arXiv subjects

Olivier Hénot

Publications and source records attributed to Olivier Hénot.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

From the Lagrange Triangle to the Figure Eight Choreography: Proof of Marchal's Conjecture

For the three body problem with equal masses, we prove that the most symmetric continuation class of Lagrange's equilateral triangle solution, also referred to as the $P_{12}$ family of Marchal, contains the remarkable figure eight choreography discovered by Moore in 1993, and proven to exist by Chenciner and Montgomery in 2000. This settles a conjecture of Marchal which dates back to the 1999 conference on Celestial Mechanics in Evanston Illinois, celebrating Donald Saari's 60th birthday.

math.DS↗

arXiv2026

Efficient Rigorous Continuation via Chebyshev Series Expansion I

We study the global continuation of solution manifolds arising in dynamical systems. We present a rigorous continuation method based on a Chebyshev series expansion of the solution manifold. The branch is first approximated by a high-order Chebyshev interpolation polynomial, and an explicit error bound is then obtained by verifying the contraction of a quasi-Newton operator near this approximation. The contraction is formulated on a weighted $\ell^1$ space, giving a finer control than the typical $C^0$-error bound obtained from the uniform contraction theorem. In fact, the latter follows directly from our contraction operator. Furthermore, we discuss how our strategy applies naturally to pseudo-arclength continuation, where the continuation parameter fails to provide a valid local coordinate, and extends to multi-parameter continuation. Lastly, we detail two applications in which we compute a two-parameter family of steady-states for the Cahn--Hilliard equation, and a one-parameter family of steady-states undergoing saddle-node bifurcations for the Shigesada--Kawasaki--Teramoto system.

math.NA↗

arXiv2026

Computer-Assisted Proofs in Dynamical Systems: A Case Study of a Heteroclinic Orbit in the Shimizu--Morioka System

The radii polynomial approach is an a posteriori validation method based on the contraction of a quasi-Newton operator. We apply this strategy to give a computer-assisted proof of a transverse heteroclinic orbit in the Shimizu--Morioka system, validating the equilibria and eigenpairs, the local invariant manifolds via the parameterization method, and the connecting orbit via a boundary-value problem. For each subproblem we present a four-step procedure: $(i)$ zero-finding formulation, $(ii)$ approximate zero, $(iii)$ approximate inverse, and $(iv)$ bound estimates. This highlights the unifying structure behind the a posteriori validation method. Alongside the analysis, we include code snippets implemented in Julia using the RadiiPolynomial library.

math.DS↗

arXiv2026

Global Continuation of Stable Periodic Orbits in Systems of Competing Predators

We develop a continuation technique to obtain global families of stable periodic orbits, delimited by transcritical bifurcations at both ends. To this end, we formulate a zero-finding problem whose zeros correspond to families of periodic orbits. We then define a Newton-like fixed-point operator and establish its contraction near a numerically computed approximation of the family. To verify the contraction, we derive sufficient conditions expressed as inequalities on the norms of the fixed-point operator, and involving the numerical approximation. These inequalities are then rigorously checked by the computer via interval arithmetic. To show the efficacy of our approach, we prove the existence of global families in an ecosystem with Holling's type II functional response, and thereby solve a stable connection problem proposed by Butler and Waltman in 1981. Our method does not rely on restricting the choice of parameters and is applicable to many other systems that numerically exhibit global families.

math.DS↗

arXiv2025

A Practical Guide to Rigorously Locate Periodic Orbits in Discrete Dynamics

Periodic orbits are important objects of discrete dynamical systems, but finding them is not always easy. We present a self-contained introductory account, aimed at non-experts, to prove their existence and study their stability using the aid of the computer. The method consists in three main steps. First, we reformulate the problem of identifying a $p$-periodic orbit as a root-finding problem. Second, we find a numerical approximation of the root (i.e. a periodic orbit candidate). Third, we verify rigorously the contraction of a quasi-Newton operator near this approximation, which guarantees the existence of a unique root (i.e. periodic orbit). The neighbourhood of contraction is a ball centered at the approximation, whose radius yields a rigorous a posteriori error bound on the numerical approximation. To illustrate the effectiveness of this method, we implement it in two examples: the well-known logistic map and a discretization of a predator prey model. For the logistic map, we prove the existence of more than $80\cdot 10^2$ periodic orbits of periods $p=1,\ldots , 80$, mostly unstable. For the predator-prey model, we rigorously detect over $80\cdot 10^4$ periodic orbits of periods $p=1,\ldots, 10$, mostly unstable as well. This confirms well-known dynamical features such as period-doubling bifurcations and the emergence of increasingly complex orbit structures as the parameter changes.

math.DS↗

arXiv2023

Constructive proofs for localized radial solutions of semilinear elliptic systems on $\mathbb{R}^d$

Ground state solutions of elliptic problems have been analyzed extensively in the theory of partial differential equations, as they represent fundamental spatial patterns in many model equations. While the results for scalar equations, as well as certain specific classes of elliptic systems, are comprehensive, much less is known about these localized solutions in generic systems of nonlinear elliptic equations. In this paper we present a general method to prove constructively the existence of localized radially symmetric solutions of elliptic systems on $\mathbb{R}^d$. Such solutions are essentially described by systems of non-autonomous ordinary differential equations. We study these systems using dynamical systems theory and computer-assisted proof techniques, combining a suitably chosen Lyapunov-Perron operator with a Newton-Kantorovich type theorem. We demonstrate the power of this methodology by proving specific localized radial solutions of the cubic Klein-Gordon equation on $\mathbb{R}^3$, the Swift-Hohenberg equation on $\mathbb{R}^2$, and a three-component FitzHugh-Nagumo system on $\mathbb{R}^2$. These results illustrate that ground state solutions in a wide range of elliptic systems are tractable through constructive proofs.

math.AP↗

arXiv2023

Numerical computation of transverse homoclinic orbits for periodic solutions of delay differential equations

We present a computational method for studying transverse homoclinic orbits for periodic solutions of delay differential equations, a phenomenon that we refer to as the \emph{Poincaré scenario}. The strategy is geometric in nature, and consists of viewing the connection as the zero of a nonlinear map, such that the invertibility of its Fréchet derivative implies the transversality of the intersection. The map is defined by a projected boundary value problem (BVP), with boundary conditions in the (finite dimensional) unstable and (infinite dimensional) stable manifolds of the periodic orbit. The parameterization method is used to compute the unstable manifold and the BVP is solved using a discrete time dynamical system approach (defined via the \emph{method of steps}) and Chebyshev series expansions. We illustrate this technique by computing transverse homoclinic orbits in the cubic Ikeda and Mackey-Glass systems.

math.DS↗

arXiv2022

Periodic orbits in Hořava-Lifshitz cosmologies

We consider spatially homogeneous Hořava-Lifshitz (HL) models that perturb General Relativity (GR) by a parameter $v\in (0,1)$ such that GR occurs at $v=1/2$. We describe the dynamics for the extremal case $v=0$, which possess the usual Bianchi hierarchy: type $\mathrm{I}$ (Kasner circle of equilibria), type $\mathrm{II}$ (heteroclinics that induce the Kasner map) and type $\mathrm{VI_0},\mathrm{VII_0}$ (further heteroclinics). For type $\mathrm{VIII}$ and $\mathrm{IX}$, we use a computer-assisted approach to prove the existence of periodic orbits which are far from the Mixmaster attractor and thereby we obtain a new behaviour which is not described by the BKL picture of bouncing Kasner-like states.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2018

Spiderweb central configurations

In this paper we study spiderweb central configurations for the $N$-body problem, i.e configurations given by $N=n \times \ell+1$ masses located at the intersection points of $\ell$ concurrent equidistributed half-lines with $n$ circles and a central mass $m_0$, under the hypothesis that the $\ell$ masses on the $i$-th circle are equal to a positive constant $m_i$; we allow the particular case $m_0=0$. We focus on constructive proofs of the existence of spiderweb central configurations, which allow numerical implementation. Additionally, we prove the uniqueness of such central configurations when $\ell \in \{2,\dots,9\}$ and arbitrary $n$ and $m_i$; under the constraint $m_1\geq m_2\geq \ldots \geq m_n$ we also prove uniqueness for $\ell \in \{10,\dots,18\}$ and $n$ not too large. We also give an algorithm providing a rigorous proof of the existence and local unicity of such central configurations when given as input a choice of $n$, $\ell$ and $m_0, . . . ,m_n$. Finally, our numerical simulations highlight some interesting properties of the mass distribution.

math.DS↗