This textbook contains the lecture series originally delivered at the "Advanced Course on Limit Cycles of Differential Equations" in the Centre de Rechercha Mathematica Barcelona in 2006. It covers the center-focus problem for polynomial vector fields and the application of abelian integrals to limit cycle bifurcations. Both topics are related to the authors' interests in Hilbert's sixteenth problem, but would also be of interest to those working more generally in the qualitative theory of dynamical systems.

Version 6.0. An introductory course on differential equations aimed at engineers. The book covers first order ODEs, higher order linear ODEs, systems of ODEs, Fourier series and PDEs, eigenvalue problems, the Laplace transform, and power series methods. It has a detailed appendix on linear algebra. The book was developed and used to teach Math 286/285 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and in the decade since, it has been used in many classrooms, ranging from small community colleges to large public research universities. See https: //www.jirka.org/diffyqs/ for more information, updates, errata, and a list of classroom adoptions.

Mathematics is playing an ever more important role in the physical and biological sciences, provoking a blurring of boundaries between scientific disciplines and a resurgence bf interest in the modern as well as the clas sical techniques of applied mathematics. This renewal of interest, both in research and teaching, has led to the establishment of the series: Texts in Applied Mat!!ematics (TAM). The development of new courses is a natural consequence of a high level of excitement oil the research frontier as newer techniques, such as numerical and symbolic cotnputer systems, dynamical systems, and chaos, mix with and reinforce the traditional methods of applied mathematics. Thus, the purpose of this textbook series is to meet the current and future needs of these advances and encourage the teaching of new courses. TAM will publish textbooks suitable for use in advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate courses, and will complement the Applied Math ematical Sciences (AMS) series, which will focus on advanced textbooks and research level monographs. Preface to the Second Edition This book covers those topics necessary for a clear understanding of the qualitative theory of ordinary differential equations and the concept of a dynamical system. It is written for advanced undergraduates and for beginning graduate students. It begins with a study of linear systems of ordinary differential equations, a topic already familiar to the student who has completed a first course in differential equations.

This book presents a coherent framework for understanding the dynamics of piecewise-smooth and hybrid systems. An informal introduction expounds the ubiquity of such models via numerous. The results are presented in an informal style, and illustrated with many examples. The book is aimed at a wide audience of applied mathematicians, engineers and scientists at the beginning postgraduate level. Almost no mathematical background is assumed other than basic calculus and algebra.

Deals with limit cycles of general plane stationary systems, including their existence, nonexistence, stability, and uniqueness. This book also discusses the global topological structure of limit cycles and phase-portraits of quadratic systems.

This book is devoted to the following finiteness theorem: A polynomial vector field on the real plane has a finite number of limit cycles. To prove the theorem, it suffices to note that limit cycles cannot accumulate on a polycycle of an analytic vector field. This approach necessitates investigation of the monodromy transformation (also known as the Poincare return mapping or the first return mapping) corresponding to this cycle. To carry out this investigation, this book utilizes five sources: The theory of Dulac, use of the complex domain, resolution of singularities, the geometric theory of normal forms, and superexact asymptotic series. In the introduction, the author presents results about this problem that were known up to the writing of the present book, with full proofs (except in the case of the results in the local theory and theorems on resolution of singularities).