Brusselator periodic-orbit criterion Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-24
The spatially homogeneous Brusselator has its unique positive equilibrium at . Its Jacobian there has determinant and trace . If , the equilibrium is a repeller inside the Brusselator trapping region; the Poincare-Bendixson theorem then supplies a periodic orbit.
At an equilibrium point of a dynamical system, the second equation gives
The choice is impossible because then . Hence , and substitution into the first equation gives
Thus the unique fixed point is
Choose
which satisfies . Let
We check the direction of the vector field on its four edges.
On ,
On ,
On , where ,
Finally, throughout the system,
On the sloping edge , the bound implies , and hence . Every boundary edge therefore points inward. Violations of the corresponding four inequalities are driven toward the boundary in the same order, so positive trajectories enter this compact trapping region and then remain there. This is the Brusselator trapping region.
The Jacobian matrix at the unique fixed point is
Its determinant and trace are
When , the trace is positive, so linear stability of a planar equilibrium shows that the fixed point is a repeller. It lies in the interior of .
Choose a trajectory in other than the equilibrium. Compactness of gives a nonempty compact omega-limit set, and the repelling equilibrium cannot belong to that set. Since there are no other equilibria, the Poincare-Bendixson theorem gives a periodic orbit. Hence
This is the Brusselator periodic-orbit criterion.