Finite difference reaction-diffusion systems with coupled boundary conditions and time delays

This paper is concerned with finite difference solutions of a coupled system of reaction-diffusion equations with nonlinear boundary conditions and time delays. The system is coupled through the reaction functions as well as the boundary conditions, and the time delays may appear in both the reaction functions and the boundary functions. The reaction-diffusion system is discretized by the finite difference method, and the investigation is devoted to the finite difference equations for both the time-dependent problem and its corresponding steady-state problem. This investigation includes the existence and uniqueness of a finite difference solution for nonquasimonotone functions, monotone convergence of the time-dependent solution to a maximal or a minimal steady-state solution for quasimonotone functions, and local and global attractors of the time-dependent system, including the convergence of the time-dependent solution to a unique steady-state solution. Also discussed are some computational algorithms for numerical solutions of the steady-state problem when the reaction function and the boundary function are quasimonotone. All the results for the coupled reaction-diffusion equations are directly applicable to systems of parabolic-ordinary equations and to reaction-diffusion systems without time delays.     

Asymptotic behavior of solutions for a class of predator-prey reaction-diffusion systems with time delays

The aim of this paper is to investigate the asymptotic behavior of solutions for a class of three-species predator-prey reaction-diffusion systems with time delays under homogeneous Neumann boundary condition. Some simple and easily verifiable conditions are given to the rate constants of the reaction functions to ensure the convergence of the time-dependent solution to a constant steady-state solution. The conditions for the convergence are independent of diffusion coefficients and time delays, and the conclusions are directly applicable to the corresponding parabolic-ordinary differential system and to the corresponding system without time delays.     

Asymptotic behavior of solutions of reaction-diffusion equations with nonlocal boundary conditions

This paper is concerned with some dynamical property of a reaction-diffusion equation with nonlocal boundary condition. Under some conditions on the kernel in the boundary condition and suitable conditions on the reaction function, the asymptotic behavior of the time-dependent solution is characterized in relation to a finite or an infinite set of constant steady-state solutions. This characterization is determined solely by the initial function and it leads to the stability and instability of the various steady-state solutions. In the case of finite constant steady-state solutions, the time-dependent solution blows up in finite time when the initial function in greater than the largest constant solution. Also discussed is the decay property of the solution when the kernel function in the boundary condition prossesses alternating sign in its domain.     

Finite difference reaction diffusion equations with nonlinear boundary conditions

This article is concerned with numerical solutions of finite difference systems of reaction diffusion equations with nonlinear internal and boundary reaction functions. The nonlinear reaction functions are of general form and the finite difference systems are for both time-dependent and steady-state problems. For each problem a unified system of nonlinear equations is treated by the method of upper and lower solutions and its associated monotone iterations. This method leads to a monotone iterative scheme for the computation of numerical solutions as well as an existence-comparison theorem for the corresponding finite difference system. Special attention is given to the dynamical property of the time-dependent solution in relation to the steady-state solutions. Application is given to a heat-conduction problem where a nonlinear radiation boundary condition obeying the Boltzmann law of cooling is considered. This application demonstrates a bifurcation property of two steady-state solutions, and determines the dynamic behavior of the time-dependent solution. Numerical results for the heat-conduction problem, including a test problem with known analytical solution, are presented to illustrate the various theoretical conclusions. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Global asymptotic stability of Lotka-Volterra 3-species reaction-diffusion systems with time delays

This paper is concerned with three 3-species time-delayed Lotka-Volterra reaction-diffusion systems and their corresponding ordinary differential systems without diffusion. The time delays may be discrete or continuous, and the boundary conditions for the reaction-diffusion systems are of Neumann type. The goal of the paper is to obtain some simple and easily verifiable conditions for the existence and global asymptotic stability of a positive steady-state solution for each of the three model problems. These conditions involve only the reaction rate constants and are independent of the diffusion effect and time delays. The result of global asymptotic stability implies that each of the three model systems coexists, is permanent, and the trivial and all semitrivial solutions are unstable. Our approach to the problem is based on the method of upper and lower solutions for a more general reaction-diffusion system which gives a common framework for the 3-species model problems. Some global stability results for the 2-species competition and prey-predator reaction-diffusion systems are included in the discussion.     

Global attractor of a coupled finite difference reaction diffusion system with delays

In the study of asymptotic behavior of solutions for reaction diffusion systems, an important concern is to determine whether and when the system has a global attractor which attracts all positive time-dependent solutions. The aim of this paper is to investigate the global attraction problem for a finite difference system which is a discrete approximation of a coupled system of two reaction diffusion equations with time delays. Sufficient conditions are obtained to ensure the existence and global attraction of a positive solution of the corresponding steady-state system. Applications are given to three types of Lotka-Volterra reaction diffusion models, where time-delays may appear in the opposing species.     

Asymptotic behavior of a reaction-diffusion system in bacteriology

This paper is concerned with the asymptotic behavior of the solution for a coupled system of reaction-diffusion equations which describes the bacteria growth and the diffusion of histidine and buffer concentrations. Under the basic boundary condition of Neumann type or mixed type the coupled system can have infinitely many steady-state solutions. The present paper gives some explicit information on the asymptotic limit of the time-dependent solution in relation to these steady states. This information exhibits some rather distinct properties of the solutions between the Neumann boundary problem and the Dirichlet or mixed boundary problem.     

On nonlinear reaction-diffusion systems

This paper presents a qualitative analysis for a coupled system of two reaction-diffusion equations under various boundary conditions which arises from a number of physical problems. The nonlinear reaction functions are classified into three basic types according to their relative quasi-monotone property. For each type of reaction functions, an existence-comparison theorem, in terms of upper and lower solutions, is established for the time-dependent system as well as some boundary value problems. Three concrete physical systems arising from epidemics, biochemistry and engineering are taken as representatives of the basic types of reacting problems. Through suitable construction of upper and lower solutions, various qualitative properties of the solution for each system are obtained. These include the existence and bounds of time-dependent solutions, asymptotic behavior of the solution, stability and instability of nontrivial steady-state solutions, estimates of stability regions, and finally the blowing-up property of the solution. Special attention is given to the homogeneous Neumann boundary condition.     

Global asymptotic stability of positive equilibrium of three-species Lotka–Volterra mutualism models with diffusion and delay effects

In the mutualism system with three species if the effects of dispersion and time delays are both taken into consideration, then the densities of the cooperating species are governed by a coupled system of reaction–diffusion equations with time delays. The aim of this paper is to investigate the asymptotic behavior of the time-dependent solution in relation to a positive uniform solution of the corresponding steady-state problem in a bounded domain with Neumann boundary condition, including the existence and uniqueness of a positive steady-state solution. A simple and easily verifiable condition is given to ensure the global asymptotic stability of the positive steady-state solution. This result leads to the permanence of the mutualism system, the instability of the trivial and all forms of semitrivial solutions, and the nonexistence of nonuniform steady-state solution. The condition for the global asymptotic stability is independent of diffusion and time-delays as well as the net birth rate of species, and the conclusions for the reaction–diffusion system are directly applicable to the corresponding ordinary differential system and 2-species cooperating reaction–diffusion systems. Our approach to the problem is based on inequality skill and the method of upper and lower solutions for a more general reaction–diffusion system. Finally, the numerical simulation is given to illustrate our results.     

Qualitative analysis on a diffusive prey-predator model with ratio-dependent functional response

In this paper, we investigate a prey-predator model with diffusion and ratio-dependent functional response subject to the homogeneous Neumann boundary condition. Our main focuses are on the global behavior of the reaction-diffusion system and its corresponding steady-state problem. We first apply various Lyapunov functions to discuss the global stability of the unique positive constant steady-state. Then, for the steady-state system, we establish some a priori upper and lower estimates for positive steady-states, and derive several results for non-existence of positive non-constant steadystates if the diffusion rates are large or small. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 10801090, 10726016, 10771032) and the Scientific Innovation Team Project of Hubei Provincial Department of Education (Grant No. T200809)     

Positive solutions and dynamics of a finite difference reaction–diffusion system

We investigate the dynamics and methods of computation for some nonlinear finite difference systems that are the discretized equations of a time-dependent and a steady-state reaction–diffusion problem. The formulation of the discrete equations for the time-dependent problem is based on the implicit method for parabolic equations, and the computational algorithm is based on the method of monotone iterations using upper and lower solutions as the initial iterations. The monotone iterative method yields improved upper and lower bounds of the solution in each iteration, and the sequence of iterations converges monotonically to a solution for both the time-dependent and the steady-state problems. An important consequence of this method is that it leads to a bifurcation point that determines the dynamic behavior of the time-dependent problem in relation to the corresponding steady-state problem. This bifurcation point also determines whether the steady-state problem has one or two non-negative solutions, and is explicitly given in terms of the physical parameters of the system and the type of boundary conditions. Numerical results are presented for both the time-dependent and the steady-state problems under various boundary conditions, including a test problem with known analytical solution. These numerical results exhibit the predicted dynamic behavior of the time-dependent solution given by the theoretical analysis. Also discussed are the numerical stability of the computational algorithm and the convergence of the finite difference solution to the corresponding continuous solution of the reaction–diffusion problem. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Asymptotic stability of reaction-diffusion systems in chemical reactor and combustion theory

Some coupled reaction-diffusion systems arising from chemical diffusion processes and combustion theory are analyzed. This analysis includes the existence and uniqueness of positive time-dependent solutions, upper and lower bounds of the solution, asymptotic behavior and invariant sets, and the stability of steady-state solutions, including an estimate of the stability region. Explicit conditions for the asymptotic behavior and the stability of a steady-state solution are given. These conditions establish some interrelationship among the physical parameters of the diffusion medium, the reaction mechanism, the initial function and the type of boundary condition. Under the same set of physical parameters and reaction function, a comparison between the Neumann type and Dirichlet or third type boundary condition exhibits quite different asymptotic behavior of the solution. For the general nonhomogeneous system, multiple steady-state solutions may exist and only local stability results are obtained. However, for certain models it is possible to obtain global stability of a steady-state solution by either increasing the diffusion coefficients or decreasing the size of the diffusion medium. This fact is demonstrated by a one-dimensional tubular reactor model commonly discussed in the literature.     

The global attractor of a competitor–competitor–mutualist reaction–diffusion system with time delays

The aim of this paper is to investigate the asymptotic behavior of time-dependent solutions of a three-species reaction–diffusion system in a bounded domain under a Neumann boundary condition. The system governs the population densities of a competitor, a competitor–mutualist and a mutualist, and time delays may appear in the reaction mechanism. It is shown, under a very simple condition on the reaction rates, that the reaction–diffusion system has a unique constant positive steady-state solution, and for any nontrivial nonnegative initial function the corresponding time-dependent solution converges to the positive steady-state solution. An immediate consequence of this global attraction property is that the trivial solution and all forms of semitrivial solutions are unstable. Moreover, the state–state problem has no nonuniform positive solution despite possible spatial dependence of the reaction and diffusion. All the conclusions for the time-delayed system are directly applicable to the system without time delays and to the corresponding ordinary differential system with or without time delays.     

Stability of Volterra diffusion equations with time delays

This paper is concerned with asymptotic stability of a system of reaction-diffusion equations which is expressed in terms of Volterra integrals, under homogeneous Dirichlet boundary conditions. The effect of diffusion and delays on the stability of the system are analyzed, and sufficient conditions are given for the existence of positive solutions of the corresponding steady-state problem. Their global attraction with respect to nonnegative solutions of the time-dependent system is discussed. The main tools are Lyapunov functionals, positive definite kernels, and Laplace transforms.     

Positive solutions of quasilinear parabolic systems with nonlinear boundary conditions

The aim of this paper is to investigate the existence, uniqueness, and asymptotic behavior of solutions for a coupled system of quasilinear parabolic equations under nonlinear boundary conditions, including a system of quasilinear parabolic and ordinary differential equations. Also investigated is the existence of positive maximal and minimal solutions of the corresponding quasilinear elliptic system as well as the uniqueness of a positive steady-state solution. The elliptic operators in both systems are allowed to be degenerate in the sense that the density-dependent diffusion coefficients Di(ui) may have the property Di(0)=0 for some or all i. Our approach to the problem is by the method of upper and lower solutions and its associated monotone iterations. It is shown that the time-dependent solution converges to the maximal solution for one class of initial functions and it converges to the minimal solution for another class of initial functions; and if the maximal and minimal solutions coincide then the steady-state solution is unique and the time-dependent solution converges to the unique solution. Applications of these results are given to three model problems, including a porous medium type of problem, a heat-transfer problem, and a two-component competition model in ecology. These applications illustrate some very interesting distinctive behavior of the time-dependent solutions between density-independent and density-dependent diffusions.     

Multiple solutions of a boundary-value problem in enzyme kinetics

In some immobilized enzyme systems the steady state of substrate concentration may suddenly change from a low profile to a high profile or vice versa when the physical parameters of the systems pass through certain critical values. This phenomenon is due to the transition from a unique solution to multiple solutions (or vice versa) of the enzyme reaction equation. This problem is studied by considering two physical parameters which represent the internal reaction mechanism and the external influence on the boundary of the reaction-diffusion medium. Both analytical and numerical results for the problem are presented. The analytical results include some sufficient conditions for the existence of multiple steady-state solutions as well as a unique solution. Various numerical results of the problem including time-dependent solutions and their convergence to steady-state solutions are given.     

Asymptotic behavior of solutions of a three-species predator-prey model with diffusion and time delays

In this paper, we deal with a reaction-diffusion system with time delays arising from a three-species predator-prey model under the homogeneous Neumann boundary conditions, and study the asymptotic behavior of solutions.     

一类非局部反应扩散方程组解的爆破性质

该文研究一类带非局部源项的反应扩散方程组. 作者证明了初值充分大时解在有限时刻爆破, 建立了爆破解的爆破速率估计以及边界层估计.     

Travelling wave fronts in nonlocal delayed reaction-diffusion systems and applications

This paper is concerned with the travelling wave fronts of nonlocal reaction-diffusion systems with delays. The existence of travelling wave fronts for nonlocal reaction-diffusion systems with delays is established by using Schauder’s fixed point theorem and upper-lower solution technique. Then these results are applied to the nonlocal delayed Logistic model and the delayed Belousov-Zhabotinskii reaction-diffusion system. Our results show that the time delay can reduce the minimal wave speed while the nonlocality can increase the minimal wave speed. Wan-Tong Li: Supported by NNSF of China (10571078) and the Teaching and Research Award Program for Outstanding Young Teachers in Higher Education Institutions of Ministry of Education of China.