Orbital stability refers to the characteristic of periodic orbits in dynamical systems where small perturbations do not lead to significant deviations from the orbit over time. This concept is crucial for understanding how systems behave under slight disturbances and can indicate whether a system will return to its original path or diverge into chaotic behavior. It connects to ideas such as Lyapunov stability and the role of eigenvalues in determining the response of trajectories near periodic solutions.
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