Perturbations Theory and Methods by James A. Murdock


Perturbations: Theory and Methods gives a thorough introduction to both regular and singular perturbation methods for algebraic and differential equations. Unlike most introductory books on the subject, this one distinguishes between formal and rigorous asymptotic validity, which are commonly confused in books that treat perturbation theory as a bag of heuristic tricks with no foundation. The meaning of 'uniformity' is carefully explained in a variety of contexts. All standard methods, such as rescaling, multiple scales, averaging, matching, and the WKB method are covered, and the asymptotic validity (in the rigorous sense) of each method is carefully proved.

From the Publisher This user-friendly work presents perturbation theory for the solution of algebraic and differential equations, especially ordinary differential equations. It covers all of the methods commonly used in both regular and singular perturbations: Taylor series, Lindstedt series, strained parameters, multiple scales, averaging, matching and WKB methods. Its unique feature is the attention given to the interpretation of results. Considerable attention is given to the mathematical validity of the methods presented and to the estimation of error in a perturbation approximation. Makes accessible to all users of perturbations theory many of the subtler points often known only by specialists. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.