Some classes of linear Hamiltonian equations with periodic coefficients (nondegenerate, strongly stable, completely unstable) are determined by the disposition of the Floquet multipliers. Periodic solutions of nonlinear equations (e.g. elliptic or hyperbolic solutions) are also defined by the multipliers of the corresponding variational equation. In this paper, we consider a general set M of linear Hamiltonian equations with multipliers satisfying some arbitrary conditions and a specific condition on the multiplier lying at some point of the unit circle (all known sets admit such a definition). We show that the set M consists of a finite number of subsets Mi which comprise a countable number of domains within which any two Hamiltonians can be continuously deformed into each other. The corresponding integer index q is expressed through the eigenvalues of some self-adjoint problem. It is shown that this index (and, therefore, the known indices relating to specific sets) increases on increasing the Hamiltonian. Using the obtained results, some known and new sets are studied from the unified point of view. It is shown that for the sets of nondegenerate and completely unstable equations, the domains are directionally convex; for strongly stable equations, necessary and sufficient conditions for directional convexity are found. The results are applied to problems of existence and stability of periodic solutions of nonlinear Hamiltonian equations.
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