Simplest Normal Forms of Hopf and Generalized Hopf Bifurcations

The normal forms of Hopf and generalized Hopf bifurcations have been extensively studied, and obtained using the method of normal form theory and many other different approaches. It is well known that if the normal forms of Hopf and generalized Hopf bifurcations are expressed in polar coordinates, then all odd order terms must, in general, remain in the normal form. In this paper, three theorems are presented to show that the conventional normal forms of Hopf and generalized Hopf bifurcations can be further simplified. The forms obtained in this paper for Hopf and generalized Hopf bifurcations are shown indeed to be the “simplest”, and at most only two terms remain in the amplitude equation of the “simplest normal form” up to any order. An example is given to illustrate the applicability of the theory. A computer algebra system using Maple is used to derive all the formulas and verify the results presented in this paper.