Nonlocalized modulation of periodic reaction diffusion waves: the Whitham equation (Q1944702)

This article considers the reaction diffusion system \[ k_*u_t=k_*^2u_{xx}-f(u)-w_0u_x, \] where \(w_0(k_*)=-k_*c(k_*)\) is the temporal frequency, \(c\) is the speed of the original traveling wave, the wave number \(k_*\) is chosen so that \( u(x+1)=u(x)\), \(f\in {\mathcal C}^K(\mathbb R^n)\), \(K\geq 3\). The authors determine the time-asymptotic behaviour of spectrally stable periodic traveling-wave solutions of the considered system under small perturbations. These perturbations are composed of a nonlocalized modulation and localized \(L^1\) perturbation. The authors prove that the solutions consist of a modulation whose parameter evolution is governed by an associated Whitham equation.