Stability boundaries of a Mathieu equation having PT symmetry

Abstract

I have applied multiple-scale perturbation theory to a generalized complex $PT$-symmetric Mathieu equation in order to find the stability boundaries between bounded and unbounded solutions. The analysis suggests that the non-Hermitian parameter present in the equation can be used to control the shape and curvature of these boundaries. Although this was suggested earlier by several authors, analytic formulas for the boundary curves were not given. This paper is a first attempt to fill this gap in the theory.