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Abstract

In this paper, we introduce an alternative method for applying averaging theory of orders $1$ and $2$ in the plane. This is done by combining Taylor expansions of the displacement map with the integral form of the Poincar\'e--Poyntriagin--Melnikov function. It is known that, to obtain results of order $2$ with averaging theory, the first-order averaging function should be identically zero. However, when working with Taylor expansions of the $i$th-order averaging function, we usually cannot guarantee it is identically zero. We prove that the vanishing of certain coefficients of the Taylor series of the first-order averaging function ensures it is identically zero. We present our reasoning in several concrete examples: a quadratic Lotka--Volterra system, a quadratic Hamiltonian system, the entire family of quadratic isochronous differential systems, and a cubic system. For the latter, we also show that a previous analysis contained in the literature is not correct. In none of the examples is it necessary to precisely calculate the averaging functions.