Complex Hamiltonian dynamics. With a foreword by Sergej Flach (Q660363)

In this book the authors present, in an appealing manner, useful topics in complex Hamiltonian dynamical systems. The work is self-contained and addressed to a large audience, ranging from students to older researchers with basic knowledge in physics and mathematics. The nine chapters of the book focus on relatively new and modern topics in Hamiltonian dynamics rather than on traditional themes in this area. An introductory background is presented in Chapter 1, while Chapter 2 presents some illustrative examples. The next chapter combines basic concepts (equilibria, periodicity, Lyapunov exponents, etc.) with more recently developed approaches of generalized alignment indices (GALIs), described in more detail in Chapter 5. Notions of nonlinear normal modes and their implications on Hamiltonian systems are discussed in Chapters 4 and 6. Localized oscillations for nonlinear one-dimensional lattices are treated in Chapter 7, while Chapter 8 describes statistical properties for ``weak chaos''. The book ends with Chapter 9 that contains some conclusions and puts forward several open problems. Each chapter contains a list of exercises and problems aiming to familiarize the beginners among the readers with the techniques presented in the book.