Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2005 / ii / Paper 2 / 13E / e

At the threshold $P_{\ast }=3+2\sqrt{2}$, the determinant quadratic has a double zero atConsequently the scaled disturbance length in $\cos (s/L)$ isThe physical length is ${\ell }_u{L}_{\mathrm{crit}}=\sqrt{{\ell }_u{\ell }_v}$ at threshold; its full spatial wavelength is $2\pi$ times this length, not this length itself. For much shorter lengths, the large negative diffusion terms smooth both components. For much longer lengths, diffusion contributes little and the stable homogeneous reaction feedback, especially the inhibitor response, suppresses disturbances. The selected length lies between those two stabilization mechanisms.