Melnikov-Arnold integrals and optimal normal forms

The Melnikov-Arnold integrals (MA-integrals) is a well-known instrument used to measure the splitting of separatrices in Hamiltonian systems. In this article, we explore how calculation of MA-integrals can be used as well to estimate sizes of secondary resonances. Within the standard map model, we show how the newly developed MA-based procedure allows one to estimate the sizes of secondary resonances of any order (up to the order of the optimal normal form), without relying on the cumbersome traditional normalization procedure.