Fixed and moving limit cycles for Liénard equations (Q2009072)

This paper is a study of limit cycles for the following family of smooth differential systems \[\dot{x} = y - 2G(x)P(x), \quad \dot{y} = -G'(x)(1 + y P(x))\] with \(G \in C^2(I, \mathbb{R})\), \(P \in C^1(I, \mathbb{R})\), where \(I \subset \mathbb{R}\). By applying the transformation to a Liénard system the authors prove the hyperbolicity of periodic orbits representing a fixed closed invariant curve and investigate the coexistence of them with other periodic orbits. There is the detailed study of one-parameter example of such systems which has at least two limit cycles, one of them fixed and algebraic and the other one moving with the parameter, presents a transcritical bifurcation of limit cycles and for a given parameter has a non-hyperbolic double algebraic limit cycle. The proof for the existence of exactly two hyperbolic limit cycles for some values of the parameter is based on the construction of several suitable Dulac functions.