On the detuned 2:4 resonance

We consider families of Hamiltonian systems in two degrees of freedom with an equilibrium in 1:2 resonance. Under detuning, this "Fermi resonance" typically leads to normal modes losing their stability through period-doubling bifurcations. For cubic potentials this concerns the short axial orbits and in galactic dynamics the resulting stable periodic orbits are called "banana" orbits. Galactic potentials are symmetric with respect to the co-ordinate planes whence the potential -- and the normal form -- both have no cubic terms. This $\mathbb{Z}_2 \times \mathbb{Z}_2$-symmetry turns the 1:2 resonance into a higher order resonance and one therefore also speaks of the 2:4 resonance. In this paper we study the 2:4 resonance in its own right, not restricted to natural Hamiltonian systems where $H = T + V$ would consist of kinetic and (positional) potential energy. The short axial orbit then turns out to be dynamically stable everywhere except at a simultaneous bifurcation of banana and "anti-banana" orbits, while it is now the long axial orbit that loses and regains stability through two successive period-doubling bifurcations.Comment: 31 pages, 7 figures: On line first on Journal of Nonlinear Science (2020

Stability Properties of the Riemann Ellipsoids

We study the ellipticity and the ``Nekhoroshev stability'' (stability properties for finite, but very long, time scales) of the Riemann ellipsoids. We provide numerical evidence that the regions of ellipticity of the ellipsoids of types II and III are larger than those found by Chandrasekhar in the 60's and that all Riemann ellipsoids, except a finite number of codimension one subfamilies, are Nekhoroshev--stable. We base our analysis on a Hamiltonian formulation of the problem on a covering space, using recent results from Hamiltonian perturbation theory.Comment: 29 pages, 6 figure

Contributions of plasma physics to chaos and nonlinear dynamics

This topical review focusses on the contributions of plasma physics to chaos and nonlinear dynamics bringing new methods which are or can be used in other scientific domains. It starts with the development of the theory of Hamiltonian chaos, and then deals with order or quasi order, for instance adiabatic and soliton theories. It ends with a shorter account of dissipative and high dimensional Hamiltonian dynamics, and of quantum chaos. Most of these contributions are a spin-off of the research on thermonuclear fusion by magnetic confinement, which started in the fifties. Their presentation is both exhaustive and compact. [15 April 2016

Bifurcation sequences in the symmetric 1:1 Hamiltonian resonance

We present a general review of the bifurcation sequences of periodic orbits in general position of a family of resonant Hamiltonian normal forms with nearly equal unperturbed frequencies, invariant under $Z_2 \times Z_2$ symmetry. The rich structure of these classical systems is investigated with geometric methods and the relation with the singularity theory approach is also highlighted. The geometric approach is the most straightforward way to obtain a general picture of the phase-space dynamics of the family as is defined by a complete subset in the space of control parameters complying with the symmetry constraint. It is shown how to find an energy-momentum map describing the phase space structure of each member of the family, a catastrophe map that captures its global features and formal expressions for action-angle variables. Several examples, mainly taken from astrodynamics, are used as applications.Comment: 36 pages, 10 figures, accepted on International Journal of Bifurcation and Chaos. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1401.285

On the co-orbital motion in the planar restricted three-body problem: the quasi-satellite motion revisited

In the framework of the planar and circular restricted three-body problem, we consider an asteroid that orbits the Sun in quasi-satellite motion with a planet. A quasi-satellite trajectory is a heliocentric orbit in co-orbital resonance with the planet, characterized by a non zero eccentricity and a resonant angle that librates around zero. Likewise, in the rotating frame with the planet it describes the same trajectory as the one of a retrograde satellite even though the planet acts as a perturbator. In the last few years, the discoveries of asteroids in this type of motion made the term "quasi-satellite" more and more present in the literature. However, some authors rather use the term "retrograde satellite" when referring to this kind of motion in the studies of the restricted problem in the rotating frame. In this paper we intend to clarify the terminology to use, in order to bridge the gap between the perturbative co-orbital point of view and the more general approach in the rotating frame. Through a numerical exploration of the co-orbital phase space, we describe the quasi-satellite domain and highlight that it is not reachable by low eccentricities by averaging process. We will show that the quasi-satellite domain is effectively included in the domain of the retrograde satellites and neatly defined in terms of frequencies. Eventually, we highlight a remarkable high eccentric quasi-satellite orbit corresponding to a frozen ellipse in the heliocentric frame. We extend this result to the eccentric case (planet on an eccentric motion) and show that two families of frozen ellipses originate from this remarkable orbit.Comment: 30 pages, 13 figures, 1 tabl

An energy-momentum map for the time-reversal symmetric 1:1 resonance with Z_2 X Z_2 symmetry

We present a general analysis of the bifurcation sequences of periodic orbits in general position of a family of reversible 1:1 resonant Hamiltonian normal forms invariant under $\Z_2\times\Z_2$ symmetry. The rich structure of these classical systems is investigated both with a singularity theory approach and geometric methods. The geometric approach readily allows to find an energy-momentum map describing the phase space structure of each member of the family and a catastrophe map that captures its global features. Quadrature formulas for the actions, periods and rotation number are also provided.Comment: 22 pages, 3 figures, 1 tabl