In various fields of science, notably in physics and biology, one is con- fronted with periodic phenomena having a remarkable temporal structure: it is as if certain systems are periodically reset in an initial state. A paper of Van der Pol in the Philosophical Magazine of 1926 started up the investigation of this highly nonlinear type of oscillation for which Van der Pol coined the name "relaxation oscillation." The study of relaxation oscillations requires a mathematical analysis which differs strongly from the well-known theory of almost linear oscillations. In this monograph the method of...

Researchers in the natural sciences are faced with problems that require a novel approach to improve the quality of forecasts of processes that are sensitive to environmental conditions. Nonlinearity of a system may significantly complicate the predictability of future states: a small variation of parameters can dramatically change the dynamics, while sensitive dependence of the initial state may severely limit the predictability horizon. Uncertainties also play a role.

Researchers in the natural sciences are faced with problems that require a novel approach to improve the quality of forecasts of processes that are sensitive to environmental conditions. Nonlinearity of a system may significantly complicate the predictability of future states: a small variation of parameters can dramatically change the dynamics, while sensitive dependence of the initial state may severely limit the predictability horizon. Uncertainties also play a role.
This volume addresses such problems by using tools from chaos theory and systems theory, adapted for the analysis of...