The theory of differential equations. Classical and qualitative (Q965716)

This book provides an introduction to many of the important topics associated with ordinary differential equations. It consists of eight chapters. Chapters 1 and 2 treat the first-order linear equations and introduce the reader to the theory of periodicity of solutions, i.e., the Floquet theory. Chapter 3 is on autonomous systems, studying differential equations via the dynamical systems theory. Chapter 4 is on perturbation theory and chapters 5 and 6 return to linear equations and present a rich mix of classical subjects, such as self-adjointness, disconjugacy, Green functions, Riccati equations and the calculus of variations. Chapter 7 deals with boundary value problems, and introduces the contraction mapping theorem as a tool in proving existence and uniqueness of solutions. The last chapter has a theoretical character. It concerns Lipschitz conditions, the Picard-Lindelöf theorem, Ascoli-Arzela theorem, and extendability of solutions.