On the number of critical points of the period (Q1076876)

It is shown that for the equation \(\ddot u+f(u)=0\), where \(f\) is a cubic polynomial, the period map can have at most three critical points. This is done by deriving the Picard-Fuchs equation for the period and analyzing the behavior of its solutions. One could make the conjecture that the maximal number is one. This would be the sharpest possible result without conditions on the coefficients of f. Applications are mentioned in the bifurcation theory of steady-state solutions.