An Introduction to Chaotic Dynamical Systems

The study of nonlinear dynamical systems has exploded in the past 25 years, and Robert L. Devaney has made these advanced research developments accessible to undergraduate and graduate mathematics students as well as researchers in other disciplines with the introduction of this widely praised book.In this second edition of his best-selling text, Devaney includes new material on the orbit diagram fro maps of the interval and the Mandelbrot set, as well as striking color photos illustrating both Julia and Mandelbrot sets.This book assumes no prior acquaintance with advanced mathematical topics such as measure theory, topology, and differential geometry, Assuming only a knowledge of calculus, Devaney introduces many of the basic concepts of modern dynamical systems theory and leads the reader to the point of current research in several areas. The first two chapters introduce the reader to a broad spectrum of fundamental topics in dynamics: hyperbolicity, symbolic dynamics, structural stability, stable and unstable manifolds and bifurcation theory. Readers familiar with linear algebra and complex analysis will be led to the brink of contemporary research in the book’s concluding chapter, but for anyone with a background in calculus, Devaney provides a comprehensive exploration into the mathematics of chaos.

Professor Robert L. Devaney received his A.B. from Holy Cross College and his Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley in 1973. He taught at Northwestern University, Tufts University, and the University of Maryland before coming to Boston University in 1980. He served there as chairman of the Department of Mathematics from 1983 to 1986. His main area of research is dynamical systems, including Hamiltonian systems, complex analytic dynamics, and computer experiments in dynamics. He is the author of An Introduction to Chaotic Dynamical Systems, and Chaos, Fractals, and Dynamics: Computer Experiments in Modern Mathematics, which aims to explain the beauty of chaotic dynamics to high school students and teachers.