= Multistability
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<Multistability> is coexistence of several stable long-term behaviors at the same fixed parameter values. Those behaviors can be <equilibrium points>, <periodic orbits> or more complicated attractors. Different <basins of attraction> select which behavior a <trajectory> reaches from its initial state.
For example, $\dot x=x-x^3$ has attracting equilibria at $\pm1$ and a repelling equilibrium at zero. A sufficiently large perturbation can move a state from one basin to the other, leaving a persistent change after the perturbation ends. This gives a simple mechanism for dynamical memory without changing the governing parameters. <Bistability> is the two-state case. <Hysteresis> additionally describes history-dependent switching under a changed control parameter; coexistence alone does not specify a complete hysteresis loop or its switching thresholds.
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