Random Switching near Bifurcations

Abstract: The interplay between bifurcations and random switching processes of vector fields is studied. More precisely, we provide a classification of piecewise deterministic Markov processes arising from stochastic switching dynamics near fold, Hopf, transcritical and pitchfork bifurcations. We prove the existence of invariant measures for different switching rates. We also study, when the invariant measures are unique, when multiple measures occur, when measures have smooth densities, and under which conditions finite-time blow-up occurs. We demonstrate the applicability of our results for three nonlinear models arising in applications.