Degenerate relative equilibria, curvature of the momentum map, and homoclinic bifurcation (Q2482087)

The author investigates the relative equilibria (RE) as the fundamental class of solutions of Hamiltonian systems with symmetry, which travels along an orbit of the symmetry group. The Hamiltonian system \(\mathbf{z}_t=X_H(\mathbf{z})\) on a symplectic manifold \((M,\Omega)\) with Hamiltonian function \(H:M\to\mathbb{R}\) is considered with symplectic action on \(M\) of the \(n\)-dimensional abelian Lie group \(G\) and relevant Lie algebra \(\mathfrak{g}\). The RE is a solution of the form \(\mathbf{z}(t)=\exp (t\xi)\) for some \(\xi\in\mathfrak{g}\), where the point \(\mathbf{z}(0)=\varphi\in M\) is a critical point of the augmented Hamiltonian \(H_\xi(\mathbf{z})\equiv H(\mathbf{z})-(\mathbf{J}(\mathbf{z})-\mu,\xi)\), \(\mathbf{J}:M\to\mathfrak{g}^\ast\) is the momentum map, \(\mu\in\mathfrak{g}^\ast\) and \(\langle \cdot,\cdot\rangle:\mathfrak{g}^\ast\times\mathfrak{g}\to\mathbb{R}\) is the pairing between \(\mathfrak{g}\) and dual Lie algebra \(\mathfrak{g}^\ast\). The relative equilibrium is said nondegenerate if the second variation of \(H_\xi\) at a critical point is a nondegenerate quadratic form on the subspace consisting of vectors that are tangent of \(\mathbf{J}^{-1}(\mu)\) and transverse to the group orbit. In the article under review the nonlinear problem near a degenerate RE is investigated. The degeneracy creates a saddle-center and relevant homoclinic bifurcation in the reduced system transverse to the orbit group. The momentum map to the Lie algebra determines the form of homoclinic bifurcation. The base of the bifurcation analysis is the use of singularity theory for smooth mappings between manifolds applied to the pullback of the momentum map.