Robust exponential attractors for singularly perturbed Hodgkin-Huxley equations (Q1022944)

A. L. Hedgkin and A. F. Huxley formulated the mathematical model describing the mechanism of the neural excitability. In this paper a singular perturbation of the associated dynamical system is considered: \[ \begin{aligned}\varepsilon u_{tt}+ (1+\varepsilon f_3(w))u_t- u_{xx}= -f_1(w)u+ f_2(w)+\varepsilon g(w,u)\quad &\text{in } Q,\\ w_t= -h_1(u)w+ h_2(u)\quad &\text{in }Q,\end{aligned} \] \[ \begin{alignedat}{2} u_x(0,t)&= u_x(1,t)= 0, &&\quad t\geq 0,\\ u(x,0)&= u_0(x), &&\quad x\in (0, 1),\\ u_t(x,0)&= v_0(x), &&\quad x\in(0,1),\\ w(x,0)&= w_0(x), &&\quad x\in(0,1). \end{alignedat} \] The existence of smooth attracting sets, which entails the existence of a smooth global attractor \({\mathcal A}_\varepsilon\), is proved. Finally the existence of a family of exponential attractors \(\{{\mathcal E}_\varepsilon\}\), which is Hölder continuous with respect to \(\varepsilon\), is shown. More precisely, the main result states that if \(\varepsilon>\varepsilon'> 0\), then \[ \text{dist}_{X^1_\varepsilon}({\mathcal E}_\varepsilon,{\mathcal E}_{\varepsilon'}^\mu)\leq C(\varepsilon-\varepsilon')^\mu, \] for some \(\mu\in (0,{1\over 4}]\) and \(\varepsilon\) small enough. There \(X^1_\varepsilon= H^1(0,1)\times \sqrt{\varepsilon} L^2(0,1)\times (H^1(0,1)\cap B^1(0, 1))\) is complete metric space with respect to the norm \[ \|(u,v, w)\|_{X^1_\varepsilon}= (\| u\|^2_{H^1}+ \varepsilon\| v\|^2+\| w\|^2_{H^1})^{{1\over 2}}, \] where \(B^1(0,1)= \{w\in L^\infty(0,1): 0\leq w(x)\leq 1\), a.e. in \((0,1\}\).