Uniqueness of Limit Cycles for Quadratic Vector Fields

This article deals with the study of the number of limit cycles surrounding a critical point of a quadratic planar vector field, which, in normal form, can be written as $x'= a_1 x-y-a_3x^2+(2 a_2+a_5)xy + a_6 y^2$, $y'= x+a_1 y + a_2x^2+(2 a_3+a_4)xy -a_2y^2$. In particular, we study the semi-varieties defined in terms of the parameters $a_1,a_2,\ldots,a_6$ where some classical criteria for the associated Abel equation apply. The proofs will combine classical ideas with tools from computational algebraic geometry.