Averaging and passage through resonances in two-frequency systems near separatrices

Abstract

The averaging method is a classical powerful tool in perturbation theory of dynamical systems. There are two major obstacles to applying the averaging method, resonances and separatrices. In this paper we obtain realistic asymptotic estimates that justify the use of averaging method in a generic situation where both these obstacles are present at the same time, passage through a separatrix for time-periodic perturbations of one-frequency Hamiltonian systems. As a general phenomenon, resonances accumulate at separatrices. The Hamiltonian depends on a parameter that slowly changes for the perturbed system (so slow-fast Hamiltonian systems with two and a half degrees of freedom are included in our class). Our results can also be applied to perturbations of generic two-frequency integrable systems near separatrices, as they can be reduced to periodic perturbations of one-frequency systems.