Propagation failure in heterogeneous FitzHugh--Nagumo systems via coupled upper and lower solutions

Matías Courdurier; Esteban Paduro

Home/Archive/arXiv

arXiv · 2609.14944

Propagation failure in heterogeneous FitzHugh--Nagumo systems via coupled upper and lower solutions

Matías Courdurier·Esteban Paduro

View original source ↗Read source document ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

Traveling waves are fundamental objects in reaction--diffusion systems; however, spatial heterogeneities can distort or inhibit their propagation. Determining whether a given heterogeneity results in propagation failure remains challenging, particularly in systems with coupled components. In this paper, we present explicit constructions of stationary coupled upper and lower solutions tailored to specific heterogeneities for a one-dimensional FitzHugh--Nagumo system. By leveraging the mixed quasimonotone structure of the system, these barriers yield sufficient conditions for the failure of propagation for families of trapped initial conditions. The stationary constructions establish directional signal blocking in FitzHugh--Nagumo neuron models with localized depressed dynamics or abrupt geometric variations, and the resulting stationary barriers persist for sufficiently small recovery diffusion. Additionally, we introduce explicit almost stationary barriers, which provide conditional bounds on the expansion of componentwise threshold regions in homogeneous media.

Explore related subjects

math.AP

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeX RIS

Matías Courdurier, Esteban Paduro. 2026-09-14. Propagation failure in heterogeneous FitzHugh--Nagumo systems via coupled upper and lower solutions. https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.14944

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

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

arXiv2026

Around the Quantum Lenard-Balescu equation

In the mean-field regime, a gas of quantum particles with Boltzmann statistics can be described by the Hartree-Fock equation. This dynamics becomes trivial if the initial distribution of particle is invariant by translation. However, the first correction is given on time of order $O(N)$ by the quantum Lenard--Balescu equation. In the first part of the present article, we justify this equation until time of order $O((\log N)^{1-δ})$ (for any $δ\in(0,1)$). A similar phenomenon exists in the classical setting (with a similar validity time obtained by Duerinckx \cite{Duerinckx}). In a second time, we prove the convergence for dimension $d\geq 2$ of the solutions of the quantum Lenard--Balescu equation to the solutions of its classical counterpart in the semi-classical limit. This problem can be interpreted as a grazing collision limit: the quantum Lenard--Balescu equation looks like a cut-off Boltzmann equation, when the classical one looks like the Landau equation.

math.AP↗

arXiv2026

Almost Periodic Solutions of The Cubic Defocusing Nonlinear Schrödinger Equation

This paper addresses the Cauchy problem for the cubic defocusing nonlinear Schrödinger equation (NLS) with almost periodic initial data. We prove that for small analytic quasiperiodic initial data satisfying Diophantine frequency conditions, the Cauchy problem admits a solution that is almost periodic in both space and time, and that this solution is unique among solutions locally bounded in a suitable sense. The analysis combines direct and inverse spectral theory. In the inverse spectral theory part, we prove existence, almost periodicity, and uniqueness for solutions with initial data whose associated Dirac operator has purely a.c.\ spectrum that is not too thin. This resolves novel challenges presented by the NLS hierarchy, such as an additional degree of freedom and an additional commuting flow. In the direct spectral theory part, for Dirac operators with small analytic quasiperiodic potentials with Diophantine frequency conditions, we prove pure a.c.\ spectrum, exponentially decaying spectral gaps, and spectral thickness conditions (homogeneity and Craig-type conditions).

math.AP↗

arXiv2026

Large-Amplitude Steady Solitary Water Waves with General Vorticity

We study two-dimensional steady solitary gravity water waves with general vorticity, allowing for overhanging free-surface profiles. The main challenges arise from the free boundary, the unbounded fluid domain, and the inherent complexity of the general vorticity setting. To address these, we introduce a conformal reformulation that reduces the problem to an equivalent system on a fixed strip, consisting of an overdetermined elliptic problem coupled with an elliptic boundary-value problem. This framework enables a local analysis without imposing restrictive assumptions on the vorticity. Using the center-manifold construction of Chen, Walsh and Wheeler \cite{chennonlinearity}, we first establish the existence of small-amplitude solitary waves for such non-trivial vorticity distributions. Subsequently, via a global analytic bifurcation argument, we prove the existence of continuous branches of large-amplitude solitary waves for analytic vorticity functions. Along these global solution curves, the free surfaces may develop overhanging profiles and need not remain graphs over the horizontal coordinate. Our results provide a new constructive framework for large-amplitude solitary waves with general vorticity, extending the existing theory beyond the classical settings of constant vorticity \cite{susannaarma} and non-overhanging profiles \cite{milesjma}.

math.AP↗