Delay differential equations

Abstract

In this chapter, applications of group analysis to delay differential equations are considered. Many mathematical models in biology, physics and engineering, where there is a time lag or aftereffect, are described by delay differential equations. These equations are similar to ordinary differential equations, but their evolution involves past values of the state variable. For the sake of completeness the chapter is started with a short introduction into the theory of delay differential equations. The mathematical background of these equations is followed by the section which deals with the definition of an admitted Lie group for them and some examples. The purpose of the next section is to give a complete group classification with respect to admitted Lie groups of a second-order delay ordinary differential equation. The reasonable generalization of the definition of an equivalence Lie group for delay differential equations is considered in the next section. The last section of the chapter is devoted to application of the developed theory to the reaction-diffusion equation with a delay. © 2010 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.