Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2001/iii/paper-51/1/d/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2001 iii Paper 51 1 d Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
The nonzero equilibrium points are paired by reflection:At either equilibrium point, the derivative of the second equation with respect to is . The characteristic polynomial becomesIts constant term is nonzero away from the pitchfork bifurcation, so there is no further steady local bifurcation. At a Hopf bifurcation the condition givesIndeed and require ; within this range is equivalent to . The apparent singularity at does not hide another solution of the coefficient equation. The Routh-Hurwitz stability criterion shows that both equilibrium points are stable for , , and unstable for . For , , so no nonzero equilibrium point is stable.
Their Hopf bifurcations are supercritical. Here is a coefficient check that includes the effect of the quadratic term around . Let , and normalize as before. The inverse-linearization term has . AlsoThe resonant cubic Hopf coefficient isIn this simplification . Thus stable small periodic orbits appear around each nonzero equilibrium point on the side. This classifies the local branches; the sketch does not infer uncomputed distant global bifurcations.
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