Structural dichotomy and mass criticality in indirect chemotaxis cascades: fourth-order ellipticity versus Volterra memory

Abstract

We investigate the structural and operator-theoretic foundations of indirect signal-generation mechanisms in Keller--Segel-type chemotaxis models. By analyzing a physically motivated multi-stage signaling cascade, we establish a precise mathematical dichotomy between instantaneous equilibration and transient kinetic memory. Specifically, we prove that the fully equilibrating parabolic--elliptic--elliptic (PES) cascade reduces to a static fourth-order elliptic interaction. In dimension four, an exact algebraic cancellation of the leading Newtonian singularity yields a purely logarithmic kernel, shifting the mass-critical dimension from $N=2$ to $N=4$. Through an $L^2$-gradient flow formulation, we identify the corresponding concentration-scaling candidate critical mass $M_* = 64\pi^2\tau/\chi$. In sharp contrast, we demonstrate that the mixed elliptic--parabolic (MEP) cascade retains a genuine Volterra memory effect that defies static reduction. Its interaction drift acts as a singular perturbation in time-exhibiting classical two-dimensional Keller--Segel principal order near the time diagonal, yet providing fourth-order smoothing in its frozen-time average, necessitating a mixed space-time threshold theory. These results isolate the physical origin of mass-critical dimensional shifts in multiscale biological systems and formulate the specific adapted Adams/logarithmic Hardy--Littlewood--Sobolev (log-HLS) inequalities and mixed-norm criteria required to close the threshold problems.