  We propose a unified approach to nonlinear modal analysis in dissipative
oscillatory systems. This approach eliminates conflicting definitions, covers
both autonomous and time-dependent systems, and provides exact mathematical
existence, uniqueness and robustness results. In this setting, a nonlinear
normal mode (NNM) is a set filled with small-amplitude recurrent motions: a
fixed point, a periodic orbit or the closure of a quasiperiodic orbit. In
contrast, a spectral submanifold (SSM) is an invariant manifold asymptotic to a
NNM, serving as the smoothest nonlinear continuation of a spectral subspace of
the linearized system along the NNM. The existence and uniqueness of SSMs turns
out to depend on a spectral quotient computed from the real part of the
spectrum of the linearized system. This quotient may well be large even for
small dissipation, thus the inclusion of damping is essential for firm
conclusions about NNMs, SSMs and the reduced-order models they yield.
