Travelling wave solutions of reaction-diffusion models with density-dependent diffusion (Q1335209)

In a recent paper [Appl. Anal. 55, No. 3-4, 287-299 (1994; Zbl 0837.35070)], we gave a technique for approximating travelling wave solutions \(u(x-ct)\) of reaction-diffusion equations for large wave speed \(c\). The approximation is asymptotic in the sense that it converges uniformly to the exact solution on the set of real numbers as \(c\to\infty\). Below we extend this technique to the case where the diffusion term is a function of \(u\). Such equations are frequently used in mathematical biology to model dispersal of an animal population when there is increased diffusion due to population pressure. We will also show how to construct and verify ``higher order'' approximations. These approximations will improve the earlier ones when \(c\) is sufficiently large.