A model for an age-structured population with two time scales

In the modelisation of the dynamics of a sole population, an interesting issue is the influence of daily vertical migrations of the larvae on the whole dynamical process. As a first step towards getting some insight on that issue, we propose a model that describes the dynamics of an age-structured population living in an environment divided into N different spatial patches. We distinguish two time scales: at the fast time scale, we have migration dynamics and at the slow time scale, the demographic dynamics. The demographic process is described using the classical McKendrick model for each patch, and a simple matrix model including the transfer rates between patches depicts the migration process. Assuming that the migration process is conservative with respect to the total population and some additional technical assumptions, we proved in a previous work that the semigroup associated to our problem has the property of positive asynchronous exponential growth and that the characteristic elements of that asymptotic behaviour can be approximated by those of a scalar classical McKendrick model. In the present work, we develop the study of the nature of the convergence of the solutions of our problem to the solutions of the associated scalar one when the ratio between the time scales is ε (0 < ε ⪡ 1). The main result decomposes the action of the semigroup associated to our problem into three parts:

• 1.(1) the semigroup associated to a demographic scalar problem times the vector of the equilibrium distribution of the migration process;
• 2.(2) the semigroup associated to the transitory process which leads to the first part; and
• 3.(3) an operator, bounded in norm, of order ε.

     

On the asymptotic equilibrium of a population system with migration

In the analysis of economic and social issues of a country (or any larger or smaller socio-economic unit) the demographic dynamics of the considered population often play a crucial role. Very current emergencies in this respect are e.g. ageing, longevity risk, state-run healthcare etc. Over the last decade migration between EU countries also became an important issue, and in recent years the uncontrolled migration from non-EU countries is also a major concern. Therefore, the better theoretical understanding of the evolutionary mechanism of age-classified populations interacting via migration, is a timely modelling-methodological task. This paper is a preliminary demographic methodological contribution to a further research in support of socio-economic modelling and decision making concerning migration issues.It is known that in the framework of the classical age-specific Leslie model, under simple demographic conditions, a closed population in the long term tends to an equilibrium age distribution. As the main theoretical result of the paper, a similar convergence is proved for a system of several populations with migration between them, and this long-term behaviour (convergence theorem) is extended to systems of sex-structured populations. Based on the latter model, medium term projections are also analysed concerning the effect of migration among countries on the development of the old-age dependency ratio (the proportion of pensioner age classes to active ones), which is an aggregate scalar indicator of ageing, a major concern in most industrialized countries. Illustrative simulation analysis is carried out with data from three European countries.     

On simple age-structured population models

This work addresses several aspects and extensions of the deterministic Leslie model, as a matrix-driven demographic evolution of an age-structured population. We first point out its duality with another matrix model, related to backward/forward in time ways of counting individuals. Then, in some special cases, we design explicitly both the eigenvalues and the offspring vector of the Leslie matrix in a consistent way. Finally, we show how embedding the dynamics in a space of larger dimension allows one to get various new results about the population. This includes access to the total lifetime asymptotic distribution and while including sterile and/or immortal individuals in the classical Leslie model, some insight into the trade-off between the different population species.     

The Rothe method for the Mckendrick-von Foerster equation

We present the Rothe method for the McKendrick-von Foerster equation with initial and boundary conditions. This method is well known as an abstract Euler scheme in extensive literature, e.g. K. Rektorys, The Method of Discretization in Time and Partial Differential Equations, Reidel, Dordrecht, 1982. Various Banach spaces are exploited, the most popular being the space of bounded and continuous functions. We prove the boundedness of approximate solutions and stability of the Rothe method in L ^∞ and L ¹ norms. Proofs of these results are based on comparison inequalities. Our theory is illustrated by numerical experiments. Our research is motivated by certain models of mathematical biology.     

Singularly Perturbed Population Models with Reducible Migration Matrix: 2. Asymptotic Analysis and Numerical Simulations

The paper is concerned with asymptotic analysis of a singularly perturbed system of McKendrick equations of population with age and geographical structure. It is assumed that the migration between geographical patches occurs on a much faster time scale than the demographic processes and is described by a reducible Kolmogorov matrix. We apply a novel regularizing technique which makes the error estimates easier than that in previous papers and provide a numerical illustration of theoretical results.     

Variational formulation of an age-physiology dependent population dynamics

We transform a deterministic age-physiological factor population dynamics problem into its variational form. The internal/external heterogeneity of a population profoundly affects its dynamics, therefore, apart from age a, a second independent variable, g, say, referred to as the physiological parameter of individuals will also be a basis for classification. Using the well-known Ostrogradski or Gauss formula, we prove the existence and uniqueness theorems for the classical weak solution of the model.     

Chaos in M(atrix) theory

We consider the classical and quantum dynamics in M(atrix) theory. Using a simple ansatz we show that a classical trajectory exhibits a chaotic motion. We argue that the holographic feature of M(atrix) theory is related with the repulsive feature of energy eigenvalues in quantum chaotic system. Chaotic dynamics in N = 2 supersymmetric Yang—Mills theory is also discussed. We demonstrate that after the separation of “slow” and “fast” modes there is a singular contribution from the “slow” modes to the Hamiltonian of the “fast” modes.     

Parasitism and host patch selection: A model using aggregation methods

There is a growing interest in studying the effects of parasites on the modification and evolution of hosts' behaviour. In this paper, we deal with a case of parasitism affecting the spatial pattern of host distribution. We develop a simple model with two patches, one host and one parasite. Parasites live in Patch 1, hosts live in the two patches and migrate from one patch to the other. We study the case of a migration independent of parasite density and the case of a migration dependent on density. In the two cases, we make the assumption that the choice of patch is fast, whereas the growth of populations are slow. So we use aggregation methods which are particularly adapted for systems exhibiting different times scales. The aggregated model obtained in the case of a density independent migration is a classical predator-prey model. The case of a density dependent migration aggregated model is very different and a nonstandard one, and exhibits an interesting result. Under certain conditions, parasites always become extinct in the case of a density independent migration, whereas the adaptation of hosts (density dependent migration) allows to stabilize the host-parasite system.This first application of the aggregation methods to epidemiology is very promising because these methods allow us to deal with more real assumptions about the behavioural interplay between hosts and parasites.     

Topological symmetry,background independence and matrix models

We illustrate a physical situation in which topological symmetry, its breakdown, space-time uncertainty principle, and background independence may play an important role in constructing and understanding matrix models. First, we show that the space-time uncertainty principle of string may be understood as a manifestation of the breakdown of the topological symmetry in the large N matrix model. Next, we construct a new type of matrix models which is a matrix model analog of the topological Chern-Simons and BF theories. It is of interest that these topological matrix models are not only completely independent of the background metric but also have nontrivial “p-brane” solutions as well as commuting classical space-time as the classical solutions. In this paper, we would like to point out some elementary and unsolved problems associated to the matrix models, whose resolution would lead to the more satisfying matrix model in future.     

Nonmonotone adaptive trust region method based on simple conic model for unconstrained optimization

We propose a nonmonotone adaptive trust region method based on simple conic model for unconstrained optimization. Unlike traditional trust region methods, the subproblem in our method is a simple conic model, where the Hessian of the objective function is approximated by a scalar matrix. The trust region radius is adjusted with a new self-adaptive adjustment strategy which makes use of the information of the previous iteration and current iteration. The new method needs less memory and computational efforts. The global convergence and Q-superlinear convergence of the algorithm are established under the mild conditions. Numerical results on a series of standard test problems are reported to show that the new method is effective and attractive for large scale unconstrained optimization problems.     

On symbolic factorization of partitioned sparse symmetric matrices

Partitioning a sparse matrix A is a useful device employed by a number of sparse matrix techniques. An important problem that arises in connection with some of these methods is to determine the block structure of the Cholesky factor L of A, given the partitioned A. For the scalar case, the problem of determining the structure of L from A, so-called symbolic factorization, has been extensively studied. In this paper we study the generalization of this problem to the block case. The problem is interesting because an assumption relied on in the scalar case no longer holds; specifically, the product of two nonzero scalars is always nonzero, but the product of two nonnull sparse matrices may yield a zero matrix. Thus, applying the usual symbolic factorization techniques to a partitioned matrix, regarding each submatrix as a scalar, may yield a block structure of L which is too full. In this paper an efficient algorithm is provided for determining the block structure of the Cholesky factor of a partitioned matrix A, along with some bounds on the execution time of the algorithm.     

On Classical Solutions of the Nordström-Vlasov System

Abstract

The Nordström-Vlasov system describes the dynamics of a self-gravitating ensemble of collisionless particles in the framework of the Nordström scalar theory of gravitation. We prove existence and uniqueness of classical solutions of the Cauchy problem in three dimensions and establish a condition which guarantees that the solution is global in time. Moreover, we show that if one changes the sign of the source term in the field equation, which heuristically corresponds to the case of a repulsive gravitational force, then solutions blow up in finite time for a large class of initial data. Finally, we prove global existence of classical solutions for the one dimensional version of the system with the correct sign in the field equation.     

Matrix Mechanics of the Relativistic Point Particle and String in Clifford Space

We resolve the space-time canonical variables of the relativistic point particle into inner products of Weyl spinors with components in a Clifford algebra and find that these spinors themselves form a canonical system with generalized Poisson brackets. For N particles, the inner products of their Clifford coordinates and momenta form two N × N Hermitian matrices X and P which transform under a U(N) symmetry in the generating algebra. This is used as a starting point for defining matrix mechanics for a point particle in Clifford space. Next we consider the string. The Lorentz metric induces a metric and a scalar on the world sheet which we represent by a Jackiw–Teitelboim term in the action. The string is described by a polymomenta canonical system and we find the wave solutions to the classical equations of motion for a flat world sheet. Finally, we show that the \({SL(2.\mathbb{C})}\) charge and space-time momentum of the quantized string satisfy the Poincaré algebra.     

Analysis and numerics for an age‐ and sex‐structured population model

We study a linear model of McKendrick‐von Foerster‐Keyfitz type for the temporal development of the age structure of a two‐sex human population. For the underlying system of partial integro‐differential equations, we exploit the semigroup theory to show the classical well‐posedness and asymptotic stability in a Hilbert space framework under appropriate conditions on the age‐specific mortality and fertility moduli. Finally, we propose an implicit finite difference scheme to numerically solve this problem and prove its convergence under minimal regularity assumptions. A real data application is also given. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq 32: 706–736, 2016     

The diffusive Lotka–Volterra competition model in fragmented patches I: Coexistence

It is an ecological imperative that we understand how changes in landscape heterogeneity affect population dynamics and coexistence among species residing in increasingly fragmented landscapes. Decades of research have shown the dispersal process to have major implications for individual fitness, species’ distributions, interactions with other species, population dynamics, and stability. Although theoretical models have played a crucial role in predicting population level effects of dispersal, these models have largely ignored the conditional dependency of dispersal (e.g., responses to patch boundaries, matrix hostility, competitors, and predators). This work is the first in a series where we explore dynamics of the diffusive Lotka–Volterra (L–V) competition model in such a fragmented landscape. This model has been extensively studied in isolated patches, and to a lesser extent, in patches surrounded by an immediately hostile matrix. However, little attention has been focused on studying the model in a more realistic setting considering organismal behavior at the patch/matrix interface. Here, we provide a mechanistic connection between the model and its biological underpinnings and study its dynamics via exploration of nonexistence, existence, and uniqueness of the model’s steady states. We employ several tools from nonlinear analysis, including sub-supersolutions, certain eigenvalue problems, and a numerical shooting method. In the case of weak, neutral, and strong competition, our results mostly match those of the isolated patch or immediately hostile matrix cases. However, in the case where competition is weak towards one species and strong towards the other, we find existence of a maximum patch size, and thus an intermediate range of patch sizes where coexistence is possible, in a patch surrounded by an intermediate hostile matrix when the weaker competitor has a dispersal advantage. These results support what ecologists have long theorized, i.e., a key mechanism promoting coexistence among competing species is a tradeoff between dispersal and competitive ability.     

How the choice of the observable may influence the analysis of nonlinear dynamical systems

A great number of techniques developed for studying nonlinear dynamical systems start with the embedding, in a d-dimensional space, of a scalar time series, lying on an m-dimensional object, d > m. In general, the main results reached at are valid regardless of the observable chosen. In a number of practical situations, however, the choice of the observable does influence our ability to extract dynamical information from the embedded attractor. This may arise in standard problems in nonlinear dynamics such as model building, control theory and synchronization. To some degree, ease of success will thus depend on the choice of observable simply because it is related to the observability of the dynamics. Investigating the Rössler system, we show that the observability matrix is related to the map between the original phase space and the differential embedding induced by the observable. This paper investigates a form for the observability matrix for nonlinear system which is more general than the previous one used. The problem of controllability is also mentioned.     

On differentiability of the matrix trace operator and its applications

This article is devoted to “forgotten” and rarely used technique of matrix analysis, introduced in 60–70th and enhanced by authors. We will study the matrix trace operator and it’s differentiability. This idea generalizes the notion of scalar derivative for matrix computations. The list of the most common derivatives is given at the end of the article. Additionally we point out a close connection of this technique with a least square problem in it’s classical and generalized case.     

Scalar conservation laws: Initial and boundary value problems revisited and saturated solutions

We revisit the classical theory of multidimensional scalar conservation laws. We reformulate the notion of the classical Kruzkov entropy solutions and study some new properties as well as the well-posedness of the initial value problem with inhomogeneous fluxes and general initial data. We also consider Dirichlet boundary value problems. We put forward a new and transparent definition for solutions and give a simple proof for their well-posedness in domains with smooth boundaries. Finally, we introduce the notion of saturated solutions and show that it is well-posed.     

Global analysis of an environmental disease transmission model linking within-host and between-host dynamics

In this paper, a multi-scale mathematical model for environmentally transmitted diseases is proposed which couples the pathogen-immune interaction inside the human body with the disease transmission at the population level. The model is based on the nested approach that incorporates the infection-age-structured immunological dynamics into an epidemiological system structured by the chronological time, the infection age and the vaccination age. We conduct detailed analysis for both the within-host and between-host disease dynamics. Particularly, we derive the basic reproduction number R₀ for the between-host model and prove the uniform persistence of the system. Furthermore, using carefully constructed Lyapunov functions, we establish threshold-type results regarding the global dynamics of the between-host system: the disease-free equilibrium is globally asymptotically stable when R₀ < 1, and the endemic equilibrium is globally asymptotically stable when R₀ > 1. We explore the connection between the within-host and between-host dynamics through both mathematical analysis and numerical simulation. We show that the pathogen load and immune strength at the individual level contribute to the disease transmission and spread at the population level. We also find that, although the between-host transmission risk correlates positively with the within-host pathogen load, there is no simple monotonic relationship between the disease prevalence and the individual pathogen load.     

Conformal metrics on the ball with zero scalar curvature and prescribed mean curvature on the boundary

This paper considers the prescribed zero scalar curvature and mean curvature problem on the n-dimensional Euclidean ball for n?3. We consider the limits of solutions of the regularization obtained by decreasing the critical exponent. We characterize those subcritical solutions which blow-up at the least possible energy level, determining the points at which they can concentrate, and their Morse indices. We show that when n=3 this is the only blow-up which can occur for solutions. We use this in combination with the Morse inequalities for the subcritical problem to obtain a general existence theorem for the prescribed zero scalar curvature and mean curvature on the three-dimensional Euclidean ball. In the higher-dimensional case n?4, we give conditions on the function h to guarantee there is only one simple blow-up point.