AbstractsBiology & Animal Science

Propagation in reaction-diffusion equations with fractional diffusion

by Anne-Charline Coulon




Institution: Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya
Department:
Year: 2014
Record ID: 1124504
Full text PDF: http://hdl.handle.net/10803/277576


Abstract

This thesis focuses on the long time behaviour of solutions to Fisher-KPP reaction-diffusion equations involving fractional diffusion. This type of equation arises, for example, in spatial propagation or spreading of biological species (rats, insects,...). In population dynamics, the quantity under study stands for the density of the population. It is well-known that, under some specific assumptions, the solution tends to a stable state of the evolution problem, as time goes to infinity. In other words, the population invades the medium, which corresponds to the survival of the species, and we want to understand at which speed this invasion takes place. To answer this question, we set up a new method to study the speed of propagation when fractional diffusion is at stake and apply it on three different problems. Part I of the thesis is devoted to an analysis of the asymptotic location of the level sets of the solution to two different problems : Fisher-KPP models in periodic media and cooperative systems, both including fractional diffusion. On the first model, we prove that, under some assumptions on the periodic medium, the solution spreads exponentially fast in time and we find the precise exponent that appears in this exponential speed of propagation. We also carry out numerical simulations to investigate the dependence of the speed of propagation on the initial condition. On the second model, we prove that the speed of propagation is once again exponential in time, with an exponent depending on the smallest index of the fractional Laplacians at stake and on the reaction term. Part II of the thesis deals with a two dimensional environment, where reproduction of Fisher-KPP type and usual diffusion occur, except on a line of the plane, on which fractional diffusion takes place. The plane is referred to as 'the field' and the line to 'the road', as a reference to the biological situations we have in mind. Indeed, it has long been known that fast diffusion on roads can have a driving effect on the spread of epidemics. We prove that the speed of propagation is exponential in time on the road, whereas it depends linearly on time in the field. Contrary to the precise asymptotics obtained in Part I, for this model, we are not able to give a sharp location of the level sets on the road and in the field. The expansion shape of the level sets in the field is investigated through numerical simulations.; Esta tesis se centra en el comportamiento en tiempos grandes de las soluciones de la ecuación de Fisher- KPP de reacción-difusión con difusión fraccionaria. Este tipo de ecuación surge, por ejemplo, en la propagación espacial o en la propagación de especies biológicas (ratas, insectos,...). En la dinámica de poblaciones, la cantidad que se estudia representa la densidad de la población. Es conocido que, bajo algunas hipótesis específicas, la solución tiende a un estado estable del problema de evolución, cuando el tiempo tiende a infinito. En otras palabras, la población invade el medio, lo que corresponde a la…