Existence of weak solutions for a hyperbolic model of chemosensitive movement (Q5944915)

The paper studies a hyperbolic model of chemotaxis in one dimension, where the total particle density \(u\) is split into right- and left-moving particles \(u^+\) and \(u^-\), respectively. It generalizes the Goldstein-Kac model by considering non-constant particle speeds and turning rates. These depend on an external signal which diffuses, reproduces and degrades (all three processes are linear; reproduction depends on total particle density). The authors introduce the notion of weak solutions for the resulting three-dimensional system and prove the global existence of weak solutions, which arise as the limit of the classical solution of an associated parabolically regularized problem. The authors also provide estimates in \(L^2\), \(L^p\), \(L^\infty\) and \(W^{1,1}\) norms and estimates with respect to time. The paper is completed with three numerical examples, including e.g.\ the time evolution of a moving swarm whose speed increases with signal concentration.