On a closed orbit of some constrained system

Abstract.

We study on what one calls a constrained system of ODEs on $\mathbb{R}^3.$ It consists of two ordinary differential equations and an algebraic equation with respect to three unknown functions. We seek closed orbits of such a system. A necessary and sufficient condition for the system to have non-trivial closed orbits is given. Elementary tools such as Lyapunov functions and Poincaré’s index theory are used in the proof of the result. As an application we consider a constrained system associated with a non-constraint system of ODEs called the modified Bonhöffer-van der Pol system.