Linearization of hyperbolic finite-time processes

We adapt the notion of processes to introduce an abstract framework for dynamics in finite time, i.e. on compact time-sets. For linear finite-time processes a notion of hyperbolicity namely exponential monotonicity dichotomy (EMD) is introduced, thereby generalizing and unifying several existing approaches. We present a spectral theory for linear processes in a coherent way, based only on a logarithmic difference quotient. In this abstract setting we introduce a new topology, prove robustness of EMD and provide exact perturbation bounds. We suggest a new, intrinsic approach for the investigation of linearizations of finite-time processes, including finite-time analogues of the local (un-)stable manifold theorem and theorem of linearized asymptotic stability. As an application, we discuss our results for ordinary differential equations on a compact time-interval.