Past exam of the topics in applied mathematics course of the University of Oxford / 2009 / A / 1 / c / iii / Solution

Let $L=\log r$. The given expansion implies $u_{\ast }=2L+O(L/r)$ and thereforeUsing $H^{\prime }(u)=r{e}^{-u}(1-u)$ gives preciselyThe paired low value is $v_{\ast }=H(u_{\ast })=(2L/r)[1+O(L/r)]$. It is small, so $e^{-v_{\ast }}(1-v_{\ast })=1+O(L/r)$ andBy the chain rule the second-iterate periodic-orbit multiplier is their product:Since $L^2/r\to 0$ while $L\to \infty$, this tends to $-\infty$ and eventually has magnitude above one. Thus the large second-iterate fixed point, and hence its associated two-cycle, is unstable for sufficiently large $r$. The high state's small derivative alone does not imply stability: the low state's derivative supplies the compensating factor of order $r$.