arXiv subjects

Francois Hamel

Publications and source records attributed to Francois Hamel.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2022

Forced waves for a three-species predator-prey system with nonlocal dispersal in a shifting environment

We consider a three-species predator-prey system involving two competing predators and one prey. The species diffuse with nonlocal dispersal kernels with possibly non-compact support, and they interact in a heterogeneous environment moving with a positive forced speed such that the environment is favorable to the prey in the absence of predators far ahead of the shifting boundary and it is unfavorable far behind. Such systems arise in the modeling of population dynamics under the effect of a shifting environment, such as climate change. We show on the one hand the existence of waves connecting the trivial state to the unique constant positive coexistence state for any value of the forced speed. On the other hand, we show the existence of critical positive speeds for the existence of waves connecting the trivial state to the states corresponding to the absence of one or two predators.

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arXiv2020

When the Allee threshold is an evolutionary trait: persistence vs. extinction

We consider a nonlocal parabolic equation describing the dynamics of a population structured by a spatial position and a phenotypic trait, submitted to dispersion , mutations and growth. The growth term may be of the Fisher-KPP type but may also be subject to an Allee effect which can be weak (non-KPP monostable nonlinearity, possibly degenerate) or strong (bistable nonlinearity). The type of growth depends on the value of a variable $\theta$ : the Allee threshold, which is considered here as an evolutionary trait. After proving the well-posedness of the Cauchy problem, we study the long time behavior of the solutions. Due to the richness of the model and the interplay between the various phenomena and the nonlocality of the growth term, the outcomes (extinction vs. persistence) are various and in sharp contrast with earlier results of the existing literature on local reaction-diffusion equations.

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arXiv2019

Circular flows for the Euler equations in two-dimensional annular domains

In this paper, we consider steady Euler flows in two-dimensional bounded annuli, as well as in exterior circular domains, in punctured disks and in the punctured plane. We always assume rigid wall boundary conditions. We prove that, if the flow does not have any stagnation point, and if it satisfies further conditions at infinity in the case of an exterior domain or at the center in the case of a punctured disk or the punctured plane, then the flow is circular, namely the streamlines are concentric circles. In other words, the flow then inherits the radial symmetry of the domain. The proofs are based on the study of the trajectories of the flow and the orthogonal trajectories of the gradient of the stream function, which is shown to satisfy a semilinear elliptic equation in the whole domain. In exterior or punctured domains, the method of moving planes is applied to some almost circular domains located between some streamlines of the flow, and the radial symmetry of the stream function is shown by a limiting argument. The paper also contains two Serrin-type results in simply or doubly connected bounded domains with free boundaries. Here, the flows are further assumed to have constant norm on each connected component of the boundary and the domains are then proved to be disks or annuli.

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arXiv2019

Half space theorem for the Allen-Cahn equation and related problems

In this paper we obtain rigidity results for a bounded non-constant entire solution $u$ of the Allen-Cahn equation in $\mathbb{R}^n$, whose level set $\{u=0\}$ is contained in a half-space. If $n\leq 3$ we prove that the solution must be one-dimensional. In dimension $n\geq 4$, we prove that either the solution is one-dimensional or stays below a one-dimensional solution and converges to it after suitable translations. Some generalizations to one phase free boundary problems are also obtained.

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arXiv2018

On generalized principal eigenvalues of nonlocal operators with a drift *

This article is concerned with the following spectral problem: to find a positive function $Φ$ $\in$ C 1 ($Ω$) and $λ$ $\in$ R such that q(x)$Φ$ (x) + ^ $Ω$ J(x, y)$Φ$(y) dy + a(x)$Φ$(x) + $λ$$Φ$(x) = 0 for x $\in$ $Ω$, where $Ω$ $\subset$ R is a non-empty domain (open interval), possibly unbounded, J is a positive continuous kernel, and a and q are continuous coefficients. Such a spectral problem naturally arises in the study of nonlocal population dynamics models defined in a space-time varying environment encoding the influence of a climate change through a spatial shift of the coefficient. In such models, working directly in a moving frame that matches the spatial shift leads to consider a problem where the dispersal of the population is modeled by a nonlocal operator with a drift term. Assuming that the drift q is a positive function, for rather general assumptions on J and a, we prove the existence of a principal eigenpair ($λ$ p , $Φ$ p) and derive some of its main properties. In particular, we prove that $λ$ p ($Ω$) = lim R$\rightarrow$+$\infty$ $λ$ p ($Ω$ R), where $Ω$ R = $Ω$ $\cap$ (--R, R) and $λ$ p ($Ω$ R) corresponds to the principal eigenvalue of the truncation operator defined in $Ω$ R. The proofs especially rely on the derivation of a new Harnack type inequality for positive solutions of such problems.

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arXiv2018

A Liouville theorem for the Euler equations in the plane

This paper is concerned with qualitative properties of bounded steady flows of an ideal incompressible fluid with no stagnation point in the two-dimensional plane R^2. We show that any such flow is a shear flow, that is, it is parallel to some constant vector. The proof of this Liouville-type result is firstly based on the study of the geometric properties of the level curves of the stream function and secondly on the derivation of some estimates on the at most logarithmic growth of the argument of the flow. These estimates lead to the conclusion that the streamlines of the flow are all parallel lines.

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arXiv2018

On the mean speed of bistable transition fronts in unbounded domains

This paper is concerned with the existence and further properties of propagation speeds of transition fronts for bistable reaction-diffusion equations in exterior domains and in some domains with multiple cylindrical branches. In exterior domains we show that all transition fronts with complete propagation propagate with the same global mean speed, which turns out to be equal to the uniquely defined planar speed. In domains with multiple cylindrical branches, we show that the solutions emanating from some branches and propagating completely are transition fronts propagating with the unique planar speed. We also give some geometrical and scaling conditions on the domain, either exterior or with multiple cylindrical branches, which guarantee that any transition front has a global mean speed.

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arXiv2017

Liouville type results for a nonlocal obstacle problem

This paper is concerned with qualitative properties of solutions to nonlocal reaction-diffusion equations of the form$$ \int\_{\mathbb{R}^N\setminus K} J(x-y)\,\big( u(y)-u(x) \big)\,\D y+f(u(x))=0, \quad x\in\R^N\setminus K,$$set in a perforated open set $\mathbb{R}^N\setminus K$, where $K\subset\mathbb{R}^N$ is a bounded compact "obstacle" and $f$ is a bistable nonlinearity. When $K$ is convex, we prove some Liouville-type results for solutions satisfying some asymptotic limiting conditions at infinity. We also establish a robustness result, assuming slightly relaxed conditions on $K$.

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arXiv2017

Optimization of some eigenvalue problems with large drift

This paper is concerned with eigenvalue problems for non-symmetric elliptic operators with large drifts in bounded domains under Dirichlet boundary conditions. We consider the minimal principal eigenvalue and the related principal eigenfunction in the class of drifts having a given, but large, pointwise upper bound. We show that, in the asymptotic limit of large drifts, the maximal points of the optimal principal eigenfunctions converge to the set of points maximizing the distance to the boundary of the domain. We also show the uniform asymptotic profile of these principal eigenfunctions and the direction of their gradients in neighborhoods of the boundary.

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arXiv2016

Traveling waves for a lattice dynamical system arising in a diffusive endemic model

This paper is concerned with a lattice dynamical system modeling the evolution of susceptible and infective individuals at discrete niches. We prove the existence of traveling waves connecting the disease-free state to non-trivial leftover concentrations. We also characterize the minimal speed of traveling waves and we prove the non-existence of waves with smaller speeds.

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arXiv2016

A one-dimensional symmetry result for a class of nonlocal semilinear equations in the plane

We consider entire solutions to $\mathcal{L}u=f(u)$ in $\mathbb R^2$, where $\mathcal L$ is a nonlocal operator with translation invariant, even and compactly supported kernel $K$. Under different assumptions on the operator $\mathcal L$, we show that monotone solutions are necessarily one-dimensional. The proof is based on a Liouville type approach. A variational characterization of the stability notion is also given, extending our results in some cases to stable solutions.

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arXiv2014

Admissible speeds of transition fronts for non-autonomous monostable equations

We consider a reaction-diffusion equation with a nonlinear term of the Fisher-KPP type, depending on time $t$ and admitting two limits as $t\to\pm\infty$. We derive the set of admissible asymptotic past and future speeds of transition fronts for such equation. We further show that any transition front which is non-critical as $t\to-\infty$ always admits two asymptotic past and future speeds. We finally describe the asymptotic profiles of the non-critical fronts as $t\to\pm\infty$.

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arXiv2014

Bistable pulsating fronts for reaction-diffusion equations in a periodic habitat

This paper is concerned with the existence and qualitative properties of pulsating fronts for spatially periodic reaction-diffusion equations with bistable nonlinearities. We focus especially on the influence of the spatial period and, under various assumptions on the reaction terms and by using different types of arguments, we show several existence results when the spatial period is small or large. We also establish some properties of the set of periods for which there exist non-stationary fronts. Furthermore, we prove the existence of stationary fronts or non-stationary partial fronts at any period which is on the boundary of this set. Lastly, we characterize the sign of the front speeds and we show the global exponential stability of the non-stationary fronts for various classes of initial conditions.

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arXiv2014

Transition fronts for the Fisher-KPP equation

This paper is concerned with transition fronts for reaction-diffusion equations of the Fisher-KPP type. Basic examples of transition fronts connecting the unstable steady state to the stable one are the standard traveling fronts, but the class of transition fronts is much larger and the dynamics of the solutions of such equations is very rich. In the paper, we describe the class of transition fronts and we study their qualitative dynamical properties. In particular, we characterize the set of their admissible asymptotic past and future speeds and their asymptotic profiles and we show that the transition fronts can only accelerate. We also classify the transition fronts in the class of measurable superpositions of standard traveling fronts.

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arXiv2013

On the nonlocal Fisher-KPP equation: steady states, spreading speed and global bounds

We consider the Fisher-KPP equation with a non-local interaction term. We establish a condition on the interaction that allows for existence of non-constant periodic solutions, and prove uniform upper bounds for the solutions of the Cauchy problem, as well as upper and lower bounds on the spreading rate of the solutions with compactly supported initial data.

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arXiv2013

Convexity of level sets for elliptic problems in convex domains or convex rings: two counterexamples

This paper deals with some geometrical properties of solutions of some semilinear elliptic equations in bounded convex domains or convex rings. Constant boundary conditions are imposed on the single component of the boundary when the domain is convex, or on each of the two components of the boundary when the domain is a convex ring. A function is called quasiconcave if its superlevel sets, defined in a suitable way when the domain is a convex ring, are all convex. In this paper, we prove that the superlevel sets of the solutions do not always inherit the convexity or ring-convexity of the domain. Namely, we give two counterexamples to this quasiconcavity property: the first one for some two-dimensional convex domains and the second one for some convex rings in any dimension.

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arXiv2013

Bistable transition fronts in R^N

This paper is chiefly concerned with qualitative properties of some reaction-diffusion fronts. The recently defined notions of transition fronts generalize the standard notions of traveling fronts. In this paper, we show the existence and the uniqueness of the global mean speed of bistable transition fronts in R^N. This speed is proved to be independent of the shape of the level sets of the fronts. The planar fronts are also characterized in the more general class of almost-planar fronts with any number of transition layers. These qualitative properties show the robustness of the notions of transition fronts. But we also prove the existence of new types of transition fronts in R^N that are not standard traveling fronts, thus showing that the notions of transition fronts are broad enough to include other relevant propagating solutions.

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arXiv2012

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

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