Classical Dynamics: A Contemporary Approach

By: Jorge V. José and Eugene J. Saletan

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Synopsis: Recent advances in the study of dynamical systems have revolutionized the way that classical mechanics is taught and understood. Classical Dynamics: A Contemporary Approach is a new and comprehensive textbook that provides a complete description of this fundamental branch of physics. The authors cover all the material that one would expect to find in a standard graduate course: Lagrangian and Hamiltonian dynamics, canonical transformations, the Hamilton-Jacobi equation, perturbation methods, and rigid bodies. They also deal with more advanced topics such as the relativistic Kepler problem, Liouville and Darboux theorems, and inverse and chaotic scattering. A key feature of the book is the early introduction of geometric (differential manifold) ideas, as well as detailed treatment of topics in nonlinear dynamics (such as the KAM theorem) and continuum dynamics (including solitons). The book contains many worked examples and over 200 homework exercises. It will be an ideal textbook for graduate students of physics, applied mathematics, theoretical chemistry, and engineering, as well as a useful reference for researchers in these fields. A solutions manual is available exclusively for instructors.