This introduction to the theory of Hamiltonian chaos outlines the main results in the field, and goes on to consider implications for quantum mechanics. The study of nonlinear dynamics, and in particular of chaotic systems, is one of the fastest growing and most productive areas in physics and applied mathematics. In its first six chapters, this timely book introduces the theory of classical Hamiltonian systems. The aim is not to be comprehensive but, rather, to provide a mathematical trunk from which the reader will be able to branch out. The main focus is on periodic orbits and their neighbourhood, as this approach is especially suitable as an introduction to the implications of the theory of chaos in quantum mechanics, which are discussed in the last three chapters.

‘ … it successfully gives a concise treatment of well-chosen key elements of the field that are suitable for an upper-level graduate physics course.’

Source: Science