Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2009 / ia / Paper 2 / 5C (Differential Equations)

On an interval where $y>0$, the Bernoulli differential equation is transformed by $u=y^{1-p}$:For $f_1=1$, $f_2=x$, put $s=1-p\ne 0$. An integrating factor $e^{-sx}$ solves $u^{\prime }-su=sx$, giving $u=C{e}^{sx}-x-s^{-1}$. Thus the positive branches areon intervals where the expression in parentheses is positive. The transformation omits the separate solution $y\equiv 0$. For $0<p<1$, the right-hand side need not be locally Lipschitz continuous at zero, so nonnegative solutions can also join zero and positive branches where the original equation permits; the formula describes every strictly positive segment.

For the autonomous case, $y^{\prime }=y-{\alpha }^2{y}^p$. Its two nonnegative equilibrium points areAt the positive equilibrium point, $f^{\prime }(y_{\ast })=1-p$. If $p>1$, $f(y)>0$ below $y_{\ast }$ and $f(y)<0$ above it; hence $0$ is unstable and $y_{\ast }$ is asymptotically stable. Every strictly positive solution tends to $y_{\ast }$ forward in time.

If $0<p<1$, those signs reverse: $0$ is stable from the nonnegative side and $y_{\ast }$ is unstable. The stability at zero follows from the phase-line signs, not a finite derivative there. For initial value $0<y_0<y_{\ast }$, the transformed equation is $u^{\prime }=s(u-{\alpha }^2)$ with $s>0$. The solution reaches zero atand remains zero thereafter as a nonnegative forward solution. This is finite-time extinction in a sublinear Bernoulli equation. Initial values above $y_{\ast }$ increase without bound; the sublinear negative term prevents neither that growth nor the instability of $y_{\ast }$.