Global existence for a free boundary problem of Fisher-KPP type

TL;DR

This paper proves the global existence of solutions for a free boundary Fisher-KPP problem motivated by branching particle systems, constructing solutions as limits of modified Fisher-KPP equations and linking to hydrodynamic limits of branching Brownian motion.

Contribution

It establishes the global existence of solutions for a free boundary Fisher-KPP problem using a novel approximation approach and connects the solution to the hydrodynamic limit of a branching Brownian motion with selection.

Findings

Constructed solutions as limits of modified Fisher-KPP equations.

Proved global existence under specified initial conditions.

Linked the solution to the hydrodynamic limit of N-branching Brownian motion.

Abstract

Motivated by the study of branching particle systems with selection, we establish global existence for the solution $(u,\mu)$ of the free boundary problem \[ \begin{cases} \partial_t u =\partial^2_{x} u +u & \text{for $t>0$ and $x>\mu_t$,}\\ u(x,t)=1 &\text{for $t>0$ and $x \leq \mu_t$}, \\ \partial_x u(\mu_t,t)=0 & \text{for $t>0$}, \\ u(x,0)=v(x) &\text{for $x\in \mathbb{R}$}, \end{cases} \] when the initial condition $v:\mathbb{R}\to[0,1]$ is non-increasing with $v(x) \to 0$ as $x\to \infty$ and $v(x)\to 1$ as $x\to -\infty$. We construct the solution as the limit of a sequence $(u_n)_{n\ge 1}$, where each $ u_n$ is the solution of a Fisher-KPP equation with same initial condition, but with a different non-linear term. Recent results of De Masi \textit{et al.}~\cite{DeMasi2017a} show that this global solution can be identified with the hydrodynamic limit of the so-called $N$-BBM, {\it i.e.} a branching Brownian motion in which the population size is kept constant equal to $N$ by killing the leftmost particle at each branching event.