Hamiltonian dynamical systems: A reprint selection

Description

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.