Dynamics of a nonlocal epidemic model with a new free boundary condition, part 1: Spreading-vanishing dichotomy

Yao Chen; Yihong Du; Wan-Tong Li; Rong Wang

Home/Archive/arXiv

arXiv · 2602.05331

Dynamics of a nonlocal epidemic model with a new free boundary condition, part 1: Spreading-vanishing dichotomy

Yao Chen·Yihong Du·Wan-Tong Li·Rong Wang

View original source ↗Read source document ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

This paper investigates the long-time dynamics of a nonlocal epidemic model with free boundaries, where a pathogen with density $u(t,x)$ and the infected humans with density $v(t,x)$ evolve according to a reaction-diffusion system with nonlocal diffusion over a one dimensional interval $[g(t), h(t)]$, which represents the epidemic region expanding through its boundaries $x=g(t)$ and $x=h(t)$, known as free boundaries. Such a model with free boundary conditions based on those of Cao et al. \cite{fb27} was considered by several works. Inspired by recent works of Feng et al. \cite{fb20} and Long et al. \cite{fb5}, we propose a new free boundary condition, where the expansion rate of the epidemic region, determined by $h'(t)$ and $g'(t)$, is proportional to a linear combination of the outward flux of the pathogen $u$ through the range boundary (as in \cite{fb27}) and the weighted total population of infected individuals $v$ within the region (as in \cite{fb5}). We prove that the system under this new free boundary condition is well-posed, and its long-time dynamical behavior is characterized by a spreading-vanishing dichotomy. Moreover, we obtain sharp criteria for this dichotomy, including a sharp threshold in terms of the initial data $(u_0,v_0)$; and by studying a related eigenvalue problem, we also find a sharp threshold in terms of the diffusion rate, which complements related results in Nguyen and Vo \cite{fb7}. This is Part $1$ of a two part series. In Part $2$, we will determine the spreading speed of the model when spreading occurs, and for some typical classes of kernel functions, we will obtain the precise rates of accelerated spreading.

Explore related subjects

math.AP

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeX RIS

Yao Chen, Yihong Du, Wan-Tong Li, Rong Wang. 2026-02-05. Dynamics of a nonlocal epidemic model with a new free boundary condition, part 1: Spreading-vanishing dichotomy. https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.05331

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

arXiv2026

Well-posedness of the two-dimensional unsteady Prandtl system in Sobolev space with degenerate critical points

This paper is devoted to the well-posedness of classical Prandtl equations in a finite order Sobolev space. For a initial data with degenerate critical points and general outflow, we obtain the local-in-time existence and uniqueness of the solution to the Prandtl equations in a Sobolev space, by introducing a new iteration scheme and linear cancelation. This result shows that Oleinik's monotonicity condition is not a necessary condition for the Prandtl equations to be well-posed in Sobolev spaces and provides evidence to demonstrate that zero shear stress does not necessarily lead to boundary layer separation in two-dimensional unsteady boundary layers.

math.AP↗

arXiv2026

Global existence and time decay for a bipolar Euler-Poisson system with one pressureless and undamped fluid

We study the Cauchy problem for a three-dimensional bipolar Euler--Poisson system in which one fluid is pressureless and undamped, while the other is subject to momentum relaxation. For sufficiently small smooth perturbations of a constant equilibrium, we prove the global existence and uniqueness of smooth solutions under an irrotationality assumption on the initial velocity of the pressureless fluid, together with algebraic time-decay estimates. The main difficulty is that the velocity of the pressureless fluid is dissipated only indirectly through the Poisson coupling, and this mechanism degenerates strongly at high frequencies, leading to a regularity-loss structure. We overcome this difficulty by combining refined Green-function estimates, a low--middle--high frequency decomposition, and high-order nonlinear energy estimates adapted to the asymmetric regularity hierarchy. The result establishes a global small-data theory for this asymmetric regime, in which pressure and damping are simultaneously absent from the same fluid.

math.AP↗

arXiv2026

Boundary layer of 2D Chemotaxis Navier-Stokes equations with logarithmic Sensitivity. II. viscous vanishing limit

This is the second part of a two-part work concerning boundary layer solutions to the coupled Chemotaxis-Navier-Stokes system in the two-dimensional half-space. In the present work, we address the convergence of boundary layer solutions to singular chemotaxis-fluid equations under slip boundary conditions with respect to the chemical diffusion-viscosity parameter $\varepsilon$ in the two-dimensional half-plane. More precisely, we show that the boundary layer for $\varepsilon>0$ (viscous convection coefficient) converges to the superposition of the outer layer (solution with $\varepsilon=0$) and the inner layer as $\varepsilon\rightarrow0$. The outer and inner profiles are explicitly derived as in the first part\cite{WWZ}. Furthermore, the well-posedness results of the coupled Chemotaxis-Navier-Stokes system in conormal Sobolev spaces will be presented in Appendix. They answer the question mentioned in the first part of the two-part work. This study could help the understanding of the chemotactic movement of aerobic bacteria to the water-air surface observed experimentally in fluids, and enrich the theoretical results of boundary layer in chemotactic fluid models.

math.AP↗