Low-order resonances in weakly dissipative spin-orbit models (Q1019673)

The paper is concerned with periodic orbits in nonlinear second-order differential equations with small damping, and periodic excitation. The spin-orbit model of celestial mechanics is an example of such an equation. The authors establish existence, stability and basins of attraction of periodic orbits of type \((p, q)\) for two given coprime positive integers \(p\) and \(q\). They derive explicit conditions for the coexistence of periodic orbits and estimated the measure of the basins of attraction of stable periodic orbits. Their theoretical conclusions agree with previous numerical simulation results.