An algorithm for detecting directional quasi-convexity (Q1770928)

This paper is concerned with the practical verification of the so called directional quasi-convexity (DQC) property which is a sufficient condition of Nekhoroshev stability of Hamiltonian systems around equilibrium points. After starting with a clear motivation the stability problem under consideration, the truncated fourth-order Birkhoff normal form of the Hamiltonian \(K\) around an equilibrium is written in the reduced form \( K = \Omega \cdot I + (1/2) I \cdot M I \) where \( \Omega, I \) are the frequency and action \(n\)-dimensional variables, respectively, and \(M\) a symmetric constant matrix. Then the above DQC property holds if \( \Omega \cdot I = 0\) and \( I \cdot M I = 0\) with \( I_j \geq 0 \) imply that \( I \equiv 0\). This condition can be easily checked for the 3-dimensional case and in the paper under consideration for the higher dimensional case the authors propose a recursive algorithm that allows them to reduce successively the dimensionality of the original problem. The paper ends applying the proposed algorithm to the Hamiltonian of a five dimensional Levitron around an equilibrium that depends on two parameters computing explicitly the ellipticity region in the plane of parameters.