SWIFT-HOHENBERG EQUATION

∂u/∂t = εu − (1+∇²)²u − u³ — pattern formation near bifurcation

PARAMETERS

t = 0 | step = 0
Swift-Hohenberg (1977) is the canonical pattern-formation PDE. The operator (1+∇²)² selects a critical wavenumber q_c=1.

ε < 0: uniform state stable
ε = 0: onset of patterns (stripes, hexagons)
ε > 0: saturated patterns; cubic nonlinearity −u³ limits amplitude

Different ε values select different pattern morphologies.