PHYSICS OF CHAOS IN HAMILTONIAN SYSTEMS
by George M Zaslavsky (New York University & Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences)
This book aims to familiarise the reader with the essential properties of the chaotic dynamics of Hamiltonian systems. It includes unique material on separatrix chaos, small nonlinearity chaos, fractional kinetics, and discussions on Maxwell's Demon and the foundation of statistical physics. Special mathematical tools not typical of physics are avoided.
The book is ideally suited for all those who are actively working on the problems of dynamical chaos. It introduces the physicist to the world of Hamiltonian chaos and the mathematician to actual physical problems. The material can also be used by graduate students.
Contents:
- Discrete and Continuous Models
- Separatrix Chaos
- The Phase Space of
Chaos
- Nonlinearity Versus Perturbation
- Fractals and Chaos
- Poincaré Recurrences and Fractal Time
- Chaos and Foundation of Statistical Physics
- Chaos and Symmetry
- More Degrees of Freedom
- Normal and Anomalous Kinetics
- Fractional Kinetics
Readership: Physicists, applied mathematicians, engineers, and students of
these main fields.
"George Zaslavsky develops 'fractional kinetics' in an attempt to give a smoothed, but nondiffusive, description. This phenomenological description captures some aspects of the stickiness of islands, but I believe its mathematical justification remains elusive. Perhaps that is an excellent reason to read this book."
"The book is useful for scientists who are actively working on the problems of dynamical chaos ... The material can also be used as a textbook for a graduate course on new and emerging directions in Hamiltonian chaos theory."
| 288pp |
Pub. date: Jul 1998 |
