Cubic nullcline

Excitable media are some of tire most commonly observed reaction-diffusion systems in nature. An excitable system possesses a stable fixed point which responds to perturbations in a characteristic way small perturbations return quickly to tire fixed point, while larger perturbations tliat exceed a certain tlireshold value make a long excursion in concentration phase space before tire system returns to tire stable state. In many physical systems tliis behaviour is captured by tire dynamics of two concentration fields, a fast activator variable u witli cubic nullcline and a slow inhibitor variable u witli linear nullcline [31]. The FitzHugh-Nagumo equation [34], derived as a simple model for nerve impulse propagation but which can also apply to a chemical reaction scheme [35], is one of tire best known equations witli such activator-inlribitor kinetics ... 

To justify this picture, suppose that the initial condition is not too close to the cubic nullcline, i.e, suppose y-F(x) O(l). Then (4) implies (xj ( (/z) l whereas y 1 hence the velocity is enormous in the horizontal di-... 

Figure C3.6.7 Cubic (jir = 0) and linear (r = 0) nullclines for tire FitzHugh-Nagumo equation, (a) The excitable domain showing trajectories resulting from sub- and super-tlireshold excitations, (b) The oscillatory domain showing limit cycle orbits small inner limit cycle close to Hopf point large outer limit cycle far from Hopf point.

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