Generalized Harmonic Oscillators: Velocity Dependent Frequencies

Preliminary results are given on a new class of nonlinear oscillator equations that generalize those of the usual linear harmonic case. These equations take the form ẋ = f(x)y and ẏ = −g(y)x, where f(x) and g(y) are continuous with first derivatives, and f(0) > 0, g(0) > 0. Of interest is the fact that these equations have a first-integral, i.e., there exists a function H(x,y) such that along a particular trajectory in the (x,y) phase space, H(x,y) = constant. We work out several general results related to this system of equations and illustrate them with several special cases that correspond to models of physical systems. The work reported here was supported in part by research grants from DOE and the MBRS-SCORE Program at Clark Atlanta University.