Uniqueness and hyperbolicity of limit cycles for autonomous planar systems with zero diagonal coefficient (Q511531)

The paper focuses on the uniqueness and hyperbolicity of a limit cycle of the autonomous planar system with special structure \[ \dot{x}=p_2(y)q_2(x)y, \quad \dot{y}=p_3(y)q_3(x)x+p_4(y)q_4(x)y, \leqno(1) \] where \(p_i(y)\) and \(q_i(x)\) (\(i=2,3,4\)) are continious real functions defined on \(\mathbb{R}\). For this purpose the authors transform system (1) into the following generalized Liénard system \[ \dot{x}=\phi(z- F(x)), \quad \dot{z}=-g(x) \leqno(2) \] and estimate the divergence of system (2) integrated along a limit cycle. Some sufficient conditions that guarantee the uniqueness and hyperbolicity of limit cycles are established. Derived conditions improve some previous results on this subject. The paper contains two examples of systems (1) and (2) having exactly one nontrivial periodic solution which is hyperbolic and orbitally stable where previous results cannot be applied.