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For $\omega \ne 0$, put $\mu =\hat{\mu }{\omega }^2$, $C=\omega z$ and $\tau =\omega T$, where $z=\hat{C}$. Then $C_T={\omega }^2{z}_{\tau }$ and division by ${\omega }^2$ givesWe may take $\omega >0$ without loss of the dynamics by conjugating the original equation if necessary; otherwise $\tau$ reverses the time orientation. The scaling is singular at $\omega =0$ and is not a transformation for that exactly zero-frequency case.

The Hamiltonian limit of three-to-one forcing drops the terms proportional to $\omega$. For $z=x+iy$ the remaining real system isThe proposed first integral isIndeed $x_{\tau }=H_y/2$ and $y_{\tau }=-H_x/2$, hence $H_{\tau }=0$. The unperturbed equation is a planar Hamiltonian system, with a center equilibrium at the origin and three saddle equilibria atAll saddle equilibria have $H=1/3$. The factorizationshows that their central separatrix consists of the three sides of an equilateral triangle. Each level $0<H<1/3$ inside this triangle is a closed periodic orbit. Indeed, inside the triangle $0<r<1$ and ${\partial }_{r}H=2r(1+r\sin 3\theta )>0$. Each ray from the origin therefore meets each such level once, giving a compact simple closed contour with no equilibrium point on it. The nonzero vector field traverses this contour periodically; the period grows without bound as the separatrix is approached. This supplies an infinite family, not a claim that every level outside the central region is closed.

Restore the small radial perturbation. Its exact effect on the first integral isConsequently the continuum of Hamiltonian system orbits generally does not persist. The origin becomes a weak attracting focus for $\hat{\mu }<0$ or a repelling focus for $\hat{\mu }>0$, and the three hyperbolic saddle equilibria persist with perturbed stable manifold and unstable manifold. For a small positive $\hat{\mu }$, outward drift on very small orbits balances cubic damping on somewhat larger ones, selecting a stable limit cycle rather than an arbitrary energy level. Near the center equilibrium $H\simeq r^2$, so its leading radius is $r\simeq \sqrt{\hat{\mu }}$ when $\hat{\mu }$ is also small.

For a more general closed unperturbed orbit ${\Gamma }_h$, the averaged area criterion for perturbed Hamiltonian cycles says that persistence requires the averaged energy drift ${\oint }_{{\Gamma }_h}{H}_{\tau }d\tau$ to vanish. Since the unperturbed speed is $|\nabla H|/2$, the planar divergence theorem converts this leading drift towhere ${\mathcal{D}}_h$ is the enclosed region. Isolated zeros select candidate periodic orbits; a drift changing from positive inside to negative outside gives an attracting limit cycle. The separatrix triangle has mean $r^2=1/4$, so its leading flux changes sign at $\hat{\mu }=1/2$. This marks the leading possible heteroclinic transition, with higher-order corrections needed to locate it precisely.

As a cycle approaches the saddle equilibria, long residence times and splitting of the heteroclinic cycle become important. Orbits can instead drift inward to the equilibrium point at the origin or leave the periodic island and approach one of the stable states with phase locking of the full canonical equation. Those upper-branch threefold phase-locked equilibria have $C=O(1)$, so they lie outside the local $C=O(\omega )$ scaling. Thus the small perturbation gives energy selection, attracting or repelling oscillations, and possible switching/locking transitions; it does not preserve a conserved $H$ or an infinite family of neutral periodic solutions. This qualitative picture does not assume all global parameter values have the same attractor.

Write the deterministic drift of the Adler phase equation as $f(\theta )=\omega -ϵ\sin \theta$. Its minimum is $\omega -ϵ$ and its maximum is $\omega +ϵ$. For $0<\omega <ϵ$, the zero condition has exactly two solutions in the specified interval:The linearization of a dynamical system at an equilibrium point gives $\delta \dot{\theta }=f^{\prime }({\theta }_{\ast })\delta \theta$, with $f^{\prime }=-ϵ\cos \theta$. Defining $\kappa =\sqrt{{ϵ}^2-{\omega }^2}$ gives $f^{\prime }({\theta }_s)=-\kappa <0$, so ${\theta }_s$ is stable; $f^{\prime }({\theta }_u)=+\kappa >0$, so ${\theta }_u$ is unstable. For $\omega >ϵ$, $f$ is positive everywhere and there are no equilibrium points: the phase runs continuously. This is the distinction between phase locking and running phase dynamics.

With mobility scaled to one, the effective force is $-V^{\prime }$. Therefore the tilted washboard potential isFor $\omega <ϵ$, its alternating local minima and maxima trap noise-free trajectories in wells. Minima coincide with ${\theta }_s+2\pi j$, and maxima with ${\theta }_u+2\pi j$. For $\omega >ϵ$, $V^{\prime }=ϵ\sin \theta -\omega <0$ everywhere: there are no wells and the particle slides down the tilt. The potential is defined on the unwrapped phase and obeys $V(\theta +2\pi )=V(\theta )-2\pi \omega$; it is not a single-valued periodic equilibrium potential on the circle.

At the transition $\omega =ϵ$, the two equilibrium points merge at $\theta =\pi /2$ in a saddle-node bifurcation. There $f\simeq ϵ(\theta -\pi /2{)}^2/2$, so the point is attracting from the left and repelling from the right; a zero linear derivative alone does not establish stable trapping.

Eliminate the instantaneous Stokes flow velocity in favour of temperature. On a horizontal Fourier mode $k$, the Stokes temperature-slaving operator maps $\theta$ to $w={\mathcal{W}}_R\theta$, where $(D^2-k^2{)}^{2}w=R{k}^2\theta$ and $w=w^{\prime \prime }=0$. The temperature evolution has linear operator ${\mathcal{L}}_R=D^2-k^2+{\mathcal{W}}_R$ and bilinear map $\mathcal{N}(\varphi ,\chi )=-{\mathbf{u}}_R[\varphi ]\cdot \nabla \chi$. Under the homogeneous thermal Dirichlet boundary conditions, ${\mathcal{L}}_{R_c}$ is self-adjoint. Normalize its critical eigenfunction as $g(z)=\sin \pi z$ and set $s=k_c^2+{\pi }^2$; the critical vertical velocity is $f=sg$.

At order $ϵ$, the critical eigenfunction equation gives ${\mathcal{L}}_{R_c}(g{e}^{i{k}_{c}x})=0$. At order ${ϵ}^2$, the weakly nonlinear expansion contains the imposed second harmonic and the quadratic products of the critical mode: a horizontally uniform temperature correction proportional to $|A{|}^2$ and, in a general vertical-mode calculation, a second harmonic proportional to $A^2$. These corrections are found by solving the noncritical boundary value problems, with homogeneous thermal data except for the imposed forcing.

At order ${ϵ}^3$, the method of multiple scales produces the slow derivative $A_{\tau }$, the detuning term $R_2{\partial }_R{\mathcal{L}}_R$, and the two cross-advection terms involving first- and second-order fields. Project the $e^{i{k}_{c}x}$ component onto the adjoint eigenfunction using the vertical inner product. This is the solvability condition in the method of multiple scales: divide each resonant projection by $⟨g,g{⟩}_z$. The detuning supplies $\mu A$ with $\mu \propto R_2$; interactions of horizontal wavenumbers $2k_c$ and $-k_c$ permit $\beta A^{\ast }$ with $\beta \propto \gamma$; self-interaction through the slaved mean and second harmonic supplies $-\lambda |A{|}^{2}A$. Other products have the wrong horizontal wavenumber. Reflection $x\mapsto -x$ permits real coefficients with this cosine forcing. Thus the symmetry-allowed spatially forced convection amplitude equation isThere is a useful specialization that should not be silently missed. For the literal one-vertical-mode Stokes flow problem, the vanishing two-to-one forcing coefficient for Stokes convection makes $\beta =0$ at this order. To see this, write a positive second-harmonic forcing component as $(w,\theta )=(W(z),\Theta (z))e^{2i{k}_{c}x}$, incorporating the cosine's factor $1/2$. Its coupling to the negative critical harmonic has projected integrand, apart from sign and its factor $A^{\ast }$,The integral vanishes because $g=0$ at both plates, even though $\Theta (0)$ is nonzero. This proves the cancellation without solving the forced profiles. The permitted coefficient is therefore zero times $\gamma$; symmetry alone does not establish nonzero phase pinning for the equations actually supplied.

The same normalization makes the remaining coefficients explicit. Since ${\mathcal{W}}_{R}g=(R{k}_c^2/s^2)g$, $\mu =R_2{k}_c^2/s^2$. The quadratic second harmonic cancels for $f=sg$, while the uniform correction is ${\theta }_{20}=-s|A{|}^2\sin (2\pi z)/(2\pi )$. Projecting $-w_1{\partial }_z{\theta }_{20}$ gives $-s^2|A{|}^{2}A/2$. Thus for the literal model and this temperature normalization,A generic nonzero $\beta$ would require a nonvanishing projection in an amended physical model or a different forcing structure. It is still meaningful to classify the real-coefficient amplitude equation requested independently.

Write $A=x+iy$. Then $x_{\tau }=(\mu +\beta -\lambda (x^2+y^2))x$ and $y_{\tau }=(\mu -\beta -\lambda (x^2+y^2))y$. These are a gradient flow for $V=-\frac{1}{2}(\mu +\beta )x^2-\frac{1}{2}(\mu -\beta )y^2+\frac{\lambda }{4}(x^2+y^2{)}^2$, so local minima give stable equilibrium points. At the origin the two eigenvalues are $\mu +\beta$ and $\mu -\beta$. The origin has exponential asymptotic stability if $\mu <-|\beta |$, retains asymptotic stability with algebraic decay at $\mu =-|\beta |$, and is unstable if $\mu >-|\beta |$. At equality, ${\rho }^2=x^2+y^2$ obeys $({\rho }^2{)}_{\tau }\le -2\lambda {\rho }^4$, since both linear coefficients are nonpositive. Integrating this inequality proves attraction even in the zero-eigenvalue direction.

For $\beta >0$ the stable nonzero equilibrium points are real; for $\beta <0$ they are imaginary:The real branch has Jacobian matrix eigenvalues $-2(\mu +\beta ),-2\beta$; the imaginary branch has $-2(\mu -\beta ),2\beta$. The oppositely aligned branch, when it exists, is a saddle equilibrium. No mixed real-imaginary nonzero equilibrium is possible when $\beta \ne 0$.

For $\beta =0$, the origin is stable for $\mu \le 0$, with algebraic decay at zero. If $\mu >0$, the circle $|A{|}^2=\mu /\lambda$ is radially attracting. Each point has Lyapunov stability but has a neutral phase direction, so it does not have individual asymptotic stability; the circle has orbital stability. This is the literal model's unpinned family. The general nonzero-$\beta$ branches instead exhibit phase locking to one of two phases separated by $\pi$.

A model retaining an oscillation's phase while neglecting amplitude dynamics. Interactions can synchronize relative phases through phase locking; noise can cause phase slips. The Adler phase equation is a simple example for a coupled relative phase.

The canonical three-to-one spatially forced amplitude equation has nonzero equilibrium points $C=R{e}^{i\theta }$ satisfying $\cos 3\theta =(R^2-\mu )/R$ and $\sin 3\theta =-\omega /R$. Thus $(R^2-\mu {)}^2+{\omega }^2=R^2$. Each positive amplitude has three phases separated by $2\pi /3$: two amplitude branches normally mean six complex equilibrium points. For $\mu >{\omega }^2-1/4$ the larger branch is asymptotically stable and the smaller consists of saddle equilibria, except that its zero-amplitude root at $(\mu ,\omega )=(0,0)$ is not a nonzero equilibrium point. Equality gives a saddle-node bifurcation. This phase locking breaks continuous translation symmetry down to threefold symmetry.