The study of spherically symmetric motion is important for the theory of explosion waves. In this paper, we consider a ‘spherical piston’ problem for the relativistic Euler equations, which describes the wave motion produced by a sphere expanding into an infinite surrounding medium. We use the reflected characteristics method to construct a global piecewise smooth solution with a single shock of this spherical piston problem, provided that the speed of the sphere is a small perturbation of a constant speed.

When an explosive burns, gaseous products are formed as a result. The interaction of the burning solid and gas is not well understood. More specifically, the process of the gaseous product heating the explosive is yet to be explored in detail. The present work sets out to fill some of that gap using mathematical modelling: this aims to track the temperature profile in the explosive. The work begins by modelling single-step reactions using a simple Arrhenius model. The model is then extended to include three-step reaction. An alternative asymptotic approach is also employed. There is close agreement between results from the full reaction-diffusion problem and the asymptotic problem.

Quasiperiodic media is a class of almost periodic media which is generated from periodic media through a ‘cut and project’ procedure. Quasiperiodic media displays some extraordinary optical, electronic and conductivity properties which call for the development of methods to analyse their microstructures and effective behaviour. In this paper, we develop the method of Bloch wave homogenisation for quasiperiodic media. Bloch waves are typically defined through a direct integral decomposition of periodic operators. A suitable direct integral decomposition is not available for almost periodic operators. To remedy this, we lift a quasiperiodic operator to a degenerate periodic operator in higher dimensions. Approximate Bloch waves are obtained for a regularised version of the degenerate operator. Homogenised coefficients for quasiperiodic media are obtained from the first Bloch eigenvalue of the regularised operator in the limit of regularisation parameter going to zero. A notion of quasiperiodic Bloch transform is defined and employed to obtain homogenisation limit for an equation with highly oscillating quasiperiodic coefficients.

Mean-field games (MFGs) and the best-reply strategy (BRS) are two methods of describing competitive optimisation of systems of interacting agents. The latter can be interpreted as an approximation of the respective MFG system. In this paper, we present an analysis and comparison of the two approaches in the stationary case. We provide novel existence and uniqueness results for the stationary boundary value problems related to the MFG and BRS formulations, and we present an analytical and numerical comparison of the two paradigms in some specific modelling situations.

In this paper, we derive and analyse mean-field models for the dynamics of groups of individuals undergoing a random walk. The random motion of individuals is only influenced by the perceived densities of the different groups present as well as the available space. All individuals have the tendency to stay within their own group and avoid the others. These interactions lead to the formation of aggregates in case of a single species and to segregation in the case of multiple species. We derive two different mean-field models, which are based on these interactions and weigh local and non-local effects differently. We discuss existence and stability properties of solutions for both models and illustrate the rich dynamics with numerical simulations.

An analysis is undertaken of the formation and stability of localised patterns in a 1D Schanckenberg model, with source terms in both the activator and inhibitor fields. The aim is to illustrate the connection between semi-strong asymptotic analysis and the theory of localised pattern formation within a pinning region created by a subcritical Turing bifurcation. A two-parameter bifurcation diagram of homogeneous, periodic and localised patterns is obtained numerically. A natural asymptotic scaling for semi-strong interaction theory is found where an activator source term \[a = O(\varepsilon )\] and the inhibitor source \[b = O({\varepsilon ^2})\], with ε2 being the diffusion ratio. The theory predicts a fold of spike solutions leading to onset of localised patterns upon increase of b from zero. Non-local eigenvalue arguments show that both branches emanating from the fold are unstable, with the higher intensity branch becoming stable through a Hopf bifurcation as b increases beyond the \[O(\varepsilon )\] regime. All analytical results are found to agree with numerics. In particular, the asymptotic expression for the fold is found to be accurate beyond its region of validity, and its extension into the pinning region is found to form the low b boundary of the so-called homoclinic snaking region. Further numerical results point to both sub and supercritical Hopf bifurcation and novel spikeinsertion dynamics.

In this paper, we study the initial-boundary value problem of a repulsion Keller–Segel system with a logarithmic sensitivity modelling the reinforced random walk. By establishing an energy–dissipation identity, we prove the existence of classical solutions in two dimensions as well as existence of weak solutions in the three-dimensional setting. Moreover, it is shown that the weak solutions enjoy an eventual regularity property, i.e., it becomes regular after certain time T > 0. An exponential convergence rate towards the spatially homogeneous steady states is obtained as well. We adopt a new approach developed recently by the author to study the eventual regularity. The argument is based on observation of the exponential stability of constant solutions in scaling-invariant spaces together with certain dissipative property of the global solutions in the same spaces.

Delayed production can substantially alter the qualitative behaviour of feedback systems. Motivated by stochastic mechanisms in gene expression, we consider a protein molecule which is produced in randomly timed bursts, requires an exponentially distributed time to activate and then partakes in positive regulation of its burst frequency. Asymptotically analysing the underlying master equation in the large-delay regime, we provide tractable approximations to time-dependent probability distributions of molecular copy numbers. Importantly, the presented analysis demonstrates that positive feedback systems with large production delays can constitute a stable toggle switch even if they operate with low copy numbers of active molecules.