Nonlinear Sciences

We analyse a novel mathematical model of malignant invasion which takes the form of a two-phase moving boundary problem describing the invasion of a population of malignant cells into a population of background tissue, such as skin. Cells in both populations undergo diffusive migration and logistic proliferation. The interface between the two populations moves according to a two-phase Stefan condition. Unlike many reaction-diffusion models of malignant invasion, the moving boundary model explicitly describes the motion of the sharp front between the cancer and surrounding tissues without needing to introduce degenerate nonlinear diffusion. Numerical simulations suggest the model gives rise to very interesting travelling wave solutions that move with speed c , and the model supports both malignant invasion and malignant retreat, where the travelling wave can move in either the positive or negative x -directions. Unlike the well-studied Fisher-Kolmogorov and Porous-Fisher models where travelling waves move with a minimum wave speed c≥ c ∗ >0 , the moving boundary model leads to travelling wave solutions with |c|< c ∗∗ . We interpret these travelling wave solutions in the phase plane and show that they are associated with several features of the classical Fisher-Kolmogorov phase plane that are often disregarded as being nonphysical. We show, numerically, that the phase plane analysis compares well with long time solutions from the full partial differential equation model as well as providing accurate perturbation approximations for the shape of the travelling waves.

One of the simplest examples of a robust heteroclinic cycle involves three saddle equilibria: each one is unstable to the next in turn, and connections from one to the next occur within invariant subspaces. Such a situation can be described by a third-order ordinary differential equation (ODE), and typical trajectories approach each equilibrium point in turn, spending progressively longer to cycle around the three points but never stopping. This cycle has been invoked as a model of cyclic competition between populations adopting three strategies, characterised as Rock, Paper and Scissors. When spatial distribution and mobility of the populations is taken into account, waves of Rock can invade regions of Scissors, only to be invaded by Paper in turn. The dynamics is described by a set of partial differential equations (PDEs) that has travelling wave (in one dimension) and spiral (in two dimensions) solutions. In this paper, we explore how the robust heteroclinic cycle in the ODE manifests itself in the PDEs. Taking the wavespeed as a parameter, and moving into a travelling frame, the PDEs reduce to a sixth-order set of ODEs, in which travelling waves are created in a Hopf bifurcation and are destroyed in three different heteroclinic bifurcations, depending on parameters, as the travelling wave approaches the heteroclinic cycle. We explore the three different heteroclinic bifurcations, none of which have been observed in the context of robust heteroclinic cycles previously. These results are an important step towards a full understanding of the spiral patterns found in two dimensions, with possible application to travelling waves and spirals in other population dynamics models.

We study the effect of a resonant frequency disorder on the eigenstates and the transport of magnetic energy in a two-dimensional (square) array of split-ring resonators (SRRs). In the absence of disorder, we find the dispersion relation of magneto-inductive waves and the mean square displacement (MSD) in closed form, showing that at long times the MSD is ballistic. When disorder is present, we consider two types: the usual Anderson distribution (uncorrelated monomers) and 2?2 units assigned at random to lattice sites (correlated tetramers). This is a direct extension to two dimensions of the one-dimensional random dimer model (RDM). For the uncorrelated case, we see saturation of the MSD for all disorder widths, while for the correlated case we find a disorder window, inside which the MSD does not saturate at long times, with an asymptotic sub-diffusive behavior MSD??t 0.26 . Outside this disorder window, the MSD shows the same kind of saturation as in the monomer case. We conjecture that the sub-diffusive behavior is a remanent of a weak resonant transmission of a 2D plane wave across a tetramer unit.

We establish necessary and sufficient conditions for complex potentials in the Schrödinger equation to enable spectral singularities (SSs) and show that such potentials have the universal form U(x)=− w 2 (x)−i w x (x)+ k 2 0 , where w(x) is a differentiable function, such that lim x→±∞ w(x)=∓ k 0 , and k 0 is a nonzero real. We also find that when k 0 is a complex number, then the eigenvalue of the corresponding Shrödinger operator has an exact solution which, depending on k 0 , represents a coherent perfect absorber (CPA), laser, a localized bound state, a quasi bound state in the continuum (a quasi-BIC), or an exceptional point (the latter requiring additional conditions). Thus, k 0 is a bifurcation parameter that describes transformations among all those solutions. Additionally, in a more specific case of a real-valued function w(x) the resulting potential, although not being PT symmetric, can feature a self-dual spectral singularity associated with the CPA-laser operation. In the space of the system parameters, the transition through each self-dual spectral singularity corresponds to a bifurcation of a pair of complex-conjugate propagation constants from the continuum. The bifurcation of a first complex-conjugate pair corresponds to the phase transition from purely real to complex spectrum.

Self-organization, the ability of a system of microscopically interacting entities to shape macroscopically ordered structures, is ubiquitous in Nature. Spatio-temporal patterns are abundantly observed in a large plethora of applications, encompassing different fields and scales. Examples of emerging patterns are the spots and stripes on the coat or skin of animals, the spatial distribution of vegetation in arid areas, the organization of the colonies of insects in host-parasitoid systems and the architecture of large complex ecosystems. Spatial self-organization can be described following the visionary intuition of Alan Turing, who showed how non-linear interactions between slow diffusing activators and fast diffusing inhibitors could induce patterns. The Turing instability, as the mechanism described is universally referred to, was raised to paradigm status in those realms of investigations where microscopic entities are subject to diffusion, from small biological systems to large ecosystems. Requiring a significant ratio of the assigned diffusion constants however is a stringent constraint, which limited the applicability of the theory. Building on the observation that spatial interactions are usually direction biased, and often strongly asymmetric, we here propose a novel framework for the generation of short wavelength patterns which overcomes the limitation inherent in the Turing formulation. In particular, we will prove that patterns can always set in when the system is composed by sufficiently many cells - the units of spatial patchiness - and for virtually any ratio of the diffusivities involved. Macroscopic patterns that follow the onset of the instability are robust and show oscillatory or steady-state behavior.

Localized spot patterns, where one or more solution components concentrates at certain points in the domain, are a common class of localized pattern for reaction-diffusion systems, and they arise in a wide range of modeling scenarios. In an arbitrary bounded 3-D domain, the existence, linear stability, and slow dynamics of localized multi-spot patterns is analyzed for the well-known singularly perturbed Gierer-Meinhardt (GM) activator-inhibitor system in the limit of a small activator diffusivity ε 2 ≪1 . Our main focus is to classify the different types of multi-spot patterns, and predict their linear stability properties, for different asymptotic ranges of the inhibitor diffusivity D . For the range D=O( ε −1 )≫1 , although both symmetric and asymmetric quasi-equilibrium spot patterns can be constructed, the asymmetric patterns are shown to be always unstable. On this range of D , it is shown that symmetric spot patterns can undergo either competition instabilities or a Hopf bifurcation, leading to spot annihilation or temporal spot amplitude oscillations, respectively. For D=O(1) , only symmetric spot quasi-equilibria exist and they are linearly stable on O(1) time intervals. On this range, it is shown that the spot locations evolve slowly on an O( ε −3 ) time scale towards their equilibrium locations according to an ODE gradient flow, which is determined by a discrete energy involving the reduced-wave Green's function. The central role of the far-field behavior of a certain core problem, which characterizes the profile of a localized spot, for the construction of quasi-equilibria in the D=O(1) and D=O( ε −1 ) regimes, and in establishing some of their linear stability properties, is emphasized.

As a low-energy effective model emerging in disparate fields throughout all of physics, the ubiquitous φ 4 -theory is one of the central models of modern theoretical physics. Its topological defects, or kinks, describe stable, particle-like excitations that play a central role in processes ranging from cosmology to particle physics and condensed matter theory. In these lecture notes, we introduce the description of kinks in φ 4 -theory and the various physical processes that govern their dynamics. The notes are aimed at advanced undergraduate students, and emphasis is placed on stimulating qualitative insight into the rich phenomenology encountered in kink dynamics. The appendices contain more detailed derivations, and allow enquiring students to also obtain a quantitative understanding. Topics covered include the topological classification of stable solutions, kink collisions, the formation of bions, resonant scattering of kinks, and kink-impurity interactions.

A method is presented for calculating solutions to differential equations analytically for a variety of problems in physics. An iteration procedure based on the recently proposed BLUES (Beyond Linear Use of Equation Superposition) function method is shown to converge for nonlinear ordinary differential equations. Case studies are presented for solitary wave solutions of the Camassa-Holm equation and for traveling wavefront solutions of the Burgers equation, with source terms. The convergence of the analytical approximations towards the numerically exact solution is exponentially rapid. In practice, the zeroth-order approximation (a simple convolution) is already useful and the first-order approximation is already accurate while still easy to calculate. The type of nonlinearity can be chosen rather freely, which makes the method generally applicable.

The one-dimensional Kardar-Parisi-Zhang dynamic interface growth equation with the self-similar Ansatz is analyzed. As a new feature additional analytic terms are added. From the mathematical point of view, these can be considered as various noise distribution functions. Six different cases were investigated among others Gaussian, Lorentzian, white or even pink noise. Analytic solutions were evaluated and analyzed for all cases. All results are expressible with various special functions like Kummer, Heun, Whittaker or error functions showing a very rich mathematical structure with some common general characteristics.

The one-dimensional Kardar-Parisi-Zhang dynamic interface growth equation with the traveling-wave Ansatz is analyzed. As a new feature additional analytic terms are added. From the mathematical point of view, these can be considered as various noise distribution functions. Six different cases were investigated among others Gaussian, Lorentzian, white or even pink noise. Analytic solutions are evaluated and analyzed for all cases. All results are expressible with various special functions Mathieu, Bessel, Airy or Whittaker functions showing a very rich mathematical structure with some common general characteristics. This study is the continuation of our former work, where the same physical phenomena was investigated with the self-similar Ansatz. The differences and similarities among the various solutions are enlightened.