Uniform upper bound for the number of limit cycles of planar piecewise linear differential systems with two zones separated by a straight line (Q2106137)

In analogy with the second part of the 16th Hilbert's Problem for planar polynomial systems, it is an important problem to investigate if there is a unform upper bound for the maximum number of limit cycles of planar piecewise smooth polynomial systems. The simplest examples of such kind of systems are the planar piecewise linear systems with two zones separated by a straight line given by the following form: \[ \dot{\mathbf{x}}= \left \{\begin{array}{lll} A_L \mathbf{x}+\mathbf{b}_L, & \text{ if } & x_1 \leq 0, \\ A_R \mathbf{x}+\mathbf{b}_R, & \mbox{ if } & x_1 \geq 0, \end{array}\right. \tag{1} \] where \(\mathbf{x}=(x_1, x_2)^T\in\mathbb{R}^2\) is a vector of state variables, \(A_L\) and \(A_R\) are constant \(2\times 2\) real matrices, \(\mathbf{b}_L\in\mathbb{R}^2\) and \(\mathbf{b}_R\in\mathbb{R}^2\) are constant real vectors. The Filippov's convention is assumed for the trajectories of system (1). Thus a limit cycle is defined as an isolated crossing periodic solution. \textit{R. Lum} and \textit{L. O. Chua} [Int. J. Circuit Theory Appl. 19, No. 3, 251--307 (1991; Zbl 0732.34029)] conjectured that system (1) has at most one limit cycle under the continuity hypothesis. This conjecture was proved in 1998 by \textit{E. Freire} et al. [Int. J. Bifurcation Chaos Appl. Sci. Eng. 8, No. 11, 2073--2097 (1998; Zbl 0996.37065)]. It is then natural to ask if there exists a unform upper bound for the maximum number of limit cycles without the continuity hypothesis. This had remained an open question after the work of Lum and Chua. In this paper, the authors provide a positive answer to this question. More precisely, by combining a newly developed integral characterization of Poincaré half-maps for linear systems with an extension of Khovanskiǐ's theory for investigating the number of intersection points between smooth curves and a particular kind of orbits of vector fields, they obtain a unform upper bound \(L^*\leq 8\) for the maximum number of limit cycles system (1) has.