This book is devoted to the qualitative theory of functional dynamic equations on time scales, providing an overview of recent developments in the field as well as a foundation to time scales, dynamic systems, and functional dynamic equations. It discusses functional dynamic equations in relation to mathematical physics applications and problems, providing useful tools for investigation for oscillations and nonoscillations of the solutions of functional dynamic equations on time scales. Practice problems are presented throughout the book for use as a graduate-level textbook and as a reference book for specialists of several disciplines, such as mathematics, physics, engineering, and biology.

The study of dynamic equations on time scales, which goes back to its founder Stefan Hilger is an area of mathematics and has been created in order to unify the study of differential and difference equations. The oscillation theory as a part of the qualitative theory of dynamic equations on time scales has been developed rapidly in the past ten years. The extensive application prospect facilitates the development of this field. In fact there are some applications of dynamic equations in population dynamics, quantum mechanics, electrical engineering, neural networks, heat transfer, and combinatorics. The book tends to center around the relevant oscillation theory of second and third order dynamic equations and second order neutral dynamic equations on time scales. It is a text book giving detailed proofs and illustrative examples, which is intended for both self-study and a course for graduate levels. It is believed to be the first book dedicated to the oscillation of dynamic equations on time scales.

On becoming familiar with difference equations and their close re lation to differential equations, I was in hopes that the theory of difference equations could be brought completely abreast with that for ordinary differential equations. [HUGH L. TURRITTIN, My Mathematical Expectations, Springer Lecture Notes 312 (page 10), 1973] A major task of mathematics today is to harmonize the continuous and the discrete, to include them in one comprehensive mathematics, and to eliminate obscurity from both. [E. T. BELL, Men of Mathematics, Simon and Schuster, New York (page 13/14), 1937] The theory of time scales, which has recently received a lot of attention, was introduced by Stefan Hilger in his PhD thesis [159] in 1988 (supervised by Bernd Aulbach) in order to unify continuous and discrete analysis. This book is an intro duction to the study of dynamic equations on time scales. Many results concerning differential equations carryover quite easily to corresponding results for difference equations, while other results seem to be completely different in nature from their continuous counterparts. The study of dynamic equations on time scales reveals such discrepancies, and helps avoid proving results twice, once for differential equa tions and once for difference equations. The general idea is to prove a result for a dynamic equation where the domain of the unknown function is a so-called time scale, which is an arbitrary nonempty closed subset of the reals.

Excellent introductory material on the calculus of time scales and dynamic equations.; Numerous examples and exercises illustrate the diverse application of dynamic equations on time scales.; Unified and systematic exposition of the topics allows good transitions from chapter to chapter.; Contributors include Anderson, M. Bohner, Davis, Dosly, Eloe, Erbe, Guseinov, Henderson, Hilger, Hilscher, Kaymakcalan, Lakshmikantham, Mathsen, and A. Peterson, founders and leaders of this field of study.; Useful as a comprehensive resource of time scales and dynamic equations for pure and applied mathematicians.; Comprehensive bibliography and index complete this text.

This thesis provides the oscillation criteria for second order linear differential equations and dynamic equations on time scales. We establish the comparison theorems and oscillation criteria for selfadjoint and non-self adjoint equations and systems of first order ordinary differential equations. Then we prove the fundamental results concerning the dynamic equations: existence and uniqueness theorem and disconjugacy criteria.

This book summarizes the qualitative theory of differential equations with or without delays, collecting recent oscillation studies important to applications and further developments in mathematics, physics, engineering, and biology. The authors address oscillatory and nonoscillatory properties of first-order delay and neutral delay differential eq