Limit Cycle and Conserved Dynamics
  We demonstrate that a potential coexists with limit cycle. Here the potential determines the final distribution of population. Our demonstration consists of three steps: We first show the existence of limit from a typical physical sciences setting: the potential is a type of Mexican hat type, with the strength of a magnetic field scale with the strength the potential gradient near the limit cycle, and the friction goes to zero faster than the potential near the limit cycle. Hence the dynamics at the limit cycle is conserved. The diffusion matrix is nevertheless finite at the limit cycle. Secondly, we construct the potential in the dynamics with limit cycle in a typical dynamical systems setting. Thirdly, we argue that such a construction can be carried out in a more general situation based on a method discovered by one of us. This method of dealing with stochastic differential equation is in general different from both Ito and Stratonovich calculus. Our result may be useful in many related applications, such as in the discussion of metastability of limit cycle and in the construction of Hopfield potential in the neural network computation. 
X.-M. Zhu, L. Yin, and P. Ao