynamical systems. This book covers a broad range of topics, focusing on discrete and continuous dynamical systems, bifurcation theory, celestial mechanics, delay difference and differential equations, Hamiltonian systems and also the classic challenges in planar vector fields. It also details recent advances and new trends in the field, including applications to a wide range of disciplines such as biology, chemistry, physics and economics. The memory of Henri Poincaré, who laid the foundations of the subject, inspired this exploration of dynamical systems. In honor of this remarkable mathematician, theoretical physicist, engineer and philosopher, the authors have made a special effort to place the reader at the frontiers of current knowledge in the discipline.