Non-persistence of homoclinic connections for perturbed integrable reversible systems (Q1288143)

The dynamics of an analytic reversible vector field \(X(x,\mu)\) on \(\mathbb{R}^4\) with an equilibrium at the origin and \(\mu\) a real parameter close to 0 is studied. The spectrum of the differential \(D_x X(0,0)\) is \(\{ \pm i q, 0\}\) at \(\mu = 0\). The author considers a subclass of such vector fields, obtained from small perturbations of a normal form. The normal form considered is one of the two possible normal forms and occurs in the study of a water wave problem. The truncated normal form system possesses arbitrary small periodic orbits plus reversible homoclinic connections to them. It has a reversible homoclinic connection to the origin. In [Proc. R. Soc. Edinb., Sect. A 126, No. 5, 1035-1054 (1996; Zbl 0863.34049)] the author studied the persistence of small periodic orbits and the homoclinic connections to them. In this paper he considers the persistence of the homoclinic connection to the origin. A generically satisfied condition is given that obstructs the existence of homoclinic connections to the origin for the perturbed system. Although the normal form system admits a reversible homoclinic connection to the origin, this does not survive perturbations. The normal form essentially decouples the hyperbolic and elliptic part of the linearization to any algebraic order. This decoupling does not persist arbitrary reversible perturbations, which cause the appearance of small amplitude oscillations.