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Cycles of fear: Periodic bloodsucking rates for vampires

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Abstract

In this paper, we present a new approach for modelling the dynamic intertemporal confrontation between vampires and humans. It is assumed that the change of the vampiristic consumption rate induces costs and that the vampire community also derives some utility from possessing humans and not only from consuming them. Using the Hopf bifurcation theorem, it can be shown that cyclical bloodsucking strategies are optimal. These results are in accordance with empirical evidence.

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Communicated by G. Leitmann

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Hartl, R.F., Mehlmann, A. & Novak, A. Cycles of fear: Periodic bloodsucking rates for vampires. J Optim Theory Appl 75, 559–568 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00940492

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