Coexistence of infinitely many large, stable, rapidly oscillating periodic solutions in time-delayed Duffing oscillators (Q2300420)

The paper studies stability and instability of rapidly oscillating periodic solutions \(x_n(t)\) with period \(p_n=2T/n\), \(n\in\mathbb{N},\) for the hard spring Duffing oscillator with delay \[ x^{\prime\prime}(t)+a\,x(t)+b\,x(t-T)+x^3(t)=0.\tag{$*$} \] The periodic solutions of the delay equation \((*)\) are found as unique periodic solutions of two non-delayed Hamiltonian Duffing oscilaltors \[ x^{\prime\prime}+[a+(-1)^n b]\,x+x^3=0. \] The periodic solution \(x_n\) with period \(p_n\) exists when \(n\) satisfies the inequality \(n>T\sqrt{a+(-1)^nb}\). The main result of the paper states that, when \(3\pi^2/2>(-1)^{n+1}bT^2\ne0\) is satisfied and \(n\ge n_0\) is large enough, then any such periodic solution to the differential delay equation \((*)\) is asymptotically stably if and only if \((-1)^n b<0\) holds, and it is unstable if and only if \((-1)^n b>0\) is valid. Therefore, under these assumptions and when \(a-|b|>0\), the delay differential equation \((*)\) has an infinite sequence of rapidly oscillating periodic solutions \(x_n\) which are alternatively stable and unstable as \(n\to\infty\).