Impasse singularities of differential systems of the form \(A(x) x^{\prime} =F(x)\) (Q5929063)

Here, the authors analyze the phase portrait of a differential-algebraic equation of the form \[ A(x)\dot x= F(x),\quad x\in\mathbb{R}^n,\tag{1} \] in a neighbourhood of an impasse point, that is a point of the impasse hypersurface \[ S= \{x\in\mathbb{R}:\text{det }A(x)= 0\}. \] For nonsingular impasse points it is shown that a germ of a constrained system (1) is \(C^\infty\)-equivalent to the normal form \[ \dot x_1=\cdots=\dot x_{n-1}= 0,\quad x_n\dot x_n= 1. \] Moreover, under weak conditions a characterization of phase portraits near singular impasse points is presented. This leads then either to a kernel (K-), or image (I-) or an image-kernel (IK-) singularity. In all three cases the authors present explicitly normal forms of dynamical systems \(C^\infty\)-equivalent to the original one. Finally, to explain the derived normal forms and the pictures of the corresponding phase portraits the techniques of resoluting singularities and locally extended vector fields are used.