Recipes for Continuation

Book excerpt: This book provides a comprehensive introduction to the mathematical methodology of parameter continuation. It develops a systematic formalism for constructing and implementing abstract representations of continuation problems with equal emphasis on theoretical rigor, algorithm development and software engineering. The book demonstrates the use of fully developed toolbox templates for boundary-value problems to the analysis of periodic orbits, quasi-periodic invariant tori, and connecting orbits between equilibria and/or periodic orbits. The book contains extensive and fully-worked examples that illustrate the application of the MATLAB-based Computational Continuation Core (COCO) to cutting-edge research in applied dynamical systems. Many exercises and open-ended projects on both theoretical and algorithmic aspects of the material are provided, suitable for self-study and course assignments. It is intended for students and teachers of nonlinear dynamics and engineering at the advanced undergraduate or first-year graduate level, as well as practitioners engaged in modeling dynamical systems or software development.