Propagation direction of traveling waves for a class of bistable epidemic models (Q2219265)

The authors propose an approach to give a complete characterization of the propagation direction of bistable waves for a class of bistable epidemic models arising from the spread of a cholera epidemic. Moreover, this characterization also gives a parameter threshold above which the epidemic disease eventually tends to extinction, and below which the epidemic outbreak happens. Traveling waves of a reaction-diffusion (RD) system connecting two spatially uniform stable equilibria are termed as bistable waves. Due to the uniqueness of a bistable wave in RD systems, it is difficult to determine its propagation direction, and there are very few analytical results on this subject. Their approach consists of two steps. First, they determine the relation of model parameters with which a stationary wave exists. Second, they use the solution of the adjoint problem associated with traveling waves to determine the dependence of the wave speed on model parameters. Combining these two steps, they can then determine the propagation direction of waves of the underlying model. The framework of their approach can be employed to investigate the system which is a direct extension of the population model with a quiescent stage proposed by \textit{K. P. Hadeler} and \textit{M. A. Lewis} [Can. Appl. Math. Q. 10, No. 4, 473--499 (2002; Zbl 1065.35141)].