James Nolen

Existence and Non-Existence of Fisher-KPP Transition Fronts

We consider Fisher-KPP-type reaction–diffusion equations with spatially inhomogeneous reaction rates. We show that a sufficiently strong localized inhomogeneity may prevent existence of transition-front-type global-in-time solutions while creating a global-in-time bump-like solution. This is the first example of a medium in which no reaction–diffusion transition front exists. A weaker localized inhomogeneity leads to the existence of transition fronts, but only in a finite range of speeds. These results are in contrast with both Fisher-KPP reactions in homogeneous media as well as ignition-type reactions in inhomogeneous media.

A Framework for Adaptive Multiscale Methods for Elliptic Problems

We describe a projection framework for developing adaptive multiscale methods for computing approximate solutions to elliptic boundary value problems. The framework is consistent with homogenizatio...

Sticky central limit theorems on open books

Given a probability distribution on an open book (a metric space obtained by gluing a disjoint union of copies of a half-space along their boundary hyperplanes), we define a precise concept of when the Frechet mean (barycenter) is sticky. This nonclassical phenomenon is quantified by a law of large numbers (LLN) stating that the empirical mean eventually almost surely lies on the (codimension 1 and hence measure 0) spine that is the glued hyperplane, and a central limit theorem (CLT) stating that the limiting distribution is Gaussian and supported on the spine. We also state versions of the LLN and CLT for the cases where the mean is nonsticky (i.e., not lying on the spine) and partly sticky (i.e., is, on the spine but not sticky).

A short proof of the logarithmic Bramson correction in Fisher-KPP equations

In this paper, we explain in simple PDE terms a famous result of Bramson about the loga- rithmic delay of the position of the solutions u(t, x) of Fisher-KPP reaction-diffusion equations in R, with respect to the position of the travelling front with minimal speed. Our proof is based on the comparison of u to the solutions of linearized equations with Dirichlet boundary conditions at the position of the minimal front, with and without the logarithmic delay. Our analysis also yields the large-time convergence of the solutions u along their level sets to the profile of the minimal travelling front.

Stability of Generalized Transition Fronts

We study the qualitative properties of the generalized transition fronts for the reaction–diffusion equations with the spatially inhomogeneous nonlinearity of the ignition type. We show that transition fronts are unique up to translation in time and are globally exponentially stable for the solutions of the Cauchy problem. The results hold for reaction rates that have arbitrary spatial variations provided that the rate is uniformly positive and bounded from above.

Homogenization and Enhancement for the G—Equation

We consider the so-called G-equation, a level set Hamilton–Jacobi equation used as a sharp interface model for flame propagation, perturbed by an oscillatory advection in a spatio-temporal periodic environment. Assuming that the advection has suitably small spatial divergence, we prove that, as the size of the oscillations diminishes, the solutions homogenize (average out) and converge to the solution of an effective anisotropic first-order (spatio-temporal homogeneous) level set equation. Moreover, we obtain a rate of convergence and show that, under certain conditions, the averaging enhances the velocity of the underlying front. We also prove that, at scale one, the level sets of the solutions of the oscillatory problem converge, at long times, to the Wulff shape associated with the effective Hamiltonian. Finally, we also consider advection depending on position at the integral scale.

A variational principle based study of KPP minimal front speeds in random shears

The variational principle for Kolmogorov–Petrovsky–Piskunov (KPP) minimal front speeds provides an efficient tool for statistical speed analysis, as well as a fast and accurate method for speed computation. A variational principle based analysis is carried out on the ensemble of KPP speeds through spatially stationary random shear flows inside infinite channel domains. In the regime of small root mean square (rms) shear amplitude, the enhancement of the ensemble averaged KPP front speeds is proved to obey the quadratic law under certain shear moment conditions. Similarly, in the large rms amplitude regime, the enhancement follows the linear law. In particular, both laws hold for the Ornstein–Uhlenbeck (O–U) process in the case of two-dimensional channels. An asymptotic ensemble averaged speed formula is derived in the small rms regime and is explicit in the case of the O–U process of the shear. The variational principle based computation agrees with these analytical findings, and allows further study of the speed enhancement distributions as well as the dependence of the enhancement on the shear covariance. Direct simulations in the small rms regime suggest a quadratic speed enhancement law for non-KPP nonlinearities.

REACTION-DIFFUSION FRONT SPEEDS IN SPATIALLY-TEMPORALLY PERIODIC SHEAR FLOWS ∗

We study the asymptotics of two space dimensional reaction-diffusion front speeds through mean zero space-time periodic shears using both analytical and numerical methods. The analysis hinges on traveling fronts and their estimates based on qualitative properties such as monotonicity and a priori integral inequalities. The computation uses an explicit second order upwind finite difference method to provide more quantitative information. At small shear amplitudes, front speeds are enhanced by an amount proportional to shear amplitude squared. The proportionality constant has a closed form expression. It decreases with increasing shear temporal frequency and is independent of the form of the known reaction nonlinearities. At large shear amplitudes and for all reaction nonlinearities, the enhanced speeds grow proportional to shear amplitude and are again decreasing with increasing shear temporal frequencies. The results extend previous ones in the literature on front speeds through spatially periodic shears ...

The logarithmic delay of KPP fronts in a periodic medium

We consider solutions of the KPP-type equations with a periodically varying reaction rate, and compactly supported initial data. It has been shown by M. Bramson in the case of the constant reaction rate that the lag between the position of such solutions and that of the traveling waves grows as (3/2) log(t). We generalize this result to the periodic case

Scaling limit of the corrector in stochastic homogenization

In the homogenization of divergence-form equations with random coecients, a central role is played by the corrector. We focus on a discrete space setting and on dimension 3 and more. Completing the argument started in (11), we identify the scaling limit of the corrector, which is akin to a Gaussian free field. MSC 2010: 35B27, 35J15, 35R60, 82D30.