Non-resonant Hopf Links Near a Hamiltonian Equilibrium Point

Abstract

This paper is about the existence of periodic orbits near an equilibrium point of a two-degree-of-freedom Hamiltonian system. The equilibrium is supposed to be a nondegenerate minimum of the Hamiltonian. Every sphere-like component of the energy surface sufficiently close to the equilibrium contains at least two periodic orbits forming a Hopf link (A. Weinstein [19]). A theorem by Hofer, Wysocki, and Zehnder [9] implies that there are either precisely two or infinitely many periodic orbits on such a component of the energy surface. This multiplicity result follows from the existence of a disk-like global surface of section. If a certain non-resonance condition on the rotation numbers of the orbits of the Hopf link is satisfied [8], then infinitely many periodic orbits follow. This paper aims to present explicit conditions on the Birkhoff-Gustavson normal forms of the Hamiltonian function at the equilibrium point that ensure the existence of infinitely many periodic orbits on the energy surface by checking the non-resonance condition as in [8] and not making use of any global surface of section. The main results focus on strongly resonant equilibrium points and apply to the Spatial Isosceles Three-Body Problem, Hill's Lunar Problem, and the Hénon-Heiles System.