Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-topics-in-applied-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2008/a/3/e/iii/solution

For the modified strain the travelling wave equations are
Integrating the second across the entire travelling wave gives , since the biological growth factor profile still goes from to . Integrating the first, using the constant asymptotic states and vanishing derivative at infinity, gives
Consequently
The subtracted integral is strictly positive because the profiles are positive and . It is finite: is bounded by continuity and its finite endpoint limits, and . The additional density-dependent inhibition therefore reduces the bacterial density left behind; positivity of is part of the assumed positive-wave solution.

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