Extending discrete geometric singular perturbation theory to non-hyperbolic points

Abstract We extend the recently developed discrete geometric singular perturbation theory to the non-normally hyperbolic regime. Our primary tool is the Takens embedding theorem , which provides a means of approximating the dynamics of particular maps with the time-1 map of a formal vector field. First, we show that the so-called reduced map , which governs the slow dynamics near slow manifolds in the normally hyperbolic regime, can be locally approximated by the time-1 map of the reduced vector field which appears in continuous-time geometric singular perturbation theory. In the non-normally hyperbolic regime, we show that the dynamics of fast-slow maps with a unipotent linear part can be locally approximated by the time-1 map induced by a fast-slow vector field in the same dimension, which has a nilpotent singularity of the corresponding type. The latter result is used to describe (i) the local dynamics of two-dimensional fast-slow maps with non-normally singularities of regular fold, transcritical and pitchfork type, and (ii) dynamics on a (potentially high-dimensional) local center manifold in n -dimensional fast-slow maps with regular contact or fold submanifolds of the critical manifold. In general, our results show that the dynamics near a large and important class of singularities in fast-slow maps can be described via the use of formal embedding theorems which allow for their approximation by the time-1 map of a fast-slow vector field featuring a loss of normal hyperbolicity.