Global existence and uniform boundedness in a chemotaxis model with signal-dependent motility (Q2045860)

The system \[u_t=\Delta(\gamma(v)u),\] \[0=\Delta v-v+u,\] is studied in bounded domains of \({\mathbb R}^N\), with the homogeneous Neumann boundary conditions for \(u\) and \(v\). Stationary solutions to that system solve the chemotaxis model \[u_t=\nabla\cdot(\nabla u-u\nabla\phi(v)),\] \[-\Delta v+v=u\] provided \(\gamma(v)=e^{-\phi(v)}\), whose solutions may blow up in some cases and thus, it is interesting to compare dynamical behaviors of solutions to both systems. Global-in-time classical and nonnegative solutions to the former system are shown to exist under a simple assumption: \(\gamma\in C^3((0,\infty))\), \(\gamma>0\), \(\sup_{\tau\in[s,\infty]}\gamma(\tau)<\infty\) for all \(s>0\). Note that sign changes of \(\gamma'\) are permitted by this assumption so that both attraction and repulsion effects can be present in that model. Under some addititional assumptions these solutions are uniformly bounded. This result improves some previous ones, and its proof involves new delicate iteration and monotonicity techniques.