Collective Invasion: When does domain curvature matter?

TL;DR

This study investigates when it is valid to ignore curvature in models of cellular invasion on curved geometries, using asymptotic analysis and simulations of the Fisher-KPP equation on an annular domain.

Contribution

The paper derives conditions under which domain curvature can be neglected in reaction-diffusion models, generalizing to other equations and providing numerical insights.

Findings

Curvature can be neglected when the annulus thickness is small relative to its radius.

Derived asymptotic conditions for when curvature effects are significant.

Numerical simulations quantify deviations caused by curvature.

Abstract

Real-world cellular invasion processes often take place in curved geometries. Such problems are frequently simplified in models to neglect the curved geometry in favour of computational simplicity, yet doing so risks inaccuracy in any model-based predictions. To quantify the conditions under which neglecting a curved geometry are justifiable, we examined solutions to the Fisher-Kolmogorov-Petrovsky-Piskunov (Fisher-KPP) model, a paradigm nonlinear reaction-diffusion equation typically used to model spatial invasion, on an annular geometry. Defining $\epsilon$ as the ratio of the annulus thickness $\delta$ and radius $r_0$ we derive, through an asymptotic expansion, the conditions under which it is appropriate to ignore the domain curvature, a result that generalises to other reaction-diffusion equations with constant diffusion coefficient. We further characterise the nature of the solutions through numerical simulation for different $r_0$ and $\delta$. Thus, we quantify the size of the deviation from an analogous simulation on the rectangle, and how this deviation changes across the width of the annulus. Our results grant insight into when it is appropriate to neglect the domain curvature in studying travelling wave behaviour in reaction-diffusion equations.