Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-topics-in-applied-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2010/b/4/ii/solution

The planar divergence is for . Since the plane is simply connected, the Bendixson-Dulac theorem excludes any nonconstant periodic orbit: the flux across a closed trajectory would be zero because the vector field is tangent, whereas Green's theorem makes it the strictly negative integral of the divergence over the enclosed region.
Alternatively define . Direct differentiation gives
A nonconstant periodic solution would require the integral of this strictly dissipative expression over a period to vanish. That forces and hence an equilibrium, a contradiction. This energy argument identifies the damping mechanism behind the geometric criterion.

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