The geometry of mixed-mode oscillations in the Olsen model for the peroxidase-oxidase reaction (Q1045965)

The paper deals with the organization of the mixed-mode oscillations in the Olsen model for the peroxidase-oxidase reaction. This is a four-dimensional system with multiple time scales. The analysis starts with a detailed bifurcation diagram of mixed-mode periodic orbits, with the bifurcation parameter \(k_5\), the rate at which one of the free radicals is transformed into a non-reactive product. The overall bifurcation structure consists of accumulating isolas of different mixed-mode oscillations. Some numerical evidence, that the bifurcation structure persists when the small parameter (\(k_6\), accounting for the spontaneous slow formation of free radicals) is zero, is given. The equilibria and the stability of a three-dimensional fast subsystem are discussed, showing that the small amplitude oscillations of the mixed-mode oscillations arise from the slow passage through a (delayed) Hopf bifurcation of this subsystem. For a better understanding of the geometry of mixed-mode oscillations, the authors showed how attracting and repelling two-dimensional slow manifolds can be defined and computed. The attracting and repelling manifolds interact near the Hopf bifurcation of the fast subsystem, but also describe the geometry of the global reinjection mechanism. Their intersection gives rise to canard-like orbits.