matcont4p0

  matcont is a Matlab continuation package with a GUI for the in- teractive numerical study of parameterized nonlinear ODEs. It allows to compute curves of equilibria, limit points, Hopf points, branch points of equilibria, limit cycles, fold, flip, torus and branch point bifurcation points of limit cycles, and homoclinic orbits. matcont can start these computations from equilibria or periodic orbits computed by time inte- gration and it can monitor user-defined functions and locate their roots along computed curves. matcont can compute all necessary derivatives by finite differences, from file or by using the symbolic toolbox of Mat- lab. In this tutorial we describe a numerical study of a chemical model of Steinmetz and Larter where a user function is monitored, a stable periodic orbit is started from time integration and bifurcations of periodic orbits are detected and continued.