Unusual bifurcation of a Neumann boundary value problem (Q2202246)

The reduction of the order in a pseudodifferential equation describing the unidirectional propagation of nonlinear dispersive waves leads to a problem concerning the behaviour in the boundary layer of a family of nonlinear differential equations of the second order with the Neumann boundary condition. The Neumann boundary value problem \[ u_{xx}+\lambda u = u^{2}(1+\delta \sin x),\quad 0 < x < \pi \] with conditions \[ u_{x}(0)=0,\quad u_{x}(\pi)=0, \] where \(\lambda \neq 0\), \(\delta \neq 0\) has some unexpected behaviour such as disconnected branches of solutions \(u\) for the two perturbation parameters \(\delta\), \(\lambda\). To understand this phenomenon further, the authors consider the problem \[ -\mu^2 u_{xx} + u = u^2 (1 + \delta \sin x) \] and construct an \(\mu\), \(\delta\) asymptotic expansion. The perturbing of \(\delta\) allows one to move from a homogeneous problem with symmetric solutions including outer solutions of the equation valid as \(\mu \rightarrow 0\), to a non-homogeneous problem which in general does not have a non-zero outer limit solution (with boundary layers) as \(\mu \rightarrow 0\). Bifurcation diagrams as \(\mu\) and \(\delta\) vary are constructed with shooting methods, shown that the main branch of solutions will `tear' for \(\mu = n^{-2}\) where \(n\) is an even integer.