page_title: Bifurcation theory
section_title: Global bifurcations
hierarchical_section_title: Bifurcation theory / Bifurcation types / Global bifurcations
caption_attribution_description: English: Author: Claire Postlethwaite. Made in xfig.
context_page_description: Bifurcation theory is the mathematical study of changes in the qualitative or topological structure of a given family, such as the integral curves of a family of vector fields, and the solutions of a family of differential equations. Most commonly applied to the mathematical study of dynamical systems, a bifurcation occurs when a small smooth change made to the parameter values of a system causes a sudden 'qualitative' or topological change in its behavior. Bifurcations occur in both continuous systems and discrete systems. The name "bifurcation" was first introduced by Henri Poincaré in 1885 in the first paper in mathematics showing such a behavior. Henri Poincaré also later named various types of stationary points and classified them.
context_section_description: Global bifurcations occur when 'larger' invariant sets, such as periodic orbits, collide with equilibria. This causes changes in the topology of the trajectories in the phase space which cannot be confined to a small neighbourhood, as is the case with local bifurcations. In fact, the changes in topology extend out to an arbitrarily large distance (hence 'global').
  Examples of global bifurcations include:
  Homoclinic bifurcation in which a limit cycle collides with a saddle point. Homoclinic bifurcations can occur supercritically or subcritically. The variant above is the "small" or "type I" homoclinic bifurcation. In 2D there is also the "big" or "type II" homoclinic bifurcation in which the homoclinic orbit "traps" the other ends of the unstable and stable manifolds of the saddle. In three or more dimensions, higher codimension bifurcations can occur, producing complicated, possibly chaotic dynamics.
  Heteroclinic bifurcation in which a limit cycle collides with two or more saddle points; they involve a heteroclinic cycle. Heteroclinic bifurcations are of two types: resonance bifurcations and transverse bifurcations. Both types of bifurcation will result in the change of stability of the heteroclinic cycle. At a resonance bifurcation, the stability of the cycle changes when an algebraic condition on the eigenvalues of the equilibria in the cycle is satisfied. This is usually accompanied by the birth or death of a periodic orbit. A transverse bifurcation of a heteroclinic cycle is caused when the real part of a transverse eigenvalue of one of the equilibria in the cycle passes through zero. This will also cause a change in stability of the heteroclinic cycle.
  Infinite-period bifurcation in which a stable node and saddle point simultaneously occur on a limit cycle. As the limit of a parameter approaches a certain critical value, the speed of the oscillation slows down and the period approaches infinity. The infinite-period bifurcation occurs at this critical value. Beyond the critical value, the two fixed points emerge continuously from each other on the limit cycle to disrupt the oscillation and form two saddle points.
  Blue sky catastrophe in which a limit cycle collides with a nonhyperbolic cycle.
  Global bifurcations can also involve more complicated sets such as chaotic attractors (e.g. crises).
caption: A phase portrait before, at, and after a homoclinic bifurcation in 2D. The periodic orbit grows until it collides with the saddle point. At the bifurcation point the period of the periodic orbit has grown to infinity and it has become a homoclinic orbit. After the bifurcation there is no longer a periodic orbit. Left panel: For small parameter values, there is a saddle point at the origin and a limit cycle in the first quadrant. Middle panel: As the bifurcation parameter increases, the limit cycle grows until it exactly intersects the saddle point, yielding an orbit of infinite duration. Right panel: When the bifurcation parameter increases further, the limit cycle disappears completely.
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