An Introduction to Ordinary Differential Equations.pdf

Universitext
Ravi P. Agarwal
Donal O’Regan
An Introduction to
Ordinary Differential
Equations
Ravi P. Agarwal Donal O’Regan
Florida Institute of Technology National University of Ireland, Galway
Department of Mathematical Sciences Mathematics Department
150 West University Blvd. University Road
Melbourne, FL 32901 Galway, Ireland
agarwal@fi donal.******@
ISBN: 978-0-387-71275-8 e-ISBN: 978-0-387-71276-5
DOI: -0-387-71276-5
Library of Congress Control Number: 2007935982
Mathematics Subject Classifi cation (2000): 34-01, 34-XX
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Printed on acid-free paper.
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Dedicated to
Ramesh C. Gupta
on his 65th birthday
Preface
Ordinary differential equations serve as mathematical models for many
exciting “real-world” problems, not only in science and technology, but also
in such diverse fields as economics, psychology, defense, and demography.
Rapid growth in the theory of differential equations and in its applications
to almost every branch of knowledge has resulted in a continued interest in
its study by students in many disciplines. This has given ordinary differen-
tial equations a distinct place in mathematics curricula all over the