arXiv subjects

Christian A. Yates

Publications and source records attributed to Christian A. Yates.

32 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2018

The auxiliary region method: A hybrid method for coupling PDE- and Brownian-based dynamics for reaction-diffusion systems

Reaction-diffusion systems are used to represent many biological and physical phenomena. They model the random motion of particles (diffusion) and interactions between them (reactions). Such systems can be modelled at multiple scales with varying degrees of accuracy and computational efficiency. When representing genuinely multiscale phenomena, fine-scale models can be prohibitively expensive, whereas coarser models, although cheaper, often lack sufficient detail to accurately represent the phenomenon at hand. Spatial hybrid methods couple two or more of these representations in order to improve efficiency without compromising accuracy. In this paper, we present a novel spatial hybrid method, which we call the auxiliary region method (ARM), which couples PDE and Brownian-based representations of reaction-diffusion systems. Numerical PDE solutions on one side of an interface are coupled to Brownian-based dynamics on the other side using compartment-based "auxiliary regions". We demonstrate that the hybrid method is able to simulate reaction-diffusion dynamics for a number of different test problems with high accuracy. Further, we undertake error analysis on the ARM which demonstrates that it is robust to changes in the free parameters in the model, where previous coupling algorithms are not. In particular, we envisage that the method will be applicable for a wide range of spatial multi-scales problems including, filopodial dynamics, intracellular signalling, embryogenesis and travelling wave phenomena.

q-bio.QM↗

arXiv2018

Pair correlation functions for identifying spatial correlation in discrete domains

Identifying and quantifying spatial correlation are important aspects of studying the collective behaviour of multi-agent systems. Pair correlation functions (PCFs) are powerful statistical tools which can provide qualitative and quantitative information about correlation between pairs of agents. Despite the numerous PCFs defined for off-lattice domains, only a few recent studies have considered a PCF for discrete domains. Our work extends the study of spatial correlation in discrete domains by defining a new set of PCFs using two natural and intuitive definitions of distance for a square lattice: the taxicab and uniform metric. We show how these PCFs improve upon previous attempts and compare between the quantitative data acquired. We also extend our definitions of the PCF to other types of regular tessellation which have not been studied before, including hexagonal, triangular and cuboidal. Finally, we provide a comprehensive PCF for any tessellation and metric allowing investigation of spatial correlation in irregular lattices for which recognising correlation is less intuitive.

math.ST↗

arXiv2018

Modelling persistence of motion in a crowded environment: the diffusive limit of excluding velocity-jump processes

Persistence of motion is the tendency of an object to maintain motion in a direction for short time scales without necessarily being biased in any direction in the long term. One of the most appropriate mathematical tools to study this behaviour is an agent-based velocity-jump process. In the absence of agent-agent interaction, the mean-field continuum limit of the agent-based model (ABM) gives rise to the well known hyperbolic telegraph equation. When agent-agent interaction is included in the ABM, a strictly advective system of partial differential equations (PDEs) can be derived at the population-level. However, no diffusive limit of the ABM has been obtained from such a model. Connecting the microscopic behaviour of the ABM to a diffusive macroscopic description is desirable, since it allows the exploration of a wider range of scenarios and establishes a direct connection with commonly used statistical tools of movement analysis. In order to connect the ABM at the population-level to a diffusive PDE at the population-level, we consider a generalisation of the agent-based velocity-jump process on a two-dimensional lattice with three forms of agent interaction. This generalisation allows us to take a diffusive limit and obtain a faithful population-level description. We investigate the properties of the model at both the individual and population-level and we elucidate some of the models' key characteristic features. In particular, we show an intrinsic anisotropy inherent to the models and we find evidence of a spontaneous form of aggregation at both the micro- and macro-scales.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2018

Spatially-extended hybrid methods: a review

Many biological and physical systems exhibit behaviour at multiple spatial, temporal or population scales. Multiscale processes provide challenges when they are to be simulated using numerical techniques. While coarser methods such as partial differential equations are typically fast to simulate, they lack the individual-level detail that may be required in regions of low concentration or small spatial scale. However, to simulate at such an individual-level throughout a domain and in regions where concentrations are high can be computationally expensive. Spatially-coupled hybrid methods provide a bridge, allowing for multiple representations of the same species in one spatial domain by partitioning space into distinct modelling subdomains. Over the past twenty years, such hybrid methods have risen to prominence, leading to what is now a very active research area across multiple disciplines including chemistry, physics and mathematics. There are three main motivations for undertaking this review. Firstly, we have collated a large number of spatially-extended hybrid methods and presented them in a single coherent document, while comparing and contrasting them, so that anyone with a need for a multi-scale hybrid method will be able to find the most appropriate one for their need. Secondly, we have provided canonical examples with algorithms and accompanying code, serving to demonstrate how these types of methods work in practice. Finally, we have presented papers that employ these methods on real biological and physical problems, demonstrating their utility. We also consider some open research questions in the area of hybrid method development and the future directions for the field.

q-bio.QM↗

arXiv2016

Efficient parameter sensitivity computation for spatially-extended reaction networks

Reaction-diffusion models are widely used to study spatially-extended chemical reaction systems. In order to understand how the dynamics of a reaction-diffusion model are affected by changes in its input parameters, efficient methods for computing parametric sensitivities are required. In this work, we focus on stochastic models of spatially-extended chemical reaction systems that involve partitioning the computational domain into voxels. Parametric sensitivities are often calculated using Monte Carlo techniques that are typically computationally expensive; however, variance reduction techniques can decrease the number of Monte Carlo simulations required. By exploiting the characteristic dynamics of spatially-extended reaction networks, we are able to adapt existing finite difference schemes to robustly estimate parametric sensitivities in a spatially-extended network. We show that algorithmic performance depends on the dynamics of the given network and the choice of summary statistics. We then describe a hybrid technique that dynamically chooses the most appropriate simulation method for the network of interest. Our method is tested for functionality and accuracy in a range of different scenarios.

q-bio.QM↗

arXiv2016

Coupling volume-excluding compartment-based models of diffusion at different scales: Voronoi and pseudo-compartment approaches

Numerous processes across both the physical and biological sciences are driven by diffusion. Partial differential equations (PDEs) are a popular tool for modelling such phenomena deterministically, but it is often necessary to use stochastic models to accurately capture the behaviour of a system, especially when the number of diffusing particles is low. The stochastic models we consider in this paper are `compartment-based': the domain is discretized into compartments, and particles can jump between these compartments. Volume-excluding effects (crowding) can be incorporated by blocking movement with some probability. Recent work has established the connection between fine-grained models and coarse-grained models incorporating volume exclusion, but only for uniform lattices. In this paper we consider non-uniform, hybrid lattices that incorporate both fine- and coarse-grained regions, and present two different approaches to describing the interface of the regions. We test both techniques in a range of scenarios to establish their accuracy, benchmarking against fine-grained models, and show that the hybrid models developed in this paper can be significantly faster to simulate than the fine-grained models in certain situations, and are at least as fast otherwise.

q-bio.QM↗

arXiv2016

Extending the multi-level method for the simulation of stochastic biological systems

The multi-level method for discrete state systems, first introduced by Anderson and Higham [Multiscale Model. Simul. 10:146--179, 2012], is a highly efficient simulation technique that can be used to elucidate statistical characteristics of biochemical reaction networks. A single point estimator is produced in a cost-effective manner by combining a number of estimators of differing accuracy in a telescoping sum, and, as such, the method has the potential to revolutionise the field of stochastic simulation. The first term in the sum is calculated using an approximate simulation algorithm, and can be calculated quickly but is of significant bias. Subsequent terms successively correct this bias by combining estimators from approximate stochastic simulations algorithms of increasing accuracy, until a desired level of accuracy is reached. In this paper we present several refinements of the multi-level method which render it easier to understand and implement, and also more efficient. Given the substantial and complex nature of the multi-level method, the first part of this work (Sections 2 - 5) is written as a tutorial, with the aim of providing a practical guide to its use. The second part (Sections 6 - 8) takes on a form akin to a research article, thereby providing the means for a deft implementation of the technique, and concludes with a discussion of a number of open problems.

q-bio.QM↗

arXiv2016

A hybrid algorithm for coupling PDE and compartment-based dynamics

Stochastic simulation methods can be applied successfully to model exact spatio-temporally resolved reaction-diffusion systems. However, in many cases, these methods can quickly become extremely computationally intensive with increasing particle numbers. An alternative description of many of these systems can be derived in the diffusive limit as a deterministic, continuum system of partial differential equations. Although the numerical solution of such partial differential equations is, in general, much more efficient than the full stochastic simulation, the deterministic continuum description is generally not valid when copy numbers are low and stochastic effects dominate. Therefore, to take advantage of the benefits of both of these types of models, each of which may be appropriate in different parts of a spatial domain, we have developed an algorithm that can be used to couple these two types of model together. This hybrid coupling algorithm uses an overlap region between the two modelling regimes. By coupling fluxes at one end of the interface and using a concentration-matching condition at the other end, we ensure that mass is appropriately transferred between PDE- and compartment-based regimes. Our methodology gives notable reductions in simulation time in comparison with using a fully stochastic model, whilst maintaining the important stochastic features of the system and providing detail in appropriate areas of the domain. We test our hybrid methodology robustly by applying it to several biologically motivated problems including diffusion and morphogen gradient formation. Our analysis shows that the resulting error is small, unbiased and does not grow over time.

q-bio.QM↗

arXiv2015

Onset of collective motion in locusts is captured by a minimal model

We present a minimal model to describe the onset of collective motion seen when a population of locusts are placed in an annular arena. At low densities motion is disordered, while at high densities locusts march in a common direction, which may reverse during the experiment. The data is well-captured by an individual-based model, in which demographic noise leads to the observed density-dependent effects. By fitting the model parameters to equation-free coefficients, we give a quantitative comparison, showing time series, stationary distributions and the mean switching times between states.

q-bio.PE↗

arXiv2015

The pseudo-compartment method for coupling PDE and compartment-based models of diffusion

Spatial reaction-diffusion models have been employed to describe many emergent phenomena in biological systems. The modelling technique most commonly adopted in the literature implements systems of partial differential equations (PDEs), which assumes there are sufficient densities of particles that a continuum approximation is valid. However, due to recent advances in computational power, the simulation, and therefore postulation, of computationally intensive individual-based models has become a popular way to investigate the effects of noise in reaction-diffusion systems in which regions of low copy numbers exist. The stochastic models with which we shall be concerned in this manuscript are referred to as `compartment-based'. These models are characterised by a discretisation of the computational domain into a grid/lattice of `compartments'. Within each compartment particles are assumed to be well-mixed and are permitted to react with other particles within their compartment or to transfer between neighbouring compartments. We develop two hybrid algorithms in which a PDE is coupled to a compartment-based model. Rather than attempting to balance average fluxes, our algorithms answer a more fundamental question: `how are individual particles transported between the vastly different model descriptions?' First, we present an algorithm derived by carefully re-defining the continuous PDE concentration as a probability distribution. Whilst this first algorithm shows strong convergence to analytic solutions of test problems, it can be cumbersome to simulate. Our second algorithm is a simplified and more efficient implementation of the first, it is derived in the continuum limit over the PDE region alone. We test our hybrid methods for functionality and accuracy in a variety of different scenarios by comparing the averaged simulations to analytic solutions of PDEs for mean concentrations.

q-bio.QM↗

arXiv2015

Reconciling transport models across scales: the role of volume exclusion

Diffusive transport is a universal phenomenon, throughout both biological and physical sciences, and models of diffusion are routinely used to interrogate diffusion-driven processes. However, most models neglect to take into account the role of volume exclusion, which can significantly alter diffusive transport, particularly within biological systems where the diffusing particles might occupy a significant fraction of the available space. In this work we use a random walk approach to provide a means to reconcile models that incorporate crowding effects on different spatial scales. Our work demonstrates that coarse-grained models incorporating simplified descriptions of excluded volume can be used in many circumstances, but that care must be taken in pushing the coarse-graining process too far.

q-bio.QM↗

arXiv2014

An adaptive multi-level simulation algorithm for stochastic biological systems

Discrete-state, continuous-time Markov models are widely used in the modeling of biochemical reaction networks. Their complexity often precludes analytic solution, and we rely on stochastic simulation algorithms to estimate system statistics. The Gillespie algorithm is exact, but computationally costly as it simulates every single reaction. As such, approximate stochastic simulation algorithms such as the tau-leap algorithm are often used. Potentially computationally more efficient, the system statistics generated suffer from significant bias unless tau is relatively small, in which case the computational time can be comparable to that of the Gillespie algorithm. The multi-level method (Anderson and Higham, Multiscale Model. Simul. 2012) tackles this problem. A base estimator is computed using many (cheap) sample paths at low accuracy. The bias inherent in this estimator is then reduced using a number of corrections. Each correction term is estimated using a collection of paired sample paths where one path of each pair is generated at a higher accuracy compared to the other (and so more expensive). By sharing random variables between these paired paths the variance of each correction estimator can be reduced. This renders the multi-level method very efficient as only a relatively small number of paired paths are required to calculate each correction term. In the original multi-level method, each sample path is simulated using the tau-leap algorithm with a fixed value of $τ$. This approach can result in poor performance when the reaction activity of a system changes substantially over the timescale of interest. By introducing a novel, adaptive time-stepping approach where $τ$ is chosen according to the stochastic behaviour of each sample path we extend the applicability of the multi-level method to such cases. We demonstrate the efficiency of our method using a number of examples.

q-bio.QM↗

arXiv2014

Mathematical Modelling of Turning Delays in Swarm Robotics

We investigate the effect of turning delays on the behaviour of groups of differential wheeled robots and show that the group-level behaviour can be described by a transport equation with a suitably incorporated delay. The results of our mathematical analysis are supported by numerical simulations and experiments with e-puck robots. The experimental quantity we compare to our revised model is the mean time for robots to find the target area in an unknown environment. The transport equation with delay better predicts the mean time to find the target than the standard transport equation without delay.

cs.RO↗

arXiv2010

Ergodic directional switching in mobile insect groups

We obtain a Fokker-Planck equation describing experimental data on the collective motion of locusts. The noise is of internal origin and due to the discrete character and finite number of constituents of the swarm. The stationary probability distribution shows a rich phenomenology including non-monotonic behavior of several order/disorder transition indicators in noise intensity. This complex behavior arises naturally as a result of the randomness in the system. Its counterintuitive character challenges standard interpretations of noise induced transitions and calls for an extension of this theory in order to capture the behavior of certain classes of biologically motivated models. Our results suggest that the collective switches of the group's direction of motion might be due to a random ergodic effect and, as such, they are inherent to group formation.

q-bio.PE↗