Dynamical Systems

Catalog description

Many laws of physics are formulated as differential equations or partial differential equations, e.g. the propagation of sound waves, the diffusion of a gas, and the flow of a fluid. These equations are usually nonlinear and the study of their dynamical properties (long time behavior, changes of properties of solutions, ...) turns out to be very difficult. The goal of this course is to study some simple aspects of dynamical systems and chaos. Applications to physics, chemistry, biology, and population dynamics are given. In particular, the course will involve the study of many examples coming from physics, biology and engineering. The examples studied will depend on the interests of the students and their majors.