In this talk we consider a piecewise-defined Hamiltonian system given by the generalization of the model of the rocking block, a mechanical system with impacts.
After introducing a general external periodic forcing, we extend classical Melnikov methods to this type of systems to provide conditions for the existence of subharmonic periodic orbits and heteroclinic connections.
We also consider the coupling of two of such systems and study the persistence of heteroclinic manifolds and the existence of trajectories with certain properties regarding energy accumulation (Arnol’d diffusion).
