Multiple-scale analysis of dynamical systems on the lattice

We propose a new approach to the multiple-scale analysis of difference equations, in the context of the finite operator calculus. We derive the transformation formulae that map any given dynamical system, continuous or discrete, into a rescaled discrete system, by generalizing a classical result due to Jordan. Under suitable analytical hypotheses on the function space we consider, the rescaled equations are of finite order. Our results are applied to the study of multiple-scale reductions of dynamical systems, and in particular to the case of a discrete nonlinear harmonic oscillator.