On degenerate resonances and “vortex pairs”

Hamiltonian systems with 3/2 degrees of freedom close to non-linear autonomous are studied. For unperturbed equations with a nonlinearity in the form of a polynomial of the fourth or fifth degree, their coefficients are specified for which the period on closed phase curves is not a monotone function of the energy and has extreme values of the maximal order. When the perturbation is periodic in time, this non-monotonicity leads to the existence of degenerate resonances. The numerical study of the Poincaré map was carried out and bifurcations related to the formation of the vortex pairs within the resonance zones were found. For systems of a general form at arbitrarily small perturbations the absence of vortex pairs is proved. An explanation of the appearance of these structures for the Poincaré map is presented.