Spectra and Normal Forms

This book presents the reader with a streamlined exposition of the notions and results leading to the construction of normal forms and, ultimately, to the construction of smooth conjugacies for the perturbations of tempered exponential dichotomies. These are exponential dichotomies for which the exponential growth rates of the underlying linear dynamics never vanish. In other words, its Lyapunov exponents are all nonzero. The authors consider mostly difference equations, although they also briefly consider the case of differential equations. The content is self-contained and all proofs have been simplified or even rewritten on purpose for the book so that all is as streamlined as possible. Moreover, all chapters are supplemented by detailed notes discussing the origins of the notions and results as well as their proofs, together with the discussion of the proper context, also with references to precursor results and further developments. A useful chapter dependence chart is included in the Preface. The book is aimed at researchers and graduate students who wish to have a sufficiently broad view of the area, without the discussion of accessory material. It can also be used as a basis for graduate courses on spectra, normal forms, and smooth conjugacies.