Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ii Paper 4 13B Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
A positive spatially homogeneous equilibrium satisfies and , givingIt exists iff . The reaction Jacobian matrix isThus linear stability analysis gives strict homogeneous stability precisely whenThe boundaries are not included: at the linearization has purely imaginary exponents, and at the positive equilibrium ceases to exist.
For a mode , put . The perturbation matrix is . In the homogeneously stable region its trace is still negative, so a growing mode exists iff its determinant is negative:This upward quadratic is negative for some precisely whenSuch a Turing instability region is nonempty iff . The unstable band isFor a finite domain only the admissible boundary-condition wavenumbers in this band grow. The region shown below describes a continuous wavenumber spectrum.
At onset the minimum of is zero and . On the threshold , substitution gives . HenceThis last expression is the threshold wavenumber; away from onset the fastest-growing mode need not coincide with the minimum of the determinant.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 ii Paper 4 14C Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
The term makes locally autocatalytic, while increasing suppresses this production. Thus is the activator and is the inhibitor.
At a positive spatially homogeneous equilibrium,Hence and , givingThe reaction Jacobian matrix there isBecause , the trace-determinant stability criterion shows that the spatially uniform reaction kinetics are stable exactly when
For a perturbation proportional to , put . Its growth rates are the eigenvalues ofThe trace is in the reaction-stable regime, while the determinant isA Turing instability occurs exactly when this upward-opening quadratic is negative for some . By the two-species diffusion-driven instability criterion, this requiresTogether these reduce toThus the unstable region in the -plane lies below the straight line and to the left of .
Inside this region, the unstable squared-wavenumber band isAt the bifurcation boundary the two roots coincide, soSubstituting yields
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 ii Paper 2 6C Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
At a positive spatially homogeneous equilibrium,soThe Jacobian matrix of the reaction terms there isThe linear stability analysis of a two-dimensional system requires negative trace and positive determinant. Since , the homogeneous equilibrium is stable exactly when
For a spatial Fourier mode proportional to , put . The linearized matrix isIts trace is still negative when , whileA Turing instability occurs for some exactly when this quadratic has a negative minimum. This requiresWriting , the second inequality reduces to . Hence, for continuously available wave numbers, the condition isOn a bounded spatial domain, one additionally requires an allowed wave number for which .
