On the dynamics of non-autonomous systems in a~neighborhood of a~homoclinic trajectory

Abstract

This article is devoted to the study of a $2$-dimensional piecewise smooth (but possibly) discontinuous dynamical system, subject to a non-autonomous perturbation; we assume that the unperturbed system admits a homoclinic trajectory $\vec{\gamma}(t)$. Our aim is to analyze the dynamics in a neighborhood of $\vec{\gamma}(t)$ as the perturbation is turned on, by defining a Poincar\'e map and evaluating fly time and space displacement of trajectories performing a loop close to $\vec{\gamma}(t)$. Besides their intrinsic mathematical interest, these results can be thought of as a first step in the analysis of several interesting problems, such as the stability of a homoclinic trajectory of a non-autonomous ODE and a possible extension of Melnikov chaos to a discontinuous setting.