A linear growth-diffusion equation is studied in a time-dependent interval whose location and length both vary. We prove conditions on the boundary motion for which the solution can be found in exact form and derive the explicit expression in each case. Next, we prove the precise behaviour near the boundary in a ‘critical’ case: when the endpoints of the interval move in such a way that near the boundary there is neither exponential growth nor decay, but the solution behaves like a power law with respect to time. The proof uses a subsolution based on the Airy function with argument depending on both space and time. Interesting links are observed between this result and Bramson's logarithmic term in the nonlinear FKPP equation on the real line. Each of the main theorems is extended to higher dimensions, with a corresponding result on a ball with a time-dependent radius.

We consider the explicit solution to the axisymmetric diffusion equation. We recast the solution in the form of a Mellin inversion formula, and outline a method to compute a formula for $u(r,t)$ as a series using the Cauchy residue theorem. As a consequence, we are able to represent the solution to the axisymmetric diffusion equation as a rapidly converging series.

The present work is part of a series of studies conducted by the authors on analytical models of avascular tumour growth that exhibit both geometrical anisotropy and physical inhomogeneity. In particular, we consider a tumour structure formed in distinct ellipsoidal regions occupied by cell populations at a certain stage of their biological cycle. The cancer cells receive nutrient by diffusion from an inhomogeneous supply and they are subject to also an inhomogeneous pressure field imposed by the tumour microenvironment. It is proved that the lack of symmetry is strongly connected to a special condition that should hold between the data imposed by the tumour’s surrounding medium, in order for the ellipsoidal growth to be realizable, a feature already present in other non-symmetrical yet more degenerate models. The nutrient and the inhibitor concentration, as well as the pressure field, are provided in analytical fashion via closed-form series solutions in terms of ellipsoidal eigenfunctions, while their behaviour is demonstrated by indicative plots. The evolution equation of all the tumour’s ellipsoidal interfaces is postulated in ellipsoidal terms and a numerical implementation is provided in view of its solution. From the mathematical point of view, the ellipsoidal system is the most general coordinate system that the Laplace operator, which dominates the mathematical models of avascular growth, enjoys spectral decomposition. Therefore, we consider the ellipsoidal model presented in this work, as the most general analytic model describing the avascular growth in inhomogeneous environment. Additionally, due to the intrinsic degrees of freedom inherited to the model by the ellipsoidal geometry, the ellipsoidal model presented can be adapted to a very populous class of avascular tumours, varying in figure and in orientation.

The Jacobi coefficients $c_{j}^{\ell }\left( \alpha ,\,\beta \right)\,\left( 1\,\le \,j\,\le \,\ell ,\,\alpha ,\,\beta \,>\,-1 \right)$ are linked to the Maclaurin spectral expansion of the Schwartz kernel of functions of the Laplacian on a compact rank one symmetric space. It is proved that these coefficients can be computed by transforming the even derivatives of the Jacobi polynomials $P_{k}^{\left( \alpha ,\,\beta \right)}\,\left( k\,\ge \,0,\,\alpha ,\,\beta \,>\,-1 \right)$ into a spectral sum associated with the Jacobi operator. The first few coefficients are explicitly computed, and a direct trace interpretation of the Maclaurin coefficients is presented.

This paper presents an efficient method to calculate the displacement and stress fields in an isotropic elastic half-space having a hemispherical pit and being subject to gravity. The method is semi-analytical and takes advantage of the axisymmetry of the problem. The Boussinesq potentials are used to obtain an analytical solution in series form, which satisfies the equilibrium equations of elastostatics, traction-free boundary conditions on the infinite plane surface and decaying conditions at infinity. The boundary conditions on the free surface of the pit are then imposed numerically, by minimising a quadratic functional of surface elastic energy. The minimisation yields a symmetric and positive definite linear system of equations for the coefficients of the series, whose particular block structure allows its solution in an efficient and robust way. The convergence of the series is verified and the obtained semi-analytical solution is then evaluated, providing numerical results. The method is validated by comparing the semi-analytical solution with the numerical results obtained using a commercial finite element software.

This paper is concerned with the development of an efficient algorithm for the analytic solutions of nonlinear fractional differential equations. The proposed algorithm Laplace homotopy analysis method (LHAM) is a combined form of the Laplace transform method with the homotopy analysis method. The biggest advantage the LHAM has over the existing standard analytical techniques is that it overcomes the difficulty arising in calculating complicated terms. Moreover, the solution procedure is easier, more effective and straightforward. Numerical examples are examined to demonstrate the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed algorithm.