Heteroclinic foliation, global oscillations for the Nicholson-Bailey model and delay of stability loss (Q1431412)

The article is concerned with the dynamics of the two-dimensional Nicholson-Bailey map defined by \[ f_{\lambda}(x,y)= (y-ye^{-x}, \lambda y e^{-x}) \] in the positive quadrant \(Q\). For \(\lambda<1\) the dynamics is simple: all solutions starting in \(Q\) converge exponentially to the origin. For \(\lambda=1\) the authors show that \(H(x,y)=x+y-\log y\) is a first integral which allows one to decompose the phase space into invariant curves which are stable/unstable manifolds of some nonhyperbolic fixed points. For \(\lambda>1\) the origin is a degenerate saddle while there exists another (unstable) fixed point in \(Q\). Here, a main question concerns the existence of periodic orbits. By tracing orbits through different regions of the phase space it is shown that no periodic orbits of period 2 or 3 exist and that all solutions are strictly oscillatory. For \(\lambda>1\) close to \(1\) more results on the nonexistence of periodic orbits are given. To this end, a more general class of mappings with a line of fixed points is studied and a theorem on the delayed loss of stability for trajectories in a vicinity of this line is established.