Planar systems and Abel equations (Q2079207)

This paper studies the problems of when polynomial planar systems can be reduced to Abel equations. This paper considers the planar system of form \[ \begin{cases} \dot{x} = \lambda x + y + P_2(x, y) + \cdots + P_n(x, y),\\ \dot{y} = \lambda y - x + Q_2(x, y) + \cdots + Q_n(x, y), \end{cases}\tag{1} \] where \(P_i\), \(Q_i\) are homogeneous polynomials of degree \(i\). The commonest transformation to reduce planar systems to Abel differential equations is the Cherkas' change of variables, \[ \rho(\theta) = \dfrac{u(r)}{-1 + B(\theta) u(r)}, \] where \(r\) and \(\theta\) are the polar coordinates of the original planar system (1), and \(u\) is a strictly increasing polynomial such that \(u(0) = 0\), and \(B\) is a \(2\pi\)-periodic \(C^1\)-function. This paper studies the following question: When does Cherkas' change of variables transform a planar system of form (1) into an Abel equation \[ \dot{\rho} = \alpha_1(t) \rho + \alpha_2(t) \rho^2 + \cdots + \alpha_N(t) \rho^N \] in a region \(D\) containing the origin? This study is based on earlier works by Christopher, Devlin, Lloyd, and Pearson. The novelty of the approach is that the properties of the function involved in the change of variables are determined. This paper provides a constructive method of obtaining planar systems that can be reduced to Abel equations. With the obtained results, it is possible to obtain new families of planar systems that can be reduced to Abel equations.