Stability, instability, and bifurcation phenomena in non-autonomous differential equations

Abstract

There is a vast body of literature devoted to the study of bifurcation phenomena in autonomous systems of differential equations. However, there is currently no well-developed theory that treats similar questions for the nonautonomous case. Inspired in part by the theory of pullback attractors, we discuss generalisations of various autonomous concepts of stability, instability, and invariance. Then, by means of relatively simple examples, we illustrate how the idea of a bifurcation as a change in the structure and stability of invariant sets remains a fruitful concept in the non-autonomous case.