The invertible point transformation is a powerful tool in the study of nonlinear differential and difference equations. This book gives a comprehensive introduction to this technique. Ordinary and partial differential equations are studied with this approach. The book also covers nonlinear difference equations. The connections with Lie symmetries, the Painlevé property, first integrals and the Cartan equivalence method are discussed in detail. Most of the evaluations are checked with the computer language REDUCE; the book includes 30 REDUCE programs. A short introduction to the jet bundle formalism is given.
First-order ordinary differential equation; second-order ordinary differential equations; third-order differential equations; Lie point symmetries; first integrals and differential equation; cartan equivalence method; Painleve test and linearization; Painleve test and partial differential equations; partial differential equations; difference equations; REDUCE programs; jet bundle formalism.
"The text is well written, and fairly elementary from a mathematical standpoint. The concepts are clearly illustrated; there are numerous examples of interest to applied mathematicians and physicists." Richard Churchill SIAM Review, 1994
Yorick Hardy, Willi-hans Steeb, South Africa) Hardy, Yorick (Univ Of The Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa) Steeb, Willi-hans (Univ Of Johannesburg, Hardy Yorick, HARDY YORICK