Method Of Guiding Functions In Problems Of Nonlinear Analysis

Method of Guiding Functions in Problems of Nonlinear Analysis

This book offers a self-contained introduction to the theory of guiding functions methods, which can be used to study the existence of periodic solutions and their bifurcations in ordinary differential equations, differential inclusions and in control theory. It starts with the basic concepts of nonlinear and multivalued analysis, describes the classical aspects of the method of guiding functions, and then presents recent findings only available in the research literature. It describes essential applications in control theory, the theory of bifurcations, and physics, making it a valuable resource not only for “pure” mathematicians, but also for students and researchers working in applied mathematics, the engineering sciences and physics.

Methods of Guiding Functions in Problems of Nonlinear Analysis

A Practical Guide to Averaging Functions

This book offers an easy-to-use and practice-oriented reference guide to mathematical averages. It presents different ways of aggregating input values given on a numerical scale, and of choosing and/or constructing aggregating functions for specific applications. Building on a previous monograph by Beliakov et al. published by Springer in 2007, it outlines new aggregation methods developed in the interim, with a special focus on the topic of averaging aggregation functions. It examines recent advances in the field, such as aggregation on lattices, penalty-based aggregation and weakly monotone averaging, and extends many of the already existing methods, such as: ordered weighted averaging (OWA), fuzzy integrals and mixture functions. A substantial mathematical background is not called for, as all the relevant mathematical notions are explained here and reported on together with a wealth of graphical illustrations of distinct families of aggregation functions. The authors mainly focus on practical applications and give central importance to the conciseness of exposition, as well as the relevance and applicability of the reported methods, offering a valuable resource for computer scientists, IT specialists, mathematicians, system architects, knowledge engineers and programmers, as well as for anyone facing the issue of how to combine various inputs into a single output value.