Stability of periodic orbits by Conley-Zehnder index theory (Q2074457)

The authors give conditions for strong stability of closed orbits of low-dimensional Hamiltonian systems in terms of the Conley-Zehnder index of double iterates. The main result of the paper is the following: Theorem. Let \(x :\mathbb R/T\mathbb Z \to \mathbb R^2\) be a \(T\)-periodic solution of a periodic Hamiltonian system. Suppose that \(x\) and \(x^2\) are nondegenerate. Then \(x\) is elliptic if and only if \(i_1(x^2)\) is odd, and \(x\) is hyperbolic if and only if \(i_1(x^2)\) is even. The result is then applied to the stability of periodic solutions of the Mathieu equation and of the forced pendulum equation, thus recovering a result of \textit{R. Ortega} [Adv. Nonlinear Stud. 13, No. 1, 219--229 (2013; Zbl 1278.34042)] using a different approach.