Book Description

Since 1978, when the first Russian edition of this book appeared, geometrical methods in the theory of ordinary differential equations have become very popular. A lot of computer experiments have been performed and some theorems have been proved. In this edition, this progress is (partially) repre sented by some additions to the first English text. I mention here some of these recent discoveries. I. The Feigenbaum universality of period doubling cascades and its extensions- the renormalization group analysis of bifurcations (Percival, Landford, Sinai, ... ). 2. The Zol~dek solution of the two-parameter bifurcation problem (cases of two imaginary pairs of eigenvalues and of a zero eigenvalue and a pair). 3. The Iljashenko proof of the "Dulac theorem" on the finiteness of the number of limit cycles of polynomial planar vector fields. 4. The Ecalle and Voronin theory of hoi om orphic invariants for formally equivalent dynamical systems at resonances. 5. The Varchenko and Hovanski theorems on the finiteness of the number of limit cycles generated by a polynomial perturbation of a poly nomial Hamiltonian system (the Dulac form of the weakened version of Hilbert's sixteenth problem). 6. The Petrov estimates of the number of zeros of the elliptic integrals responsible for the birth of limit cycles for polynomial perturbations 2 of the Hamiltonian system x = x - I (solution of the weakened sixteenth Hilbert problem for cubic Hamiltonians). 7. The Bachtin theorems on averaging in systems with several frequencies.