Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-further-mathematical-biology-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2023/2/b/solution
Past exam of the further mathematical biology course of the University of Oxford 2023 2 b Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-25
There is a consistency issue in the printed model. If is imposed while retaining its evolution equation, then forces . Thus the full two-equation system has no nonconstant travelling wave with exactly constant . Its constant solution exists only when . The intended wave calculation must treat the recovery variable as externally frozen, leaving the scalar reaction-diffusion equationFor this frozen-recovery reduction, letThe cubic polynomial has a local minimum at and a local maximum at . Hence the conditiongives three distinct real roots of , withThe outer roots are stable for the scalar spatially uniform dynamics and the middle root is unstable. Seek a travelling wave , where . The travelling-wave reduction of a reaction-diffusion system givesLet and chooseIt has , andSubstitution leavesConsequently the frozen-recovery cubic front isReflection reverses the front and its speed. A nonzero speed requires ; equality gives a stationary front and is the Maxwell balance for a scalar reaction-diffusion front. Since the roots sum to , this stationary value is . For the simple admissible choice , the roots are andThis particular front moves when . At , other currents inside the displayed open interval give moving fronts.
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