Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2007 iii Paper 85 2 e Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
The positive fixed point of has periodic-orbit multiplier . At , and the periodic-orbit multiplier crosses . Factoring the second-iterate fixed-point equation givesThe second factor yields a two-cycleIt exists for and has periodic-orbit multiplier . Its stability range is , so undergoes a supercritical period-doubling bifurcation at . At the two-cycle is and its periodic-orbit multiplier is zero, making it superstable.
For positive and , direct composition gives the local second iterateThe one-sided limits at zero are opposite, and agree with zero exactly when in this neighborhood. There is continuous at zero and fixes it. Thus the local return branch has the same discontinuity-closing transition as the map in part (a), with effective parameter crossing zero.
Local second-iterate Lorenz return maps near zero, showing the discontinuity close and reverse at parameter one
. Details. For , both are positive and the period transfer from a quadratic map to its Lorenz sign lift gives the two stable cyclesFor , and , so the periodic-orbit multiplier of the cycle is negative and the lifted orbit isIt is one stable four-cycle. Hence the gluing of cycles in an iterated Lorenz map givesEquivalently, changes from two small stable fixed points to a stable small two-cycle . At the critical value itself, the actual convention gives , , : the surviving critical two-cycle is , and is preperiodic. This critical itinerary must be evaluated directly, not with part (b)'s noncritical sign product.
There is also a precise qualification to the printed use of “continuous”. The whole second iterate is not continuous everywhere at : , while and . Jumps persist at the nonzero preimages of the original discontinuity. Therefore the stated global-bifurcation criterion holds for the return map restricted to a neighborhood of zero, as in the sketches; if continuity on all of is demanded literally, the claim about needs that restriction. The orbit creation and destruction above is unaffected.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2009 ii Paper 3 14E i Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
Put . The two fixed points on the invariant line are and . There are also when . At equality they coalesce with .
The Jacobian matrix isAt its eigenvalues are and , so it is always a saddle equilibrium. At they are and , so it is a saddle equilibrium for and a stable node for , with a zero eigenvalue at .
At the characteristic equation is , givingFor these points are stable spirals; for they are stable nodes. At the double negative eigenvalue has only one independent eigenvector, so these are improper stable nodes. When they are center equilibria, as established in part (iii). Thus the collision at changes both the number and stability of fixed points; it is the bifurcation classified below.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2009 ii Paper 3 7E Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
The fixed points satisfy . There is always , and the other branches areThey coincide at . For , and its maximum occurs at , with value . Consequently ; equality at the upper endpoint fails because the maximum is attained inside the interval.
The fixed-point multiplier at zero is zero, so zero is attracting for every . On either nonzero branch,The lower branch has multiplier greater than one for and is repelling. The upper branch is attracting for , reaches multiplier at , and is repelling for . At the multiplier is , and the two branches are created in a saddle-node bifurcation. The fixed point there is attracting from one side and repelling from the other: .
The second change is a supercritical period-doubling bifurcation at . To check its type, expand at that fixed point. The local map has quadratic coefficient and cubic coefficient when the multiplier is . Its second iterate has cubic coefficient . The multiplier decreases through as increases, so a small attracting two-cycle is born on the side. These exhaust the fixed-point bifurcations, since their multipliers have no other crossings of .
At a fixed point, the first equation gives , the second then gives , and the third gives . Thus there is exactly one equilibrium for every real :The Jacobian matrix there isOne eigenvalue is . The other two have product one and sum . For their real parts are negative, so the equilibrium is asymptotically stable; for both real parts are positive, leaving two unstable directions and one stable direction. At the eigenvalues are , withTherefore the only local bifurcation of this equilibrium is a Hopf bifurcation at . A repeated real eigenvalue away from zero does not itself cause a bifurcation: the equilibrium remains hyperbolic there.
The cubic centre manifold calculation below gives the Hopf normal form radial coefficient , so this is a supercritical Hopf bifurcation. Small attracting periodic orbits occur on the side. In particular, at the leading cubic radial drift is inward, although linear stability alone cannot decide that boundary case.
The Jacobian matrix at the origin and its characteristic polynomial areThe fixed-point multipliers areBy the Jury stability criterion, both lie strictly inside the unit circle exactly whenThe last condition always holds, since . Therefore the origin is asymptotically stable exactly for among the hyperbolic parameter values.
For completeness, its linear stability throughout the parameter line is as follows. When , the complex-conjugate Floquet multipliers have modulus , so the origin repels. When , their modulus is , so it attracts with oscillation. At the repeated Floquet multiplier is , still attracting. For , both Floquet multipliers are real and in . For , and , so one Floquet multiplier lies in and the other exceeds one: the origin is a saddle fixed point of a map. For , the complex-conjugate Floquet multipliers have modulus , so it repels.
Possible changes at the unit circle are exhausted by , , or a nonreal pair with product one. They giveAt the Floquet multipliers are ; the nonzero fixed point branches in part (a) meet the origin, and part (c) identifies a subcritical pitchfork bifurcation. Indeed at the exact restricted map is , which makes the origin unstable despite its neutral linear direction.
At the Floquet multipliers are : this is a 1:4 strong resonance of a planar map, coinciding with the change from repelling to attracting as increases. A generic nonresonant Neimark–Sacker bifurcation conclusion would be unjustified. At there is a double Floquet multiplier ; the matrix has a nontrivial Jordan block, and the two further nonzero fixed point branches meet the origin. Linear stability alone is inconclusive at these unit-modulus boundary values. The repeated Floquet multiplier at is strictly inside the unit circle and gives no bifurcation.
Adjoin . At the origin the stable direction is the axis, with Floquet multiplier zero, while the and parameter directions have Floquet multiplier one. By the centre manifold theorem for a discrete dynamical system, write the extended centre manifold asOn it the scalar map is . Its discrete centre-manifold invariance equation isPut with . Since , the quadratic equation is simply . ThusIn particular, setting the stable variable identically to zero would lose the leading parameter correction. The reduced map through total degree three isIn the natural pitchfork bifurcation scaling this has leading form . Its nonzero fixed points satisfy , and their reduced fixed-point multipliers satisfy for small . The transverse Floquet multiplier remains inside the unit circle. Therefore the bifurcation at is a subcritical pitchfork bifurcation: the origin attracts for small negative , each nonzero branch is a saddle fixed point of a map, and the origin is a saddle fixed point of a map for small positive .
An exact check uses the full Jacobian matrix on either nonzero branch. Its trace is and its determinant is . Thuswhenever a nonzero branch exists. Also , so one real Floquet multiplier lies in and the other in . This proves that each nonzero branch is a saddle fixed point of a map throughout and , in particular near the requested bifurcation.
For the real logistic map, factors asThere is always the fixed point . If there is also , distinct from zero unless . At the map is constant and zero is its only fixed point. Negative must be retained because the paper specifies .
Since , the fixed-point multipliers areThe fixed point stability for an iteration criterion gives attracting for , and attracting for . The respective fixed points are repelling when and . At the unit-modulus boundaries the linear criterion needs a nonlinear supplement.
At , the two fixed point branches meet and exchange stability: this is a transcritical bifurcation. Explicitly, with ,which has the required nonzero parameter and quadratic terms. At the critical value itself, attracts small positive points and pushes negative points away, so the merged fixed point is not stable from both sides.
At the origin’s fixed-point multiplier crosses , while at the nonzero fixed-point multiplier crosses . Both are period-doubling bifurcations. To check existence and stability of the new periodic orbit, factor the second iteration of a map:The two non-fixed roots areThey form a real period-two orbit for or . Its periodic-orbit multiplier isIt is less than one in absolute value just below and just above , respectively. Thus these are supercritical bifurcations in the direction where the parent fixed point loses stability. At the critical values the fixed points themselves are weakly attracting: at , ; at , setting gives after two steps. Both shrink sufficiently small nonzero absolute values. The bifurcation values for finite fixed points are thereforeThe disappearance of the formula for at corresponds to that branch going to infinity, not a local bifurcation at a finite fixed point.
Past exam of the topics in applied mathematics course of the University of Oxford 2007 B 5 Solution 2026-10-31
The Lorenz equilibria satisfy , and . ThusAt the origin the third eigenvalue is and the other two solve . Hence the origin is stable for , has one zero eigenvalue at , and becomes a saddle equilibrium with one unstable direction for . The symmetry interchanges the new branches.
The nonzero-equilibrium characteristic polynomial isNear its Routh-Hurwitz inequalities are strict, so both new branches are stable. More explicitly, center-manifold projection at givesThe linear coefficient crosses positively and the cubic coefficient is negative. Therefore the equilibrium bifurcation is a supercritical pitchfork at , not a saddle equilibrium-node.
For completeness, the later stability boundary satisfiesIf , the nonzero branches remain linearly stable for all . If , they lose stability atAt that point andThis establishes a genuine transverse Hopf crossing. It is subcritical for these positive parameters, so it is not the supercritical Hopf normal form of a dynamical system from (c). One way to check its nonlinear sign is the cubic Hopf formula. At write andFor right and adjoint eigenvectors , , , the cubic coefficient has the sign ofSubstitution and clearing positive factors reduces its sign to that of the following polynomial in :Every term is positive. The radial cubic is therefore positive, giving the unstable small cycle on the stable-equilibrium side. There is no saddle equilibrium-node among the equilibrium branches for : the only zero-eigenvalue branch intersection is the symmetry-forced pitchfork. This does not rule out separate global bifurcations of periodic orbits.
Planform 2026-10-14
A planform is the horizontal spatial structure of a pattern, often described by the Fourier modes active at a bifurcation. For example, one pair of opposite wavevectors gives parallel convection rolls, while two equal-amplitude perpendicular pairs give squares. A planform includes the relative amplitudes and phases needed to distinguish spatial symmetry types.

