Nonlinear Dynamics

Graduate / Professional

This course introduces nonlinear dynamics and chaos in dissipative systems, tailored broadly for undergraduate students in science and engineering. It focuses on simple dynamical models, the mathematical principles underlying their behaviors, their connection to natural phenomena, and techniques for data analysis and interpretation. Key topics include forced and parametric oscillators, phase space analysis, periodic, quasiperiodic, and aperiodic flows, sensitivity to initial conditions, and strange attractors such as the Lorenz attractor. The course also explores phenomena like period doubling, intermittency, and quasiperiodicity, emphasizing nonlinear processes describable by a limited number of time-evolving variables. TTh 11:35am-12:50pm