Complex behaviours of AB model describing idiotypic network

A simple chemical model of the idiotypic network of immune systems, namely the AB model, has been developed by De Boer et al. The complexity of the system, such as the steady states, periodic oscillations and chaotic motions, has been examined by the authors mentioned above. In the present paper, the periodic motions and chaotic behaviours exhibited by the system are intuitively described. To clarify in which parameter domains concerned the system exhibits periodic oscillations and in which parameter domains the system demonstrates chaotic behaviours the Lyapounov exponent is explored. To characterize the strangeness of the attractors, the fractal dimension problem is worked out.