SIMPLE VECTOR FIELDS WITH COMPLEX BEHAVIOR

Abstract

We construct examples of vector fields on a three-sphere, amenable to analytic proof of properties that guarantee the existence of complex behavior. The examples are restrictions of symmetric polynomial vector fields in R4 and possess heteroclinic networks producing switching and nearby suspended horseshoes. The heteroclinic networks in our examples are persistent under symmetry preserving perturbations. We prove that some of the connections in the networks are the transverse intersection of invariant manifolds. The remaining connections are symmetry-induced. The networks lie in an invariant three-sphere and may involve connections exclusively between equilibria or between equilibria and periodic trajectories. The same construction technique may be applied to obtain other examples with similar features.