Paper 3, Section II, C

Dynamical Systems
Part II, 2011

Explain what is meant by a steady-state bifurcation of a fixed point x0(μ)\mathbf{x}_{0}(\mu) of a dynamical system x˙=f(x,μ)\dot{\mathbf{x}}=\mathbf{f}(\mathbf{x}, \mu) in Rn\mathbb{R}^{n}, where μ\mu is a real parameter.

Consider the system in x0,y0x \geqslant 0, y \geqslant 0, with μ>0\mu>0,

x˙=x(1y2x2),y˙=y(μyx2).\begin{aligned} \dot{x} &=x\left(1-y^{2}-x^{2}\right), \\ \dot{y} &=y\left(\mu-y-x^{2}\right) . \end{aligned}

(i) Show that both the fixed point (0,μ)(0, \mu) and the fixed point (1,0)(1,0) have a steady-state bifurcation when μ=1\mu=1.

(ii) By finding the first approximation to the extended centre manifold, construct the normal form near the bifurcation point (1,0)(1,0) when μ\mu is close to unity, and show that there is a transcritical bifurcation there. Explain why the symmetries of the equations mean that the bifurcation at (0,1)(0,1) must be of pitchfork type.

(iii) Show that two fixed points with x,y>0x, y>0 exist in the range 1<μ<5/41<\mu<5 / 4. Show that the solution with y<1/2y<1 / 2 is stable. Identify the bifurcation that occurs at μ=5/4\mu=5 / 4.

(iv) Draw a sketch of the values of yy at the fixed points as functions of μ\mu, indicating the bifurcation points and the regions where each branch is stable. [Detailed calculations are not required.]