Mesa-type patterns in the one-dimensional Brusselator and their stability (Q2492265)

The paper considers the known reaction-diffusion model of the ``Brusselator'' type, based on coupled nonlinear parabolic equations for variables \(u(x,t)\) and \(v(x,t)\) (they represent concentrations of reactants in an underlying model of the morphogenesis in a spatially distributed chemical system): \[ \tau u_t = \epsilon(Du_xx + A - u) - Bu+ u^2v, \] \[ v_t = D\epsilon v_{xx} + Bu - u^2v, \] where \(\epsilon\) is a small parameter, and constant \(\tau\) controls the difference in time scales of the two reactions. The equations are supplemented by the boundary conditions demanding the vanishing of \(u_x\) and \(v_x\) at boundaries of the spatial domain, \(x=0\) and \(x=1\). It was known before that this model gives rise to ``mesa-shaped'' solutions, in the form of a nearly flat box with sharp fronts. This paper produces a rigorous proof of the existence of solutions in the form of a set of \(K\) mesas (\(K\) is integer), whose top level corresponds to the stable constant solution of the model equations, \(u=A\), \(v=B/A\). A stability region of the multi-mesa solutions is found, in terms of parameter \(\tau\). The instability is interpreted as a result of interaction between adjacent mesas through their exponentially decaying tails. In addition, an instability mode of mesas accounted for by a Hopf bifurcation is also found. Numerical simulations reveal a coarsening process: a multi-mesa pattern slowly evolves into one composed of few mesas.