Discrete Dynamics in Nature and Society
Volume 2009 (2009), Article ID 235038, 20 pages
doi:10.1155/2009/235038

Bifurcation analysis in a kind of fourth-order delay differential equation

Abstract

A kind of fourth-order delay differential equation is considered. Firstly, the linear stability is investigated by analyzing the associated characteristic equation. It is found that there are stability switches for time delay and Hopf bifurcations when time delay cross through some critical values. Then the direction and stability of the Hopf bifurcation are determined, using the normal form method and the center manifold theorem. Finally, some numerical simulations are carried out to illustrate the analytic results.