ORDINARY DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONSORDINARY DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS

„The purpose of this textbook is to provide a traditional treatment of the theory of ordinary differential equations. The book is based on some lectures I delivered for a number of years at the Faculty of Physics of the University of Bucharest and covers the curriculum on ordinary differential equations for the students of the first year of this faculty. To write a textbook on such a classical domain is not an easy task. In the last years, mathematics, and in particular the theory of differential equations, has become a commonplace tool, not only in domains such as mechanics, physics, chemistry, astronomy, but also in ones such as biology, medicine and economics. The requirements on mathematical training of a modern physicist are constantly increasing. The theory of differential equations is in fact a chapter of mathematics which is absolutely necessary for modelling and investigating complex physical processes, being a sine qua non condition of a solid training of a physicist. The book consists of four chapters. The first chapter is a brief introduction to the theory of ordinary differential equations. Chapter 2 deals with first-order differential equations. In Chapter 3 we treat higher-order differential equations and in Chapter 4 we deal with systems of differential equations. Each chapter contains many worked out examples and ends up with a few simple exercises, which should be regarded as an integral part of the book.” (Claudia Timofte)