Dynamics of classical Poisson-Nernst-Planck systems with multiple cations and boundary layers (Q2225496)

As a model for electrodiffusion in a channel, a Poisson-Nernst-Planck (PNP) system is studied on the interval \((0,l)\). To allow for interesting dynamics and boundary layer effects three ion species are considered, two positively charged and one negatively charged. This leads to a singularly perturbed system of differential equations in \(\mathbb{R}^8\) with a small parameter \(\varepsilon>0\) where the boundary conditions at \(x=0\) and \(x=l\) are described by four-dimensional affine spaces corresponding to prescribed voltage and ion concentrations. A singular connecting orbit for \(\varepsilon=0\) is now constructed from a regular part within the six-dimensional slow manifold \(\mathcal{Z}\) and two boundary layers. The initial layer lies in the intersection of the left boundary condition with the stable manifold of the slow manifold \(\mathcal{Z}\). Similarly, the right boundary layer is in the intersection of the unstable manifold of \(\mathcal{Z}\) with the right boundary condition. In order to determine the flow within the singular manifold another blowup step is necessary. By an application of the exchange lemma, the singular orbit connecting the left and the right boundary condition persists for small \(\varepsilon>0\) and gives a solution to the original boundary value problem. For the special case of two positively charged ions with the same valence the influence of the boundary layers on the individual fluxes connected with each of the ions are determined and selectivity phenomena are studied. It turns out that the interplay of parameters or boundary conditions can lead to the situation that the flow associated with on of the cations can be much stronger than the flow for the other cation. Numerical simulations illustrate these findings.