Domains of attraction for multiple limit cycles of coupled van der pol equations by simple cell mapping

Abstract One of the most difficult tasks in non-linear analysis is to determine globally various domains of attraction in the state space when there exist more than one asymptotically stable equilibrium states and/or periodic motions. The task is even more demanding if the order of the system is higher than two. In this paper we consider two coupled van der Pol oscillators which admit two asymptotically stable limit cycles. For systems of this kind we show how the method of cell-to-cell mapping can be used to determine the two four-dimensional domains of attraction of the two stable limit cycles in a very effective way. The final results are shown in this paper in the form of a series of graphs which are various two-dimensional sections of the four-dimensional state space.