First find the positive spatially homogeneous equilibrium. Setting the reactions to zero gives and , and hence the unique positive equilibrium is
The zero pair is not an admissible positive state and is singular in the term. For homogeneous deviations, the reaction Jacobian matrix at this equilibrium is
Thus , , and its eigenvalues are
For , both real parts are negative: a real pair has positive product and negative sum, while a complex pair has real part . The reaction equilibrium is therefore asymptotically stable, with no growing oscillatory mode. This does not exclude damped oscillations. Indeed, for the eigenvalues are complex; for example, gives , a stable focus with oscillatory transients. Thus a literal exclusion of every oscillatory solution is false; the intended exclusion of sustained or growing oscillations is the meaningful statement.
One can strengthen this to exclude nonlinear periodic oscillations in the positive quadrant without relying only on the local linear stability analysis. For the reactions , , use the Dulac function . Then
Were there a periodic orbit wholly in the positive quadrant, the flux of through it would vanish, since this vector is tangent to the orbit; Green's theorem would equate that flux to a strictly negative interior integral. This contradiction proves there is no sustained positive periodic oscillation when , the positive-quadrant Dulac multiplier for quadratic activation argument. It leaves the damped transients entirely consistent with the conclusion.
Now introduce a perturbation in the quadratic activator-inhibitor model. The Fourier mode of squared wavenumber evolves under
Its matrix trace and determinant are
A Turing instability must start with reaction stability, requiring . Then for every , so a mode is unstable exactly when : its two real eigenvalues have opposite signs. This also proves the diffusion-driven onset is stationary rather than oscillatory.
The upward-opening quadratic has its minimum at . To have a negative value at a physically allowed positive squared wavenumber, one needs
Writing , the second inequality is , with roots . The first inequality discards the lower branch, giving
These are the Turing threshold of the quadratic activator-inhibitor model conditions. Equivalently, in the plane the instability region lies strictly above and strictly to the left of , with . The boundary diverges as and approaches as .
Figure 1.
Diffusion-driven instability above the quadratic-model threshold in the reaction-stable parameter strip
. Details.
At equality, the determinant has a double root and one growth rate is zero, while the other remains negative. Substituting into its minimum location gives
Beyond onset, the unstable band is
The stated parameter region assumes continuously available wavenumbers, as on an infinite domain. With specified finite-domain boundary conditions, an allowed nonzero spatial eigenmode must additionally lie in this band; homogeneous stability alone does not ensure that a finite box admits the critical wavelength.
For the diffusionless quadratic activator-inhibitor model, choose the Dulac function . Then and , giving divergence . For it is strictly negative throughout the simply connected positive quadrant. Green's theorem rules out a periodic orbit: its boundary flux would be zero because the rescaled vector field is tangent to the orbit, while its interior divergence integral would be negative.
A mode with squared wavenumber in the quadratic activator-inhibitor model has negative trace when . Its determinant is . A positive minimum location and a negative minimum require and , equivalent to . At onset, the double determinant root is . In a bounded domain an admissible nonzero spatial mode must additionally lie in the open negative-determinant band.