Abstract
Near an arbitrary finite gap potential we construct real analytic, canonical coordinates for the Benjamin-Ono equation on the torus having the following two main properties: (1) up to a remainder term, which is smooth-ing to any given order, the coordinate transformation is a pseudo-differential operator of order 0 with principal part given by a modified Fourier transform (modification by a phase factor) and (2) the pullback of the Hamiltonian of the Benjamin-Ono is in normal form up to order three and the corresp ond -ing Hamiltonian vector field admits an expansion in terms of para-differential operators. Such coordinates are a key ingredient for studying the stability of finite gap solutions of the Benjamin-Ono equation under small, quasi-linear