Stability of localized structures in non-local reaction-diffusion equations (Q1293924)

The authors consider the stability of non-homogeneous, steady state solutions of a scalar, non-local reaction-diffusion equation. They give sufficient conditions that guarantee that the linear operator possesses a countable infinity of discrete eigenvalues. The nonlocal eigenvalues are shown to interlace the eigenvalue of the corresponding local Sturm-Liouville operator. Also an oscillation theorem for the corresponding local and non-local eigenfunctions is established. These results are applied to assess the stability of \(n\)-pulse solutions of a model which describes hot spot formation in a microwave heated ceramic fiber. Each \(n\)-pulse solution contains \(n\) spatially localized regions of elevated temperature. It is shown that the principal eigenvalue for the 1-pulse solution is exponentially small, while for \(n>1\) all solutions are unstable with corresponding principal eigenvalues bounded away from the origin.