Homotopy invariants of time reversible periodic orbits. I: Theory (Q1912896)

Consider the space \(X= \mathbb{R}^{2N}\) and let \(x^+(x^-)\) be the first \(N\) components (respectively, the last \(N\) components) of \(x\in X\). Define the matrix \(R\) by \(R(x^+, x^-)= (x^+, - x^-)\). The authors study a system \(x'= f(x)\), \(x\in X\), and assume that it is time reversible, i.e., \(f(Rx)= - Rf(x)\) for all \(x\). For a reversible nonstationary periodic orbit \(\gamma\) of the considered system they introduce a family of homotopic invariants, the so-called orbit degree. Their main results show that the orbit degree can be recovered from the Floquet multipliers of \(\gamma\), and, conversely, the Floquet multipliers on the unit circle can be recovered from the orbit degree.