Uniform upper bounds for the cyclicity of the zero solution of the Abel differential equation (Q496726)

For points \(a, b \in {\mathbb C}\) and polynomials \(P, q \in {\mathbb C}(z)\) the moment Bautin index \(K\) is the largest possible value of the index \(k\) of the first non-zero moment \(m_k = \int_a^b P^k q\), when the sequence is not identically zero. The authors provide the first general upper bound on \(K\), namely, \(K \leqslant 2 + \deg q + 3(\deg P - 1)^2\). In the authors' words, the proof is based on qualitative analysis of linear ordinary differential equations, applied to Cauchy-type integrals of certain algebraic functions. The result has relevance for the infinitesimal version of the Smale-Pugh problem, which is to bound the maximum number of periodic solutions (solutions such that \(y(a) = y(b)\)) that can bifurcate from the zero solution of the polynomial Abel equation \[ y' = p(x) y^2 \] under small perturbation to \[ y' = p(x) y^2 + \varepsilon q(x) y^3. \] In particular, the result implies that for generic \(p\) this number is bounded above by \(5 + \deg q + 3 (\deg p)^2\). This is the first such bound depending solely on the degrees of \(p\) and \(q\).