Dynamical Analysis of a Cocaine-Heroin Epidemiological Model with Spatial Distributions

TL;DR

This paper develops and analyzes a new spatial-temporal epidemiological model for cocaine and heroin addiction, establishing conditions for stability of drug-free and addiction equilibria, supported by numerical simulations.

Contribution

It introduces a novel spatio-temporal model with Laplacian diffusion, providing rigorous mathematical analysis and stability criteria for addiction dynamics.

Findings

Global stability of drug-addiction equilibrium when R0 > 1

Global stability of drug-free equilibrium when R0 < 1

Numerical simulations confirming analytical results

Abstract

This article conducts an in-depth investigation of a new spatio-temporal model for the cocaine-heroin epidemiological model with vital dynamics, incorporating the Laplacian operator. The study rigorously establishes the existence, uniqueness, non-negativity, and boundedness of solutions for the proposed model. In addition, the local stability of both a drug-free equilibrium and a drug-addiction equilibrium are analyzed by studying the corresponding characteristic equations. The research provides conclusive evidence that when the basic reproductive number $\mathcal{R}_0$ exceeds 1, the drug-addiction equilibrium is globally asymptotically stable. Conversely, using comparative arguments, it is shown that if $\mathcal{R}_0$ is less than 1, the drug-free equilibrium is globally asymptotically stable. Furthermore, the article includes a series of numerical simulations to visually convey and support the analytical results.