Detection of Periodic Orbits in Hamiltonian Systems Using Lagrangian Descriptors

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to apply Lagrangian Descriptors, a concept used to describe phase space structure, to autonomous Hamiltonian systems with two degrees of freedom in order to detect periodic solutions. We propose a method for Hamiltonian systems with saddle-center equilibrium and apply this approach to the classical Hénon–Heiles system. The method was successful in locating the unstable Lyapunov orbits in phase space.