The number and stability of limit cycles for planar piecewise linear systems of node-saddle type

The objective of this paper is to study the number and stability of limit cycles for planar piecewise linear (PWL) systems of node-saddle type with two linear regions. Firstly, we give a thorough analysis of limit cycles for Liénard PWL systems of this type, proving one is the maximum number of limit cycles and obtaining necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence and stability of a unique limit cycle. These conditions can be easily verified directly according to the parameters in the systems, and play an important role in giving birth to two limit cycles for general PWL systems. In this step, the tool of a Bendixon-like theorem is successfully employed to derive the existence of a limit cycle. Secondly, making use of the results gained in the first step, we obtain parameter regions where the general PWL systems have at least one, at least two and no limit cycles respectively. In addition for the general PWL systems, some sufficient conditions are presented for the existence and stability of a unique one and exactly two limit cycles respectively. Finally, some numerical examples are given to illustrate the results and especially to show the existence and stability of two nested limit cycles.