In dynamical systems theory, the Olech theorem establishes sufficient conditions for global asymptotic stability of a two-equation system of non-linear differential equations. The result was established by Czesław Olech in 1963,^[1] based on joint work with Philip Hartman.^[2]

The differential equations ${\displaystyle \mathbf {\dot {x}} =f(\mathbf {x} )}$, ${\displaystyle \mathbf {x} =[x_{1}\,x_{2}]^{\mathsf {T}}\in \mathbb {R} ^{2}}$, where ${\displaystyle f(\mathbf {x} )={\begin{bmatrix}f^{1}(\mathbf {x} )&f^{2}(\mathbf {x} )\end{bmatrix}}^{\mathsf {T}}}$, for which ${\displaystyle \mathbf {x} ^{\ast }=\mathbf {0} }$ is an equilibrium point, is uniformly globally asymptotically stable if:

(a) the trace of the Jacobian matrix is negative, ${\displaystyle \operatorname {tr} \mathbf {J} _{f}(\mathbf {x} )<0}$ for all ${\displaystyle \mathbf {x} \in \mathbb {R} ^{2}}$,

(b) the Jacobian determinant is positive, ${\displaystyle \left|\mathbf {J} _{f}(\mathbf {x} )\right|>0}$ for all ${\displaystyle \mathbf {x} \in \mathbb {R} ^{2}}$, and

(c) the system is coupled everywhere with either

${\displaystyle {\frac {\partial f^{1}}{\partial x_{1}}}{\frac {\partial f^{2}}{\partial x_{2}}}\neq 0,{\text{ or }}{\frac {\partial f^{1}}{\partial x_{2}}}{\frac {\partial f^{2}}{\partial x_{1}}}\neq 0{\text{ for all }}\mathbf {x} \in \mathbb {R} ^{2}.}$