Quasi-stable structures in circular gene networks (Q1662564)

The authors consider the system of ordinary differential equations \[ {dx_j\over dt}= 1-\exp\Biggl({x_j\over \varepsilon}\Biggr)- a\exp\Biggl({x_{j-1}\over\varepsilon}\Biggr)+ \exp\Biggl(-{b+x_j\over\varepsilon}\Biggr),\;j=1,2,\dots,m,\tag{\(*\)} \] where \(x_0= x_m\), as a model of a circular gene network. \(a\) and \(b\) are positive parameters, \(\varepsilon\) is a small positive parameter. The goal is to study the existence and stability of periodic solutions of \((*)\) having the form \[ x_j= p(t+(j-1)\Delta,\varepsilon),\quad j= 1,2,\dots, m, \] where \(\Delta>0\) and \(p(t,\varepsilon)\) is a \(T\)-periodic solution of the auxiliary delay equation \[ {dp\over dt}= 1- \exp\Biggl({p\over \varepsilon}\Biggr)- a \exp\Biggl({p(t-\Delta)\over \varepsilon}\Biggr)+ \exp\Biggl({-b+p\over\varepsilon}\Biggr), \] where \(T={m\Delta\over k}\), \(k\) is a natural number. The authors prove that under the conditions \(a>1\), \(b>0\), \(m\geq 3\), \(2<{m\over k}< a+1\) there is a sufficiently small positive number \(\varepsilon_0\) such that for \(0<\varepsilon\leq\varepsilon_0\) system \((*)\) has a periodic solution (traveling wave) which is exponentially orbitally stable for \(k={m-1\over 2}\) and quasistable otherwise, that means, some of the multiplies are asymptotically close to the unit circle.