= Raphaël Plasson
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<Raphaël Plasson> analyzed <autocatalysis> with collaborators, distinguishing mechanisms that produce superficially similar self-accelerating behaviour. Their study compared chemical mechanisms, kinetic equations and dynamical patterns rather than defining every increasing reaction rate as autocatalytic.<Autocatalyses by Raphaël Plasson and others>[Sections 2–3: definitions, competing pathways and simple models]{ref}
For the idealized reaction $A+B\to2B$, <law of mass action> gives $\dot b=kab$; with conserved $a+b=c$, this becomes $\dot b=kb(c-b)$. The product promotes its own formation, but substrate depletion limits indefinite exponential growth. The kinetic assumptions and uncatalyzed background pathway matter when identifying an experimental autocatalytic effect.
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