For the directly forced cubic amplitude equation, a saddle-node bifurcation requires and . The right side has its unique maximum at , giving a cusp bifurcation at . The stability matrix has trace and determinant . A Hopf bifurcation requires , and . These imply ; equality is a double-zero linear degeneracy rather than an ordinary Hopf bifurcation.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2003 iii Paper 60 2 Solution 2026-10-14
Represent the leading real pattern by . Before forcing, continuous translation symmetry acts as , and spatial reflection acts as . Equivariance excludes quadratic terms and permits a linear term and at cubic order. Symmetry under reflection makes their coefficients real. A supercritical bifurcation has a saturating cubic coefficient; rescaling amplitude and time makes it . The imperfection has a Fourier component at the same wavenumber, so its resonant projection contributes an additive real coefficient. On the spatially uniform wave envelope subspace the amplitude equation is therefore . Allowing modulations would additionally produce the spatial terms of the real Ginzburg–Landau equation.
For a forcing pattern moving in the positive direction, its laboratory-frame coefficient is , where is proportional to after converting to slow time. The comoving amplitude is , since the fast carrier becomes . Differentiation givesA constant phase choice makes , and complex conjugation reverses the sign of , so take . Put and . The rescaled linear coefficients are and , and the forcing becomes one. Below the rescaled variables are renamed , giving the directly forced cubic amplitude equation.