On the reversible quadratic polynomial vector fields on \(\mathbb{S}^2\) (Q714056)

Let \(X\) be polynomial vector field in \(\mathbb{R}^3\) \[ X=P(x,y,z) \frac{\partial}{\partial x}+Q(x,y,z) \frac{\partial}{\partial y}+R(x,y,z) \frac{\partial}{\partial z} \] of degree \(m=\max\{\deg P, \deg Q, \deg R\}\). Assume that \(X\) defines a vector field on the sphere \(\mathbb{S}^2=\{(x,y,z):x^2+y^2+z^2=1\}\), that is, the polynomials \(P\), \(Q\) and \(R\) satisfy the equation \[ x P(x,y,z)+y Q(x,y,z)+z R(x,y,z) \equiv 0. \] The vector field \(X\) is said to be time-reversible if there is a smooth involution \(\phi:\mathbb{R}^3 \to \mathbb{R}^3\), with \(\phi \circ \phi = \operatorname{id}\) and \(\phi \neq \operatorname{id}\), such that \(X \circ \phi=-d\phi \cdot X\). In particular, if the dimension of the fixed point set of \(\phi\), \(\operatorname{Fix}\{ \phi\}\), is equal to \(k\), then \(X\) is said to be of \((3,k)\)-type reversibility. The authors study quadratic (\(m=2\)) polynomial vector fields \(X\) which are \((3,2)\)-type reversible and such that the involution \(\phi\) is linear. In the first main result, Theorem 1, the authors give the general expression of the vector fields under study. With this general expression the authors give two results, Theorems 2 and 3, which characterize the singularities of the vector field and its local behavior, either in the case that they are isolated or in the case taht they are non-isolated and either if they belong to the set \(\operatorname{Fix}\{ \phi\}\) or they do not belong to this set. The authors also prove an upper bound for the number of singularities when they are isolated. The two last main results, Theorems 5 and 6, show that the vector fields under consideration always possess a first integral and that these vector fields do not have limit cycles. In order to prove the two last results, the stereographic projection is used. This study also provides some phase portraits of the vector fields. Indeed, another tool to prove these last two theorems is the result of [\textit{H. Giacomini} et al., Nonlinearity 9, No. 2, 501--516 (1996; Zbl 0886.58087)] which ensures that, if a vector field \(X\) has an inverse integrating factor \(V\) defined in an open set \(\mathcal{U}\) and \(\gamma\) is a limit cycle of \(X\) in \(\mathcal{U}\), then \(\gamma\) is contained in the zero-set of \(V\), that is \(\gamma \subseteq \{V = 0\}\). The authors provide the expressions of an inverse integrating factor for any vector field under consideration once projected to \(\mathbb{R}^2\) by the stereographic projection. The inverse integrating factor is a polynomial of degree at most \(6\) without ovals free from singularities.