Symbolic computation of normal form for Hopf bifurcation in a retarded functional differential equation with unknown parameters

Based on the normal form theory for retarded functional differential equations by Faria and Magalhães, a symbolic computation scheme together with the Maple program implementation is developed to compute the normal form of a Hopf bifurcation for retarded functional differential equations with unknown parameters. Not operating as the usual way of computing the center manifold first and normal form later, the scheme features computing them simultaneously. Great efforts are made to package this task into one Maple program with an input interface provided for defining different systems. The applicability of the Maple program is demonstrated via three kinds of delayed dynamic systems such as a delayed Liénard equation, a simplified drilling model and a delayed three-neuron model. The effectiveness of Maple program is also validated through the numerical simulations of those three systems.

► The normal form analysis is considered for RFDEs with unknown parameters. ► A symbolic computation scheme for computing normal forms is developed. ► The corresponding Maple program is derived. ► Center manifold reduction and normal form analysis are conducted simultaneously. ► Numerical results show the applicability of the Maple program.