ACTION AND PERIOD OF HOMOCLINIC AND PERIODIC ORBITS FOR THE UNFOLDING OF A SADDLE-CENTER BIFURCATION

Abstract

At a saddle-center bifurcation for Hamiltonian systems, the homoclinic orbit is cusp shaped at the nonlinear nonhyperbolic saddle point. Near but before the bifurcation, orbits are periodic corresponding to the unfolding of the homoclinic orbit, while after the bifurcation a double homoclinic orbit is formed with a local and global branch. The saddle-center bifurcation is dynamically unfolded due to a slowly varying potential. Near the unfolding of the homoclinic orbit, the period and action are analyzed. Asymptotic expansions for the action, period and dissipation are obtained in an overlap region near the homoclinic orbit of the saddle-center bifurcation. In addition, the unfoldings of the action and dissipation functions associated with zero energy orbits (periodic and homoclinic) near the saddle-center bifurcation are determined using the method of matched asymptotic expansions for integrals.