Difference Equations: An Introduction with Applications

Difference Equations, Second Edition, presents a practical introduction to this important field of solutions for engineering and the physical sciences. Topic coverage includes numerical analysis, numerical methods, differential equations, combinatorics and discrete modeling. A hallmark of this revision is the diverse application to many subfields of mathematics.

• Phase plane analysis for systems of two linear equations
• Use of equations of variation to approximate solutions
• Fundamental matrices and Floquet theory for periodic systems
• LaSalle invariance theorem
• Additional applications: secant line method, Bison problem, juvenile-adult population model, probability theory
• Appendix on the use of Mathematica for analyzing difference equaitons
• Exponential generating functions
• Many new examples and exercises