We work with polynomial three-dimensional rigid differential systems. Using the Lyapunov constants, we obtain lower bounds for the cyclicity of the known rigid centres on their centre manifolds. Moreover, we obtain an example of a quadratic rigid centre from which is possible to bifurcate 13 limit cycles, which is a new lower bound for three-dimensional quadratic systems.

We provide sufficient conditions for the non-existence, existence and uniqueness of limit cycles surrounding a focus of a quadratic polynomial differential system in the plane.

We consider the class of polynomial differential systems of the form $\dot{x} =\,\lambda x\,-\,y\,+\,{{P}_{n}}\left( x,\,y \right)$ , $\dot{y} =\,x\,+\,\lambda y\,+\,{{Q}_{n}}\left( x,\,y \right)$ where ${{P}_{n}}$ and ${{Q}_{n}}$ are homogeneous polynomials of degree $n$ . For this class of differential systems we summarize the known results for the existence of limit cycles, and we provide new results for their nonexistence and existence.

This paper is concerned with the bifurcation of limit cycles from a quadratic reversible system under polynomial perturbations. It is proved that the cyclicity of the period annulus is two, and also a linear estimate of the number of zeros of the Abelian integral for the system under polynomial perturbations of arbitrary degree nis given.

This paper analyses a model for combustion of a self-heating chemical (such as pool chlorine), stored in drums within a shipping container. The system is described by three coupled nonlinear differential equations for the concentration of the chemical, its temperature and the temperature within the shipping container. Self-sustained oscillations are found to occur, as a result of Hopf bifurcation. Temperature and concentration profiles are presented and compared with the predictions of a simpler two-variable approximation for the system. We study the period of oscillation and its variation with respect to the ambient temperature and the reaction parameter. Nonlinear resonances are found to exist, as the solution jumps between branches having different periods.

We consider three classes of polynomial differential equations of the form ẋ = y + establish Pn (x, y), ẏ = x + Qn (x, y), where establish Pn and Qn are homogeneous polynomials of degree n, having a non-Hamiltonian centre at the origin. By using a method different from the classical ones, we study the limit cycles that bifurcate from the periodic orbits of such centres when we perturb them inside the class of all polynomial differential systems of the above form. A more detailed study is made for the particular cases of degree n = 2 and n = 3.

A planar underactuated bipedal robot with an impulsive foot model is considered. The analysis extends previous work on a model with unactuated point feet of Westervelt et al. to include the actuator model of Kuo. The impulsive actuator at each leg end is active only during the double support phase, which results in the model being identical to the model with unactuated point feet for the single support phase. However, the impulsive foot actuation results in a different model for the double support map. Conditions for the existence of a hybrid zero dynamics for the robot with foot actuation are studied. A feedback design method is proposed that integrates actuation in the single and double support phases. A stability analysis is performed using a Poincaré return map. As in Kuo's model, a more efficient gait is demonstrated with an impulsive foot action.

We investigate the optimal path of the primary surplus that a government will choose to minimize costs that derive from exceeding the Maastricht criteria and generally of a “stability pact,” where we assume three components of costs that are related to (1) the debt-to-GDP ratio, (2) the overall deficit-to-GDP ratio, and (3) the acceptance level of savings in the economy. We show that various political-economic settings can result in completely different equilibrium strategies of the debt-to-GDP ratio and the primary deficit. The spectrum of possible optimal strategies ranges from no stationary solutions to multiple equilibrium and cyclical solutions and from positive to negative levels of the optimal debt-to-GDP ratio. Our results emphasize the importance of macroeconomic and behavioral (acceptance rate of a policy) variables in order to explain complex economic time series.

A general conceptual framework for large-scale neocortical dynamics based on data from many laboratories is applied to a variety of experimental designs, spatial scales, and brain states. Partly distinct, but interacting local processes (e.g., neural networks) arise from functional segregation. Global processes arise from functional integration and can facilitate (top down) synchronous activity in remote cell groups that function simultaneously at several different spatial scales. Simultaneous local processes may help drive (bottom up) macroscopic global dynamics observed with electroencephalography (EEG) or magnetoencephalography (MEG).

A local/global dynamic theory that is consistent with EEG data and the proposed conceptual framework is outlined. This theory is neutral about properties of neural networks embedded in macroscopic fields, but its global component makes several qualitative and semiquantitative predictions about EEG measures of traveling and standing wave phenomena. A more general “metatheory” suggests what large-scale quantitative theories of neocortical dynamics may be like when more accurate treatment of local and nonlinear effects is achieved.

The theory describes the dynamics of excitatory and inhibitory synaptic action fields. EEG and MEG provide large-scale estimates of modulation of these synaptic fields around background levels. Brain states are determined by neuromodulatory control parameters. Purely local states are dominated by local feedback gains and rise and decay times of postsynaptic potentials. Dominant local frequencies vary with brain region. Other states are purely global, with moderate to high coherence over large distances. Multiple global mode frequencies arise from a combination of delays in corticocortical axons and neocortical boundary conditions. Global frequencies are identical in all cortical regions, but most states involve dynamic interactions between local networks and the global system. EEG frequencies may involve a “matching” of local resonant frequencies with one or more of the many, closely spaced global frequencies.

In this paper we examine the effects of perturbing certain deterministic dynamical systems possessing a stable limit cycle by an additive white noise term with small intensity. We place assumptions on the system guaranteeing that when noise is present the corresponding random process generates an ergodic probability measure. We then determine the behavior of the invariant measure when the noise intensity is small.