Past exam of the perturbation methods and applied complex variables course of the University of Oxford / 2009 / A / 2 / ii

Put $p=y^{\prime }$. The dynamical system isThe nullclines are $p=0$ and $p=e^y$. There are no equilibria, since they never intersect. To the right in the $(y,p)$ plane means $p>0$, and to the left means $p<0$. The arrows point upwards above $p=e^y$ and downwards below it.

Near the repelling critical manifold $p=e^y$, an orbit can move on the slow $x=O(1)$ scale, with $y^{\prime }\simeq e^y$. More precisely the slow trajectory has $p=e^y+ϵe^{2y}+\cdots$. Away from this narrow region, $p$ changes rapidly on $x=O(ϵ)$; an $O(1)$ change of $y$ in a fast layer has $p=O({ϵ}^{-1})$.

For example, take a fixed $A<-\log 2$. A trajectory starting at $y=A$ can shadow the slow curve, then depart upwards so that $y$ rapidly increases to zero at the right endpoint. This gives a terminal outflow boundary layer at $x=1$, of width $O(ϵ)$. For $-\log 2<A<0$, the outer trajectory reaches a positive value near one, and the terminal adjustment is downwards: the orbit turns below the nullcline, crosses $p=0$, and returns to $y=0$. The boundary layer is still at $x=1$. These directions follow from the phase portrait and agree with the matched solution below.