Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2006/ii/paper-4/7e/solution

The nonzero fixed point of the logistic map is , with multiplier . It is stable for , and its multiplier crosses at . To identify the emerging orbit explicitly, factor
The remaining two roots, interchanged by , are
They coincide with at three and are distinct for . Their cycle multiplier is
It lies between and for . This establishes the first period-doubling bifurcation and the stable bifurcating two-cycle.
At , and . The second flip is nondegenerate: for at either cycle point, the cubic flip coefficient is when . Here denotes the Schwarzian derivative. Since and , this coefficient is positive. Locally, after following the fixed point of , its second iterate has the form , with . Nonzero roots therefore appear with on the increasing-parameter side. These are a four-cycle of , proving the second period-doubling bifurcation occurs at .

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