Gap bifurcations in nonlinear dynamical systems.

We investigate the dynamics generated by a type of equation which is common to a variety of physical systems where the undesirable effects of a number of self-consistent nonlinear forces are balanced by an externally imposed controlling harmonic force. We show that the equation presents a new sequence of bifurcations where periodic orbits are created and destroyed in such a nonsimultaneous way that may leave the appropriate phase-space occasionally empty of fundamental harmonic orbits and confined trajectories. A generic analytical model is developed and compared with a concrete physical example.