Symmetric and flat bifurcations: an oscillatory phenomenon (Q761596)

Two distinct bifurcation phenomena associated with non-linear autonomous lumped-parameter systems are analyzed fully in an n-dimensional state space. The analysis is asymptotic and is performed via an intrinsic harmonic balancing technique. In one case a pair of complex conjugate eigenvalues touches the imaginary axis tangentially without crossing it in violation of the main Hopf condition associated with the so-called Hopf bifurcation. It is shown that under the new condition a bifurcating family of limit cycles may or may not exist. If it exists, the family is represented by two paths in the parameter-amplitude space which have finite slopes and are symmetrically located with respect to the amplitude axis. The second case is concerned with a flat Hopf bifurcation, and the limit cycles always exist. This phenomenon occurs when the Hopf condition, that a pair of complex conjugate eigenvalues crosses the imaginary axis with non-zero velocity, is satisfied but another significant coefficient vanishes. In both cases, the asymptotic equations of the limit cycles, bifurcating paths and the frequency-parameter relationships are derived in general terms explicitly. An illustrative example is provided.