Exhibiting cross-diffusion-induced patterns for reaction-diffusion systems on evolving domains and surfaces

The aim of this manuscript is to present for the first time the application of the finite element method for solving reaction-diffusion systems with cross-diffusion on continuously evolving domains and surfaces. Furthermore we present pattern formation generated by the reaction-diffusion systemwith cross-diffusion on evolving domains and surfaces. A two-component reaction-diffusion system with linear cross-diffusion in both u and v is presented. The finite element method is based on the approximation of the domain or surface by a triangulated domain or surface consisting of a union of triangles. For surfaces, the vertices of the triangulation lie on the continuous surface. A finite element space of functions is then defined by taking the continuous functions which are linear affine on each simplex of the triangulated domain or surface. To demonstrate the role of cross-diffusion to the theory of pattern formation, we compute patterns with model kinetic parameter values that belong only to the cross-diffusion parameter space; these do not belong to the standard parameter space for classical reaction-diffusion systems. Numerical results exhibited show the robustness, flexibility, versatility, and generality of our methodology; the methodology can deal with complicated evolution laws of the domain and surface, and these include uniform isotropic and anisotropic growth profiles as well as those profiles driven by chemical concentrations residing in the domain or on the surface

Drift Laws for Spiral Waves on Curved Anisotropic Surfaces

Rotating spiral waves organize spatial patterns in chemical, physical and biological excitable systems. Factors affecting their dynamics such as spatiotemporal drift are of great interest for par- ticular applications. Here, we propose a quantitative description for spiral wave dynamics on curved surfaces which shows that for a wide class of systems, including the BZ reaction and anisotropic cardiac tissue, the Ricci curvature scalar of the surface is the main determinant of spiral wave drift. The theory provides explicit equations for spiral wave drift direction, drift velocity and the period of rotation. Depending on the parameters, the drift can be directed to the regions of either maximal or minimal Ricci scalar curvature, which was verified by direct numerical simulations.Comment: preprint before submission to Physical Review

The Matzoh Ball Soup Problem: a complete characterization

We characterize all the solutions of the heat equation that have their (spatial) equipotential surfaces which do not vary with the time. Such solutions are either isoparametric or split in space-time. The result gives a final answer to a problem raised by M. S. Klamkin, extended by G. Alessandrini, and that was named the Matzoh Ball Soup Problem by L. Zalcman. Similar results can also be drawn for a class of quasi-linear parabolic partial differential equations with coefficients which are homogeneous functions of the gradient variable. This class contains the (isotropic or anisotropic) evolution p-Laplace and normalized p-Laplace equations

Spin Conduction in Anisotropic 3-D Topological Insulators

When topological insulators possess rotational symmetry their spin lifetime is tied to the scattering time. We show that in anisotropic TIs this tie can be broken and the spin lifetime can be very large. Two different mechanisms can obtain spin conduction over long distances. The first is tuning the Hamiltonian to conserve a spin operator $\cos \phi \, \sigma_x + \sin \phi \, \sigma_y$, while the second is tuning the Fermi energy to be near a local extremum of the energy dispersion. Both mechanisms can produce persistent spin helices. We report spin lifetimes and spin diffusion equations.Comment: Added a page of additional text and refined the presentation. Main content unchange

A Meshfree Generalized Finite Difference Method for Surface PDEs

In this paper, we propose a novel meshfree Generalized Finite Difference Method (GFDM) approach to discretize PDEs defined on manifolds. Derivative approximations for the same are done directly on the tangent space, in a manner that mimics the procedure followed in volume-based meshfree GFDMs. As a result, the proposed method not only does not require a mesh, it also does not require an explicit reconstruction of the manifold. In contrast to existing methods, it avoids the complexities of dealing with a manifold metric, while also avoiding the need to solve a PDE in the embedding space. A major advantage of this method is that all developments in usual volume-based numerical methods can be directly ported over to surfaces using this framework. We propose discretizations of the surface gradient operator, the surface Laplacian and surface Diffusion operators. Possibilities to deal with anisotropic and discontinous surface properties (with large jumps) are also introduced, and a few practical applications are presented

Roughening of ion-eroded surfaces

Recent experimental studies focusing on the morphological properties of surfaces eroded by ion-bombardment report the observation of self-affine fractal surfaces, while others provide evidence about the development of a periodic ripple structure. To explain these discrepancies we derive a stochastic growth equation that describes the evolution of surfaces eroded by ion bombardment. The coefficients appearing in the equation can be calculated explicitly in terms of the physical parameters characterizing the sputtering process. Exploring the connection between the ion-sputtering problem and the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang and Kuramoto-Sivashinsky equations, we find that morphological transitions may take place when experimental parameters, such as the angle of incidence of the incoming ions or their average penetration depth, are varied. Furthermore, the discussed methods allow us to calculate analytically the ion-induced surface diffusion coefficient, that can be compared with experiments. Finally, we use numerical simulations of a one dimensional sputtering model to investigate certain aspects of the ripple formation and roughening.Comment: 20 pages, LaTeX, 5 ps figures, contribution to the 4th CTP Workshop on Statistical Physics "Dynamics of Fluctuating Interfaces and Related Phenomena", Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea, January 27-31, 199