Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2003 iii Paper 60 1 i Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Choose amplitude coordinates in which a quarter-turn and a diagonal reflection act as and . These generate the natural two-dimensional group representation of the dihedral group . An equivariant dynamical system satisfies . The two independent sign changes make odd in and even in , and odd in and even in . The quarter-turn equates the two linear coefficients and the two sets of cubic coefficients. No quadratic monomial is allowed. Thus the square-symmetric cubic steady-state normal form isThe bifurcation parameter has been scaled so that the critical linear eigenvalue is . Nondegeneracy at cubic order means , and . The equilibrium equations factor as . When both components are nonzero, subtracting the two bracketed expressions gives . Therefore the complete leading list of small steady branches is:
- The zero state, with two linear eigenvalues .
- Four axial states and , when . Their stability matrix has eigenvalues and .
- Four diagonal states , with independent signs and . Their eigenvalues are and .
Each family is one orbit of the dihedral group. Each nonzero state retains one reflection fixing its amplitude line; its full spatial symmetry depends also on the chosen planforms. Higher-order terms perturb the branch amplitudes but preserve the nondegenerate local classification. For , an axial branch is asymptotically stable precisely when and , while a diagonal branch is asymptotically stable precisely when and . Every cubic branch lying on has a positive radial eigenvalue , so it is unstable. In the exceptional isotropic cubic case , the cubic truncation instead has a circle of equilibria; higher-order anisotropy is then needed, which is why that case was excluded.