Convergence as period goes to infinity of spectra of periodic traveling waves toward essential spectra of a homoclinic limit

Abstract

We revisit the analysis by R.A. Gardner of convergence of spectra of periodic traveling waves in the homoclinic, or infinite-period limit, extending his results to the case of essential rather than point spectra of the limiting homoclinic wave. Notably, convergence to essential spectra is seen to be of algebraic rate with respect to period as compared to the exponential rate of convergence to point spectra. In the course of the analysis, we show not only convergence of spectrum but also convergence of an appropriate renormalization of the associated periodic Evans function to the Evans function for the limiting homoclinic wave, a fact that is useful for numerical investigations