An explicit periodic solution of a delay differential equation (Q2297210)

The author shows that, for every \(r>\frac{\pi^2}{2}\), the differential equation with distributed delay \[ \frac{d}{dt}x(t)= r x(t)\left(1-\int_0^1x(t-s)\,ds\right) \] has a periodic solution \(x_p\) with period two oscillating about the unstable equilibrium \(x\equiv1\). It additionally satisfies the conditions \[ x_p(t) x_p(t-1)=c - \mathrm{const}, \quad \int_{0}^{1} x_p(t-s)\,ds =2\quad \forall t\in\mathbb R. \] The periodic solution is derived by the following well-known ideas of reduction to systems of ordinary differential equations due to \textit{N. Kaplan} and \textit{A. G. Pakes} [Stochastic Processes Appl. 2, 371--389 (1974; Zbl 0296.60055)], and is explicitly expressed in terms of Jacobi functions.