Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ii Paper 3 12B Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
A fraction of adults survives each time step; is the adult mortality fraction. Adults produce larvae, which mature one step later with recruitment reduced by adult-dependent competition through . Eliminating larvae gives the second-order difference equationAt an equilibrium point, either orOnly nonnegative populations are admissible. At extinction the Jacobian matrix is and its characteristic polynomial is . Its positive root exceeds exactly when . For both roots have modulus less than ; at the roots are , so linearization is marginal. On the nonnegative state space extinction is still attracting at this equality: if two consecutive adult values are bounded by , the next is at most , with strict decrease away from zero; the maximum of two consecutive adult values strictly decreases after two steps whenever it is positive; continuity on its bounded state region then excludes a positive limiting maximum. Thus the extinction equilibrium point is unstable exactly when the positive equilibrium point exists, with equality understood through nonlinear rather than strict linear stability.
At the positive equilibrium point, the trace and determinant of the Jacobian matrix are and . The Jury stability criterion for requires , and . The strict linear stability analysis conditions areFor there is no upper bound on ; for the stable region is .
Stability regions and equilibrium branches
. At the lower boundary , the positive equilibrium point merges with extinction, with a multiplier and slow recovery. At the upper boundary a multiplier reaches (the other is ), giving alternating adult/larval fluctuations. The nonlinear map confirms a supercritical period-doubling bifurcation, as follows. For , put and . A nonconstant period-two adult sequence satisfies and . Subtracting and adding these equations givesThus positive unequal values emerge for , with amplitude proportional to . The two larval phases are . If are the trace and determinant of the two-step Jacobian matrix, direct multiplication givesAt onset and , so the other two strict Jury stability criterion inequalities hold for sufficiently small positive . Hence just beyond the upper boundary, a stable period-two population cycle replaces the stable equilibrium. This is a local conclusion, not stability for arbitrarily large reproduction rates.
At the upper boundary itself, the positive equilibrium point is still locally asymptotically stable, despite its multiplier . To decide this equality case, apply the centre manifold theorem for a discrete dynamical system. Put and write the centre graph as with . If the reduced map is , its invariance equation is . Expanding the original recruitment map and this equation through cubic order givesConsequently . The stability at a nondegenerate flip bifurcation criterion shows algebraic attraction on the centre direction; the transverse multiplier has modulus less than one. Including this boundary, the complete local asymptotic-stability condition for a positive population is thereforeThe shaded figure shows the strict linear-stability region; its upper boundary adds this nonhyperbolic attracting case.
Demographic stochasticity near the lower boundary can lead to absorption at extinction; near the upper boundary it excites alternating fluctuations and can blur the deterministic period-doubling bifurcation. These qualitative predictions depend on the chosen stochastic recruitment and mortality rules.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ii Paper 4 13B Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
A positive spatially homogeneous equilibrium satisfies and , givingIt exists iff . The reaction Jacobian matrix isThus linear stability analysis gives strict homogeneous stability precisely whenThe boundaries are not included: at the linearization has purely imaginary exponents, and at the positive equilibrium ceases to exist.
For a mode , put . The perturbation matrix is . In the homogeneously stable region its trace is still negative, so a growing mode exists iff its determinant is negative:This upward quadratic is negative for some precisely whenSuch a Turing instability region is nonempty iff . The unstable band isFor a finite domain only the admissible boundary-condition wavenumbers in this band grow. The region shown below describes a continuous wavenumber spectrum.
At onset the minimum of is zero and . On the threshold , substitution gives . HenceThis last expression is the threshold wavenumber; away from onset the fastest-growing mode need not coincide with the minimum of the determinant.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ii Paper 4 6B Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
At an endemic equilibrium, , so . Substitution into the susceptible equation givesThese values are physically positive exactly when . The Jacobian matrix at this equilibrium isBoth eigenvalues have negative real parts, so the endemic equilibrium is locally asymptotically stable. Its decay exponents areThe regime means recovery is rapid compared with demographic replacement. For fixed away from the threshold, the exponents form a complex conjugate pair with frequency approximately . HenceStrictly, oscillations require ; alone does not ensure this uniformly for every arbitrarily close to one or arbitrarily large.
Vaccinating a fraction of newborns replaces the susceptible input by . The effective basic reproduction number is , and the same calculation replaces by . Provided and the oscillatory approximation remains applicable, vaccination lengthens the oscillation period, because is smaller. Extremely near eradication the exponents become real and there is no oscillation period to extrapolate indefinitely.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 ii Paper 1 31E a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
The stationary equations areThusalways exist, and for there are alsoThe Jacobian matrix isAt its eigenvalues are , so it is a saddle for , a stable node for , and nonhyperbolic at . At they are , so it is a saddle for , an unstable node for , and nonhyperbolic at .
At , for , the characteristic polynomial isThe equilibria are stable for and unstable for ; they are foci when and nodes when , with a repeated-eigenvalue transition at equality. For the eigenvalues are purely imaginary. In that case the system is Hamiltonian with first integralbecause and . The Hessian of is positive definite at and negative definite at , so nearby regular level sets are closed curves. Hence both nonhyperbolic equilibria are genuine nonlinear centers.
Finally,For this has a strict constant sign throughout the simply connected plane, so the Bendixson-Dulac criterion proves that there are no periodic orbits. These results comprise the phase portrait of x dot equals two x times y minus a.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 ii Paper 2 6C Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
Adding the three equations of the SIRS model givessoAt a fixed point, . The disease-free equilibrium isFor an endemic equilibrium , one has and . Conservation then givesIt exists with positive infected population exactly whenequivalently when the basic reproduction number exceeds one.
Eliminating yieldsAt the endemic equilibrium its Jacobian matrix isIts trace and determinant areTherefore the endemic equilibrium is locally asymptotically stable. It is a stable node whenand a stable focus when the inequality is reversed. Near a node, perturbations are sums of two nonoscillatory decaying exponentials. Near a focus, they execute damped oscillations with decay rate and angular frequency .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 ii Paper 3 32E Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
Write . When the system gives and . Choosingmakes positive definite and radially unbounded, while its orbital derivative isThe set is . A trajectory remaining there must also have , so its largest invariant subset is the origin. The LaSalle invariance principle therefore proves that the origin is globally asymptotically stable. In the phase plane, on and on ; every nonstationary trajectory crosses the nested level curves of inward and tends to the origin.
At an equilibrium point, andHence the origin always exists, while exist for . At the Jacobian matrix isA stationary bifurcation occurs when a real eigenvalue passes through zero, hence onA Hopf bifurcation requires zero trace and positive determinant. At the origin this givesand on either nonzero branch it givesThus the Hopf locus consists of the negative -axis and the ray in the first quadrant; the stationary locus is the -axis.
Now set , write , and append . At the extended centre manifold for a parameter is tangent to the -plane, so put . Its centre-manifold invariance equation isUnder the ordering , solving through cubic order givesThis is the pitchfork bifurcation normal form: is stable for and unstable for , while the two stable branches emerge for . The bifurcation is therefore a supercritical pitchfork bifurcation.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 ii Paper 4 14C Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
The term makes locally autocatalytic, while increasing suppresses this production. Thus is the activator and is the inhibitor.
At a positive spatially homogeneous equilibrium,Hence and , givingThe reaction Jacobian matrix there isBecause , the trace-determinant stability criterion shows that the spatially uniform reaction kinetics are stable exactly when
For a perturbation proportional to , put . Its growth rates are the eigenvalues ofThe trace is in the reaction-stable regime, while the determinant isA Turing instability occurs exactly when this upward-opening quadratic is negative for some . By the two-species diffusion-driven instability criterion, this requiresTogether these reduce toThus the unstable region in the -plane lies below the straight line and to the left of .
Inside this region, the unstable squared-wavenumber band isAt the bifurcation boundary the two roots coincide, soSubstituting yields
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 ia Paper 2 8C b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
A critical point of a dynamical system satisfies and , so the critical points areThe Jacobian matrix of the vector field isAt the origin its eigenvalues are . Moreover, has a strict local minimum there, so the origin is a stable center of a planar dynamical system. At either other critical point,has eigenvalues , so both points are unstable saddle points. Their common value identifies the special separatrices shown below.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 ib Paper 2 3E a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-29
For , all component functions are continuously differentiable and the Jacobian matrix isAt a point , the first component cannot be differentiable: along the first coordinate axis its difference quotient contains , which is unbounded as . Therefore is continuously differentiable exactly at the points with .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 iii Paper 344 2 d Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Put . The noises required by a joint trajectory are and . Their independent Gaussian white noise weights give the joint path probability of an order parameter and its flux:For the physically reversed path, is time-even and the transport flux is time-odd. Therefore , , andThe common factor includes the two noise normalizations and the midpoint Jacobian determinant. Its calculation must include both relaxation channels. On a finite spatial grid, let and represent the divergence and gradient, with the discrete Laplacian, and let be the Hessian matrix of at the midpoint of time step . Differentiating the two required noises with respect to the next configuration and the interval flux gives the Jacobian matrixUsing the Schur complement, its Jacobian determinant, apart from the path-independent power of , isReversal visits the same midpoint configurations in reverse order, so the product of these factors is unchanged. The joint time-reversal invariance of a path Jacobian therefore involves the complete relaxation operator .
Taking the action difference givesRepeated component indices are summed. The second squared norm sums over both flux indices. This is mixed conserved and nonconserved order-parameter dynamics; reversing the order parameter history while leaving the flux unreversed would give the wrong probability ratio.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 ii Paper 1 31E ii Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-29
At an equilibrium point, and . If , the only equilibria areTheir Jacobian matrix isAt its eigenvalues are , and at they are . Hence for , is an unstable node and is a stable node; for , both points are saddles.
If , every point on each line and is an equilibrium. The line is transversely repelling because the nonzero eigenvalue is , while is transversely attracting because the nonzero eigenvalue is ; the tangential eigenvalue is zero on both nonisolated equilibrium lines.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 ii Paper 2 6C Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
At a positive spatially homogeneous equilibrium,soThe Jacobian matrix of the reaction terms there isThe linear stability analysis of a two-dimensional system requires negative trace and positive determinant. Since , the homogeneous equilibrium is stable exactly when
For a spatial Fourier mode proportional to , put . The linearized matrix isIts trace is still negative when , whileA Turing instability occurs for some exactly when this quadratic has a negative minimum. This requiresWriting , the second inequality reduces to . Hence, for continuously available wave numbers, the condition isOn a bounded spatial domain, one additionally requires an allowed wave number for which .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 ii Paper 3 31E d Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
An interior equilibrium point of a dynamical system must satisfyIf , the unique candidate isIt belongs to precisely in either of the two casesAt this equilibrium the Jacobian matrix has determinantIn the first region the equilibrium has Poincare index , so index considerations alone do not rule out a periodic orbit. In the second region it is a saddle equilibrium of index . Everywhere else there is no interior equilibrium, except at , where the segment consists of equilibria.
Every simple closed curve in the convex set bounds a region contained in . A periodic orbit has index , equal to the sum of the indices of the equilibria that it encloses. Thus a region with no equilibrium has total index zero, while the region with the single saddle has total index ; both contradict the index of a planar periodic orbit. At , a periodic orbit cannot cross the equilibrium segment and must lie in one of its two complementary convex regions, where it encloses no equilibrium, giving the same contradiction. Therefore index considerations exclude periodic orbits except possibly when
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 ii Paper 4 14C b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
The fixed-point conditions areOn they give and the disease-free equilibrium . An interior fixed point requires , so it exists only for ; substitution in the first equation gives the endemic equilibrium
The Jacobian matrix isAt its eigenvalues are and . Hence is asymptotically stable for and a saddle point for . At the endemic equilibrium, the equivalent coordinates give eigenvalues and , so it is a stable node whenever it exists. The origin is unstable because every solution with has .
For the phase portrait, the line is invariant and points toward . Alsoso trajectories move toward the line . If , then throughout the interior and every nonzero solution approaches . If , the additional infective nullcline is the ray ; increases below this ray and decreases above it, and every trajectory with approaches . At the disease-free and endemic branches exchange stability in a transcritical bifurcation.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 ii Paper 4 31E Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
A fixed point satisfiesThe branch with isEvery other fixed point can be parametrized by its -coordinate:Equivalently,The pair exists for , and the pair for .
The Jacobian matrix isOn its eigenvalues are and , so this branch has a nonhyperbolic equilibrium at and . On a nonzero- branch,which vanishes at , hence at and . The three bifurcation values and locations are therefore
At put and write the centre manifold as . Its centre-manifold invariance equation isIt gives , and henceThis is the pitchfork bifurcation normal form with stable nonzero centre branches for : the bifurcation at is supercritical.
At put and . ThenAgain , soThe nonzero centre branches exist for and are unstable in the centre direction, whereas is centre-stable there. Thus the bifurcation at is a subcritical pitchfork bifurcation with reversed normal-form parameter.
Finally fix and putThe translated system isThe extended centre manifold hasand thereforeThis is the saddle-node bifurcation normal form. For there are two nearby fixed points, which coalesce and disappear at . The complete reductions are recorded in the Extended centre-manifold reductions of the 2019 Cambridge reflection-symmetric system.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2020 ii Paper 2 32E b iii Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-29
The Jacobian matrix at the origin isIts eigenvalues areThus, when , the origin is a hyperbolic repelling spiral. By part (ii), every forward trajectory is eventually trapped in a compact disc. For the hypothesis says that the origin is the only equilibrium; choose any nonstationary trajectory sufficiently close to it. Its omega-limit set is nonempty and compact, and it cannot contain the repelling origin. The Poincare-Bendixson theorem then says that this omega-limit set is a periodic orbit. Combining the restrictions gives
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2020 ii Paper 3 6B iii Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-29
Eliminate to obtain the two-dimensional autonomous differential equationIts Jacobian matrix at the endemic equilibrium isSince ,The trace-determinant stability criterion shows that both eigenvalues have negative real part. The Endemic equilibrium of the SIR model with waning immunity is therefore locally asymptotically stable.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2021 ii Paper 1 6E b iii Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
At an endemic equilibrium, . The equation then givesSince also , the equation givesThis infective population is positive precisely whenwhich is exactly the assumed instability condition for the disease-free equilibrium. Thus the endemic equilibrium of the susceptible-infective model with exponential birth exists.
At this equilibrium the relations above reduce the Jacobian matrix toHenceBy the trace-determinant stability criterion, both eigenvalues have negative real part. The linearization stability theorem therefore proves that the endemic equilibrium is locally asymptotically stable.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2021 ii Paper 1 6E b ii Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
The disease-free equilibrium is . Forthe Jacobian matrix there isBecause this matrix is triangular, its eigenvalue are its diagonal entries:The second eigenvalue is positive exactly whenUnder this condition the linear stability analysis gives an unstable disease-free equilibrium, agreeing with the epidemic invasion threshold.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2021 ii Paper 3 31A a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
The second equation gives . The first then says either , giving the persistent equilibrium points and , orgiving and . These two points exist for .
At the origin the Jacobian matrix has trace and determinant , so it is stable for and a saddle point for . At the trace is and determinant , so it is stable for and a saddle for . Stationary bifurcations occur atwith the first two coinciding when .


