Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2008 ii Paper 3 13B Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
For a small Fourier mode , , the inhibitor equation gives . The linearization of the cubic reaction at zero is . Thus the fast-inhibitor cubic activator growth rate isIt is an even function of , starts at , and tends to as . In terms of , its derivative is . If , the maxima occur at , withIf , the maximum is at and all modes decay. For , the zero state is unstable when , and the stability boundary iswhere this curve lies in the allowed parameter region.
Putting , and negates both original equations and restores precisely the same form, because . Therefore the state has the corresponding boundary .
