A new approach for the study of limit cycles (Q2187192)

The authors prove that star-like limit cycles of any planar polynomial system can also be viewed either as solutions defined on a given interval of a new associated planar non-autonomous polynomial system or as heteroclinic solutions of a three-dimensional polynomial system. They illustrate these points of view with several examples. One of the key ideas in their approach is to decompose the periodic solutions into the sum of two suitable functions. As a first application of these results, the authors prove that all star-like reversible limit cycles are algebraic. As a second application, they introduce a function whose zeros control the periodic orbits that persist as limit cycles when a star-like reversible centre is perturbed. As far as the authors are aware, this is the first time that this question has been solved in full generality. This function plays a similar role to that of an abelian integral for studying perturbations of Hamiltonian systems.