On the Equivalence of Normal Form Theory and Multiple Time Scale Method Available to Purchase

Multiple time scales technique has long been an important method for the analysis of weakly nonlinear systems. In this technique, a set of multiple time scales are introduced that serve as the independent variables. The evolution of state variables at slower time scales is then determined so as to make the expansions for solutions in a perturbation scheme uniform in natural and slower times. Normal form theory has also recently been used to approximate the dynamics of weakly nonlinear systems. This theory provides a way of finding a coordinate system in which the dynamical system takes the “simplest” form. This is achieved by constructing a series of near-identity nonlinear transformations that make the nonlinear systems as simple as possible. The “simplest” differential equations obtained by the normal form theory are topologically equivalent to the original systems. Both methods can be interpreted as nonlinear perturbations of linear differential equations. In this work, the equivalence of these two methods for constructing periodic solutions is proven, and it is explained why some studies have found the results obtained by the two techniques to be inconsistent.