Bifurcation for a free boundary problem modeling the growth of multi-layer tumors

In this paper we study bifurcations for a free boundary problem modeling the growth of multi-layer tumors under the action of inhibitors. An important feature of this problem is that the surface tension effect of the free boundary is taken into account. By reducing this problem into an abstract bifurcation equation in a Banach space, overcoming some technical difficulties and finally using the Crandall–Rabinowitz bifurcation theorem, we prove that this problem has infinitely many branches of bifurcation solutions bifurcating from the flat solution.     

Spatially nonhomogeneous equilibrium in a reaction-diffusion system with distributed delay

We consider a reaction-diffusion system with general time-delayed growth rate and kernel functions. The existence and stability of the positive spatially nonhomogeneous steady-state solution are obtained. Moreover, taking minimal time delay τ as the bifurcation parameter, Hopf bifurcation near the steady-state solution is proved to occur at a critical value τ=τ₀. Especially, the Hopf bifurcation is forward and the bifurcated periodic solutions are stable on the center manifold. The general results are applied to competitive and cooperative systems with weak or strong kernel function respectively.     

Bifurcation of stable equilibria and nonlinear flux boundary condition with indefinite weight

We study bifurcation and stability of positive equilibria of a parabolic problem under a nonlinear Neumann boundary condition having a parameter and an indefinite weight. The main motivation is the selection migration problem involving two alleles and no gene flux acrossing the boundary, introduced by Fisher and Fleming, and Henry?s approach to the problem.Local and global structures of the set of equilibria are given. While the stability of constant equilibria is analyzed, the exponential stability of the unique bifurcating nonconstant equilibrium solution is established. Diagrams exhibiting the bifurcation and stability structures are also furnished. Moreover the asymptotic behavior of such solutions on the boundary of the domain, as the positive parameter goes to infinity, is also provided.The results are obtained via classical tools like the Implicit Function Theorem, bifurcation from a simple eigenvalue theorem and the exchange of stability principle, in a combination with variational and dynamical arguments.     

Bifurcation direction and exchange of stability for variational inequalities on nonconvex sets

This paper concerns Crandall–Rabinowitz type bifurcation for abstract variational inequalities on nonconvex sets and with multidimensional bifurcation parameter. We derive formulae which determine the bifurcation direction and, in the case of potential operators, the stability of all solutions close to the bifurcation point. In particular, it follows that in some cases an exchange of stability appears similar to the case of equations, but in some other cases stable nontrivial solutions bifurcate at points where there is no loss of stability of the trivial solution. As an application we consider a system of two second order ODEs with nonconvex unilateral boundary conditions.     

Bifurcation of positive solutions to scalar reaction–diffusion equations with nonlinear boundary condition

The bifurcation of non-trivial steady state solutions of a scalar reaction–diffusion equation with nonlinear boundary conditions is considered using several new abstract bifurcation theorems. The existence and stability of positive steady state solutions are proved using a unified approach. The general results are applied to a Laplace equation with nonlinear boundary condition and bistable nonlinearity, and an elliptic equation with superlinear nonlinearity and sublinear boundary conditions.     

New beams of global bifurcation points for a reaction-diffusion system with inequalities or inclusions

We consider a reaction-diffusion system of activator-inhibitor or substrate-depletion type which is subject to diffusion-driven instability. We show that an obstacle (e.g. a unilateral membrane) modeled either in terms of inequalities or of inclusions, introduces whole beams of new global bifurcation points of spatially non-homogeneous stationary solutions which lie in parameter domains which are excluded as bifurcation points for the problem without the obstacle.     

On the existence of oscillating solutions in non-monotone Mean-Field Games

For non-monotone single and two-populations time-dependent Mean-Field Game systems we obtain the existence of an infinite number of branches of non-trivial solutions. These non-trivial solutions are in particular shown to exhibit an oscillatory behaviour when they are close to the trivial (constant) one. The existence of such branches is derived using local and global bifurcation methods, that rely on the analysis of eigenfunction expansions of solutions to the associated linearized problem. Numerical analysis is performed on two different models to observe the oscillatory behaviour of solutions predicted by bifurcation theory, and to study further properties of branches far away from bifurcation points.     

Stability of steady-state solutions to a prey-predator system with cross-diffusion

This paper is concerned with a cross-diffusion system arising in a prey-predator population model. The main purpose is to discuss the stability analysis for coexistence steady-state solutions obtained by Kuto and Yamada (J. Differential Equations, to appear). We will give some criteria on the stability of these coexistence steady states. Furthermore, we show that the Hopf bifurcation phenomenon occurs on the steady-state solution branch under some conditions.     

Properties of the solutions of the Ginzburg-Landau equation on the bifurcation branch

Generalizing previous results of M. Comte and P. Mironescu, it is shown that for degree d large enough (such that ), there is a bifurcation branch in the set of the solutions of the Ginzburg-Landau equation, emanating from the branch of radial solutions at the critical value _d of the parameter. Moreover, the solutions on the bifurcation branch admit exactly d zeroes, and the energy on the bifurcation branch is strictly smaller than the energy on the radial branch.     

Hopf bifurcations in a reaction-diffusion population model with delay effect

A reaction-diffusion population model with a general time-delayed growth rate per capita is considered. The growth rate per capita can be logistic or weak Allee effect type. From a careful analysis of the characteristic equation, the stability of the positive steady state solution and the existence of forward Hopf bifurcation from the positive steady state solution are obtained via the implicit function theorem, where the time delay is used as the bifurcation parameter. The general results are applied to a “food-limited” population model with diffusion and delay effects as well as a weak Allee effect population model.     

Bifurcation of travelling wave solutions for the modified dispersive water wave equation

The method of bifurcation of planar dynamical systems and method of numerical simulation of differential equations are employed to investigate the modified dispersive water wave equation. We obtain the parameter bifurcation sets that divide the parameter space into different regions which correspond to qualitatively different phase portraits. In different regions, different types of travelling solutions including solitary wave solutions, shock wave solutions and periodic wave solutions are simulated. Furthermore, with a generalized projective Riccati equation method, several new explicit exact solutions are obtained.     

Bifurcation of infinite Prandtl number rotating convection

We consider infinite Prandtl number convection with rotation which is the basic model in geophysical fluid dynamics. For the rotation free case, the rigorous analysis has been provided by Park (2005, 2007, revised for publication) [5], [6] and [25] under various boundary conditions. By thoroughly investigating we prove in this paper that the solutions bifurcate from the trivial solution u=0 to an attractor Σ_R which consists of only one cycle of steady state solutions and is homeomorphic to S¹. We also see how intensively the rotation inhibits the onset of convective motion. This bifurcation analysis is based on a new notion of bifurcation, called attractor bifurcation which was developed by Ma and Wang (2005); see [15].     

Structure of the solution set for a class of semilinear elliptic equations with asymptotic linear nonlinearity

We consider a semilinear elliptic equation with asymptotic linear nonlinearity applying bifurcation theory and spectral analysis. We obtain the exact multiplicity of the positive solutions and a very precise structure of the solution set, which improves the previous knowledge of the problem.     

On global bifurcation for quasilinear elliptic systems on bounded domains

General second order quasilinear elliptic systems with nonlinear boundary conditions on bounded domains are formulated into nonlinear mappings between Sobolev spaces. It is shown that the linearized mapping is a Fredholm operator of index zero. This and the abstract global bifurcation theorem of [Jacobo Pejsachowicz, Patrick J. Rabier, Degree theory for C¹ Fredholm mappings of index 0, J. Anal. Math. 76 (1998) 289-319] allow us to carry out bifurcation analysis directly on these elliptic systems. At the abstract level, we establish a unilateral global bifurcation result that is needed when studying positive solutions. Finally, we supply two examples of cross-diffusion population model and chemotaxis model to demonstrate how the theory can be applied.     

Global bifurcation of positive equilibria in nonlinear population models

Existence of nontrivial nonnegative equilibrium solutions for age-structured population models with nonlinear diffusion is investigated. Introducing a parameter measuring the intensity of the fertility, global bifurcation is shown of a branch of positive equilibrium solutions emanating from the trivial equilibrium. Moreover, for the parameter-independent model we establish existence of positive equilibria by means of a fixed point theorem for conical shells.     

A global bifurcation for nonlinear inclusions

For under certain conditions, we show a global bifurcation for multi-valued boundary value problems involving the Laplacian, by applying a bifurcation theorem for nonlinear inclusions.     

Degree and global bifurcation for elliptic equations with multivalued unilateral conditions

A bifurcation problem for an elliptic multivalued boundary value problem with a real parameter is considered. The existence of global bifurcation between two eigenvalues of a certain type of the Laplacian is proved. For a class of abstract inclusions with compact multivalued mappings in a Hilbert space, it is shown how the degree can be determined near the eigenvalues of a particular type of an associated linear single-valued problem, and the jump of the degree is proved. As a consequence, global bifurcation for such abstract inclusions is obtained. The weak formulation of the boundary value problem mentioned is a particular case.     

On the shock wave spectrum for isentropic gas dynamics with capillarity

We consider the stability problem for shock layers in Slemrod's model of an isentropic gas with capillarity. We show that these traveling waves are monotone in the weak capillarity case, and become highly oscillatory as the capillarity strength increases. Using a spectral energy estimate we prove that small-amplitude monotone shocks are spectrally stable. We also show that monotone shocks have no unstable real spectrum regardless of amplitude; this implies that any instabilities of these monotone traveling waves, if they exist, must occur through a Hopf-like bifurcation, where one or more conjugate pairs of eigenvalues cross the imaginary axis. We then conduct a systematic numerical Evans function study, which shows that monotone and mildly oscillatory profiles in an adiabatic gas are spectrally stable for moderate values of shock and capillarity strengths. In particular, we show that the transition from monotone to nonmonotone profiles does not appear to trigger any instabilities.     

Multiple bifurcation branches for variational inequalities

We prove the existence of two bifurcation branches for a variational inequality in a case when the corresponding asymptotic problem is nonsymmetric. We use a nonsmooth variational framework and a blow-up argument which allows to find multiple critical points possibly at the same level. An application to plates with obstacle is presented.     

Effect of cross-diffusion on the stationary problem of a prey-predator model with a protection zone

This paper is concerned with the stationary problem of a prey-predator cross-diffusion system with a protection zone for the prey. We discuss the existence and non-existence of coexistence states of the two species by using the bifurcation theory. As a result, it is shown that the cross-diffusion for the prey has beneficial effects on the survival of the prey when the intrinsic growth rate of the predator is positive. We also study the asymptotic behavior of positive stationary solutions as the cross-diffusion coefficient of the prey tends to infinity.