Describing dynamics of driven multistable oscillators with phase transfer curves.

Phase response curve is an important tool in the studies of stable self-sustained oscillations; it describes a phase shift under action of an external perturbation. We consider multistable oscillators with several stable limit cycles. Under a perturbation, transitions from one oscillating mode to another one may occur. We define phase transfer curves to describe the phase shifts at such transitions. This allows for a construction of one-dimensional maps that characterize periodically kicked multistable oscillators. We show that these maps are good approximations of the full dynamics for large periods of forcing.