In mathematics, a phase line is a diagram that shows the qualitative behaviour of an autonomous ordinary differential equation in a single variable, . The phase line is the 1-dimensional form of the general -dimensional phase space, and can be readily analyzed.
A line, usually vertical, represents an interval of the domain of the derivative. The critical points (i.e., roots of the derivative , points such that ) are indicated, and the intervals between the critical points have their signs indicated with arrows: an interval over which the derivative is positive has an arrow pointing in the positive direction along the line (up or right), and an interval over which the derivative is negative has an arrow pointing in the negative direction along the line (down or left). The phase line is identical in form to the line used in the first derivative test, other than being drawn vertically instead of horizontally, and the interpretation is virtually identical, with the same classification of critical points.
The simplest examples of a phase line are the trivial phase lines, corresponding to functions which do not change sign: if , every point is a stable equilibrium ( does not change); if for all , then is always increasing, and if then is always decreasing.
The simplest non-trivial examples are the exponential growth model/decay (one unstable/stable equilibrium) and the logistic growth model (two equilibria, one stable, one unstable).
A critical point can be classified as stable, unstable, or semi-stable (equivalently, sink, source, or node), by inspection of its neighbouring arrows.
If both arrows point toward the critical point, it is stable (a sink): nearby solutions will converge asymptotically to the critical point, and the solution is stable under small perturbations, meaning that if the solution is disturbed, it will return to (converge to) the solution.
If both arrows point away from the critical point, it is unstable (a source): nearby solutions will diverge from the critical point, and the solution is unstable under small perturbations, meaning that if the solution is disturbed, it will not return to the solution.
Otherwise – if one arrow points towards the critical point, and one points away – it is semi-stable (a node): it is stable in one direction (where the arrow points towards the point), and unstable in the other direction (where the arrow points away from the point).
In vector calculus, the curl is a vector operator that describes the infinitesimal circulation of a vector field in three-dimensional Euclidean space. The curl at a point in the field is represented by a vector whose length and direction denote the magnitude and axis of the maximum circulation. The curl of a field is formally defined as the circulation density at each point of the field.
In mathematics, the derivative of a function of a real variable measures the sensitivity to change of the function value with respect to a change in its argument. Derivatives are a fundamental tool of calculus. For example, the derivative of the position of a moving object with respect to time is the object's velocity: this measures how quickly the position of the object changes when time advances.
The wave equation is a second-order linear partial differential equation for the description of waves—as they occur in classical physics—such as mechanical waves or light waves. It arises in fields like acoustics, electromagnetics, and fluid dynamics.
In mathematics, differential calculus is a subfield of calculus that studies the rates at which quantities change. It is one of the two traditional divisions of calculus, the other being integral calculus—the study of the area beneath a curve.
In classical mechanics, a particle is in mechanical equilibrium if the net force on that particle is zero. By extension, a physical system made up of many parts is in mechanical equilibrium if the net force on each of its individual parts is zero.
In mathematics, an autonomous system or autonomous differential equation is a system of ordinary differential equations which does not explicitly depend on the independent variable. When the variable is time, they are also called time-invariant systems.
In mathematics, catastrophe theory is a branch of bifurcation theory in the study of dynamical systems; it is also a particular special case of more general singularity theory in geometry.
In mathematics, a saddle point or minimax point is a point on the surface of the graph of a function where the slopes (derivatives) in orthogonal directions are all zero, but which is not a local extremum of the function. An example of a saddle point is when there is a critical point with a relative minimum along one axial direction and at a relative maximum along the crossing axis. However, a saddle point need not be in this form. For example, the function has a critical point at that is a saddle point since it is neither a relative maximum nor relative minimum, but it does not have a relative maximum or relative minimum in the -direction.
In mathematics, specifically in differential equations, an equilibrium point is a constant solution to a differential equation.
In applied mathematics, in particular the context of nonlinear system analysis, a phase plane is a visual display of certain characteristics of certain kinds of differential equations; a coordinate plane with axes being the values of the two state variables, say, or etc.. It is a two-dimensional case of the general n-dimensional phase space.
The Duffing equation, named after Georg Duffing (1861–1944), is a non-linear second-order differential equation used to model certain damped and driven oscillators. The equation is given by
In the mathematical area of bifurcation theory a saddle-node bifurcation, tangential bifurcation or fold bifurcation is a local bifurcation in which two fixed points of a dynamical system collide and annihilate each other. The term 'saddle-node bifurcation' is most often used in reference to continuous dynamical systems. In discrete dynamical systems, the same bifurcation is often instead called a fold bifurcation. Another name is blue sky bifurcation in reference to the sudden creation of two fixed points.
In the study of dynamical systems, a hyperbolic equilibrium point or hyperbolic fixed point is a fixed point that does not have any center manifolds. Near a hyperbolic point the orbits of a two-dimensional, non-dissipative system resemble hyperbolas. This fails to hold in general. Strogatz notes that "hyperbolic is an unfortunate name—it sounds like it should mean 'saddle point'—but it has become standard." Several properties hold about a neighborhood of a hyperbolic point, notably
In the mathematics of evolving systems, the concept of a center manifold was originally developed to determine stability of degenerate equilibria. Subsequently, the concept of center manifolds was realised to be fundamental to mathematical modelling.
In bifurcation theory, a field within mathematics, a pitchfork bifurcation is a particular type of local bifurcation where the system transitions from one fixed point to three fixed points. Pitchfork bifurcations, like Hopf bifurcations have two types – supercritical and subcritical.
In mathematics, stability theory addresses the stability of solutions of differential equations and of trajectories of dynamical systems under small perturbations of initial conditions. The heat equation, for example, is a stable partial differential equation because small perturbations of initial data lead to small variations in temperature at a later time as a result of the maximum principle. In partial differential equations one may measure the distances between functions using Lp norms or the sup norm, while in differential geometry one may measure the distance between spaces using the Gromov–Hausdorff distance.
Spinodal decomposition occurs when one thermodynamic phase spontaneously separates into two phases. Decomposition occurs in the absence of nucleation because certain fluctuations in the system reduce the free energy. As a result, the phase change occurs immediately. There is no waiting, as there typically is when there is a nucleation barrier.
In mathematics, the slow manifold of an equilibrium point of a dynamical system occurs as the most common example of a center manifold. One of the main methods of simplifying dynamical systems, is to reduce the dimension of the system to that of the slow manifold—center manifold theory rigorously justifies the modelling. For example, some global and regional models of the atmosphere or oceans resolve the so-called quasi-geostrophic flow dynamics on the slow manifold of the atmosphere/oceanic dynamics, and is thus crucial to forecasting with a climate model.
In dynamical systems, a branch of mathematics, an invariant manifold is a topological manifold that is invariant under the action of the dynamical system. Examples include the slow manifold, center manifold, stable manifold, unstable manifold, subcenter manifold and inertial manifold.
Biological applications of bifurcation theory provide a framework for understanding the behavior of biological networks modeled as dynamical systems. In the context of a biological system, bifurcation theory describes how small changes in an input parameter can cause a bifurcation or qualitative change in the behavior of the system. The ability to make dramatic change in system output is often essential to organism function, and bifurcations are therefore ubiquitous in biological networks such as the switches of the cell cycle.
