On the number of limit cycles of some systems on the cylinder

In this article we give two criteria for bounding the number of non-contractible limit cycles of a family of differential systems on the cylinder. This family includes Abel equations as well as the polar expression of several types of planar polynomial systems given by the sum of three homogeneous vector fields.     

Necessary conditions for the existence of invariant algebraic curves for planar polynomial systems

This work deals with planar polynomial differential systems , . We give a set of necessary conditions for a system to have an invariant algebraic curve. These conditions are determined from the value of the cofactor at the singular points of the system, once considered in a compact space. We apply these results to show the non-Liouvillian integrability of several families of quadratic systems with an algebraic limit cycle.     

The cyclicity of the elliptic segment loops of the reversible quadratic Hamiltonian systems under quadratic perturbations

Denote by Q^H and Q^R the Hamiltonian class and reversible class of quadratic integrable systems. There are several topological types for systems belong to Q^H∩Q^R. One of them is the case that the corresponding system has two heteroclinic loops, sharing one saddle-connection, which is a line segment, and the other part of the loops is an ellipse. In this paper we prove that the maximal number of limit cycles, which bifurcate from the loops with respect to quadratic perturbations in a conic neighborhood of the direction transversal to reversible systems (called in reversible direction), is two. We also give the corresponding bifurcation diagram.     

On Hopf bifurcation in non-smooth planar systems

As we know, for non-smooth planar systems there are foci of three different types, called focus-focus (FF), focus-parabolic (FP) and parabolic-parabolic (PP) type respectively. The Poincaré map with its analytical property and the problem of Hopf bifurcation have been studied in Coll et al. (2001) [3] and Filippov (1988) [6] for general systems and in Zou et al. (2006) [13] for piecewise linear systems. In this paper we also study the problem of Hopf bifurcation for non-smooth planar systems, obtaining new results. More precisely, we prove that one or two limit cycles can be produced from an elementary focus of the least order (order 1 for foci of FF or FP type and order 2 for foci of PP type) (Theorem 2.3), different from the case of smooth systems. For piecewise linear systems we prove that 2 limit cycles can appear near a focus of either FF, FP or PP type (Theorem 3.3).     

Hamiltonian nilpotent centers of linear plus cubic homogeneous polynomial vector fields

We provide normal forms and the global phase portraits in the Poincaré disk for all Hamiltonian nilpotent centers of linear plus cubic homogeneous planar polynomial vector fields.     

Hamiltonian linear type centers of linear plus cubic homogeneous polynomial vector fields

We provide normal forms and the global phase portraits in the Poincaré disk for all the Hamiltonian linear type centers of linear plus cubic homogeneous planar polynomial vector fields.     

Pseudo-Abelian integrals along Darboux cycles: A codimension one case

We investigate a polynomial perturbation of an integrable, non-Hamiltonian system with first integral of Darboux type. In the paper [M. Bobieński, P. Mardeši?, Pseudo-Abelian integrals along Darboux cycles, Proc. Lond. Math. Soc., in press] the generic case was studied. In the present paper we study a degenerate, codimension one case. We consider 1-parameter unfolding of a non-generic case. The main result of the paper is an analog of Varchenko-Kchovanskii theorem for pseudo-Abelian integrals.     

Small-amplitude limit cycles of some Liénard-type systems

As we know, the Liénard system and its generalized forms are classical and important models of nonlinear oscillators, and have been widely studied by mathematicians and scientists. The main problem considered by most people is the number of limit cycles. In this paper, we investigate two kinds of Liénard systems and obtain the maximal number (i.e. the least upper bound) of limit cycles appearing in Hopf bifurcations by applying some known bifurcation theorems with technical analysis.     

Criteria to bound the number of critical periods

In the present paper we study the period function of centers of potential systems. We obtain criteria to bound the number of critical periods. In case that the system is polynomial, our result enables to tackle the problem from a purely algebraic point of view, since it allows to bound the number of critical periods by counting the zeros of a polynomial. To illustrate its applicability some new and old results are proved.     

Multiplicity of limit cycles and analytic m-solutions for planar differential systems

This work deals with limit cycles of real planar analytic vector fields. It is well known that given any limit cycle Γ of an analytic vector field it always exists a real analytic function f₀(x,y), defined in a neighborhood of Γ, and such that Γ is contained in its zero level set. In this work we introduce the notion of f₀(x,y) being an m-solution, which is a merely analytic concept. Our main result is that a limit cycle Γ is of multiplicity m if and only if f₀(x,y) is an m-solution of the vector field. We apply it to study in some examples the stability and the bifurcation of periodic orbits from some non-hyperbolic limit cycles.     

Bifurcation of limit cycles from generalized homoclinic loops in planar piecewise smooth systems

The generalized homoclinic loop appears in the study of dynamics on piecewise smooth differential systems during the past two decades. For planar piecewise smooth differential systems, there are concrete examples showing that under suitable perturbations of a generalized homoclinic loop one or two limit cycles can appear. But up to now there is no a general theory to study the cyclicity of a generalized homoclinic loop, that is, the maximal number of limit cycles which are bifurcated from it.     

On the number of critical periods for planar polynomial systems of arbitrary degree

We construct a class of planar systems of arbitrary degree n having a reversible center at the origin and such that the number of critical periods on its period annulus grows quadratically with n. As far as we know, the previous results on this subject gave systems having linear growth.     

On the cyclicity of weight-homogeneous centers

Let W be a weight-homogeneous planar polynomial differential system with a center. We find an upper bound of the number of limit cycles which bifurcate from the period annulus of W under a generic polynomial perturbation. We apply this result to a particular family of planar polynomial systems having a nilpotent center without meromorphic first integral.     

The monotonic property and stability of solutions of fractional differential equations

In this paper we improve on the monotone property of Lemma 1.7.3 in Lakshmikantham et al. (2009) [5] for the case g(t,u)=λu with a nonnegative real number λ. We also investigate the Mittag-Leffler stability of solutions of fractional differential equations by using the fractional comparison principle.     

Slow divergence integral and its application to classical Liénard equations of degree 5

The slow divergence integral is a crucial tool to study the cyclicity of a slow–fast cycle for singularly perturbed planar vector fields. In this paper, we deduce a useful form for this integral in order to apply it to various problems. As an example, we use it to prove that the slow divergence integral along any non-degenerate slow–fast cycle for singular perturbations of classical Liénard equations of degree 5 has at most one zero, and the zero is simple if it exists; hence the cyclicity of any non-degenerate slow–fast cycle in this class of equations is at most 2. Up to now there were many interesting results about Liénard equations of degree 3, 4 and ≥6, but almost nothing is known about degree 5. The result in this paper can be seen as a first stage to study the uniform property for classical Liénard equations of degree 5.     

Perturbations of symmetric elliptic Hamiltonians of degree four

In this paper four-parameter unfoldings Xλ of symmetric elliptic Hamiltonians of degree four are studied. We prove that in a compact region of the period annulus of X₀ the displacement function of Xλ is sign equivalent to its principal part, which is given by a family induced by a Chebychev system; and we describe the bifurcation diagram of Xλ in a full neighborhood of the origin in the parameter space, where at most two limit cycles can exist for the corresponding systems.     

Asymptotic expansion of the period function

Let P be a not necessarily bounded polycycle of an analytic vector field on an open set of the plane. Suppose that the singularities which appear after desingularization of the vertices of P are formally linearizable. Consider the function T defined by the return time near P. It is shown that the function T and its derivative T′ have asymptotic expansions in and . It is also shown that under some other conditions imposed on the polycycle vertices, the asymptotic expansions of T and T′ converge absolutely and uniformly to these functions, respectively. These results are applied to the polycycles of the analytic vector fields which have a Darboux first integral. In particular, it is obtained that if P is a polycycle of a Hamiltonian vector field with an analytic (polynomial if P is unbounded) Hamiltonian function, T is a nonoscillating function. Another application concerns the nilpotent centers or focus, since the singularities which appear after desingularization of such a singularity have analytic first integrals.