Self-oscillation is manifested as a linear instability of a dynamical system's static equilibrium. Two mathematical tests that can be used to diagnose such an instability are the Routh–Hurwitz and Nyquist criteria. The amplitude of the oscillation of an unstable system grows exponentially with time (i.e., small oscillations are negatively damped), until nonlinearities become important and limit the amplitude. This can produce a steady and sustained oscillation. In some cases, self-oscillation can be seen as resulting from a time lag in a closed loop system, which makes the change in variable x t dependent on the variable x t-1 evaluated at an earlier time.