Multistationarity of Reaction Networks with One-Dimensional Stoichiometric Subspaces

Abstract

We study the multistationarity for the reaction networks with one-dimensional stoichiometric subspaces, and we focus on the networks admitting finitely many positive steady states. We prove that if a network admits multistationarity, then network has an embedded one-species network with arrow diagram (->,<-) and another with arrow diagram (<-,->). The inverse is also true if there exist two reactions in the network such that the subnetwork consisting of the two reactions admits at least one and finitely many positive steady states. We also prove that if a network admits at least three positive steady states, then it contains at least three bi-arrow diagrams. More than that, we completely characterize the bi-reaction networks that admit at least three positive steady states.