Nonlinear stability in reaction-diffusion systems via optimal Lyapunov functions (Q2481859)

The authors consider the following nonlinear reaction-diffusion system in \(\mathbb R^m\): \[ U=D\Delta U +LU+ N(U)\quad (t\geq 0) \] where \(\Delta\) is the \(m\)-dimensional Laplacian, \(N\) represents the nonlinearities, \(D\) and \(L\) are constant matrices. The perturbation \(U(t)\) is an element of a Hilbert space. With initial conditions and suitable boundary conditions (usually the zero Dirichlet or Neumann boundary conditions) the considered equation is well suited to model a wide range of physical, chemical and biological pattern formation processes. The authors define the optimal Lyapunov functions to study nonlinear stability of constant solutions to reaction-diffusion systems. A computable and finite radius of attraction for the initial data is obtained. Applications are given to the well-known Brusselator model and a three-species model for the spatial spread of rabies among foxes.