Math 234
Advanced Dynamical Systems
Spring 2021
Lecture time and location
MW 1:30-2:45 PM (NOT 12:00-1:15 PM!) online via Zoom
The link will be posted on Piazza and Canvas
Prerequisite
Math 134 or instructor consent
Office hours
Mondays and Wednesdays 10-11 AM online via Zoom, and by appointment
Textbook
Luis Barreira and Claudia Valls, Ordinary Differential Equations: Qualitative Theory, AMS, Graduate Studies in Mathematics, vol. 137, 2012 (required)
Supplementary text
M. W. Hirsch, S. Smale, and R. L. Devaney, Differential Equations, Dynamical Systems and an Introduction to Chaos, third edition, Academic Press (Elsevier), 2013
Exams
None
Grading policy
Homework 50%, expository paper 40%, presentation 10%
Expository paper
Each student will be required to write a short expository paper on a topic related to the course. A list of potential topics will be posted later. Papers need to be typeset in LaTeX.
Piazza
To handle questions posed outside of class, we will be using Piazza. Piazza is a free online gathering place where students can ask, answer, and explore 24/7, under the guidance of their instructors. On the class dashboard, students can post questions and collaborate Wikipedia-style to edit responses to these questions. I as an instructor can also answer questions, endorse student answers, and edit or delete any posted content.
Instead of emailing me math questions, I encourage you to post them on Piazza.
Each student will be invited to join Piazza by email. Please join it as soon as you can, as I plan to use Piazza extensively.
Homework
There will be regular homework assignments which will be posted on Piazza. You will be able to revise and rewrite your solutions based on my initial comments and suggestions. You are allowed to use the literature and discuss the problems amongst yourselves, but you have to write your own solutions.