Chaotic solutions of systems with almost periodic forcing (Q1821411)

This paper is a generalization of results contained in a paper by \textit{K. J. Palmer} [J. Differ. Equations 55, 225-256 (1984; Zbl 0508.58035)], which is devoted to the study of transversal homoclinic points on the basis of exponential dichotomies notion, for dynamical systems with periodic forcing. Classically, the Poincaré-Melnikov-Arnol'd method permits the detection of chaos in specific problems. This is realized via the determination of simple zeroes of the ''Melnikov function'' related to the existence of transversal homoclinic points. Here, in the presence of almost periodic forcing terms, a suspended system in the extended phase space is considered by adding the time variable to the original phase variables. Then, the equivalent of the Melnikov function is defined, and any simple zero corresponds to transversal intersections of a stable manifold with an unstable one associated with a hyperbolic invariant set (homoclinic case). A straightforward generalization to certain situations involving heteroclinic orbits is possible.