title: Homoclinic crossing in open systems: chaos in periodically perturbed monopole plus quadrupolelike potentials.
abstract: The Melnikov method is applied to periodically perturbed open systems modeled by an inverse-square-law attraction center plus a quadrupolelike term. A compactification approach that regularizes periodic orbits at infinity is introduced. The (modified) Smale-Birkhoff homoclinic theorem is used to study transversal homoclinic intersections. A larger class of open systems with degenerated (nonhyperbolic) unstable periodic orbits after regularization is also briefly considered.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Matemática Aplicada-IMECC, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), 13081-970 Campinas, Brazil.
authors.forename: P S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Letelier
authors.forename: A E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Motter