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- A hierarchical cluster system based on Horton-Strahler rules for river networksPublication . Costa, Fernando Pestana da; Grinfeld, Michael; Wattis, Jonathan ADWe consider a cluster system in which each cluster is characterized by two parameters: an \order" i; following Horton-Strahler's rules, and a \mass" j following the usual additive rule. Denoting by ci;j (t) the concen- tration of clusters of order i and mass j at time t; we derive a coagulation- like ordinary di erential system for the time dynamics of these clusters. Results about existence and the behaviour of solutions as t ! 1 are ob- tained, in particular we prove that ci;j (t) ! 0 and Ni(c(t)) ! 0 as t ! 1; where the functional Ni( ) measures the total amount of clusters of a given xed order i: Exact and approximate equations for the time evolution of these functionals are derived. We also present numerical results that sug- gest the existence of self-similar solutions to these approximate equations and discuss its possible relevance for an interpretation of Horton's law of river numbers
- Point island dynamics under fixed rate depositionPublication . Allen, Damien; Grinfeld, Michael; Sasportes, RafaelIn this paper we consider the dynamics of point islands during submonolayer deposition, in which the fragmentation of subcritical size islands is allowed. To understand asymptotics of solutions, we use methods of centre manifold theory, and for globalisation, we employ results from the theories of compartmental systems and of asymptotically autonomous dynamical systems. We also compare our results with those obtained by making the quasi-steady state assumption.
- Modelling silicosis: the structure of equilibriaPublication . Costa, Fernando Pestana da; Grinfeld, Michael; Drmota, MichaelWe analyse the structure of equilibria of a coagulation–fragmentation–death model of silicosis. We present exact multiplicity results in the particular case of piecewise constant coefficients, results on existence and non-existence of equilibria in the general case, as well as precise asymptotics for the infinite series that arise in the case of power law coefficients.
- Steady state solutions in a model of a cholesteric liquid crystal samplePublication . Costa, Fernando Pestana da; Pinto, João Teixeira; Grinfeld, Michael; Mottram, Nigel; Xayxanadasy, KedtysackMotivated by recent mathematical studies of Fréedericksz transitions in twist cells and helix unwinding in cholesteric liquid crystal cells [(da Costa et al. in Eur J Appl Math 20:269–287, 2009), (da Costa et al. in Eur J Appl Math 28:243–260, 2017), (McKay in J Eng Math 87:19–28, 2014), (Millar and McKay in Mol Cryst Liq Cryst 435:277/[937]–286/[946], 2005)], we consider a model for the director configuration obtained within the framework of the Frank-Oseen theory and consisting of a nonlinear ordinary differential equation in a bounded interval with non-homogeneous mixed boundary conditions (Dirichlet at one end of the interval, Neumann at the other). We study the structure of the solution set using the depth of the sample as a bifurcation parameter. Employing phase space analysis techniques, time maps, and asymptotic methods to estimate integrals, together with appropriate numerical evidence, we obtain the corresponding novel bifurcation diagram and discuss its implications for liquid crystal display technology. Numerical simulations of the corresponding dynamic problem also provide suggestive evidence about stability of some solution branches, pointing to a promising avenue of further analytical, numerical, and experimental studies.
- Kickback in nematic liquid crystalsPublication . Costa, Fernando Pestana da; Grinfeld, Michael; Langer, Mathias; Mottram, Nigel J.; Pinto, João TeixeiraWe describe a nonlocal linear partial differential equation arising in the analysis of dynamics of a nematic liquid crystal. We confirm that it accounts for the kickback phenomenon by decoupling the director dynamics from the flow. We also analyse some of the mathematical properties of the decoupled director equation.
- Bifurcation analysis of the twist-Fréedericksz transition in a nematic liquid-crystal cell with pre-twist boundary conditionsPublication . Costa, Fernando Pestana da; Gartland Jr, Eugene C.; Grinfeld, Michael; Pinto, João TeixeiraMotivated by a recent investigation of Millar and McKay [Director orientation of a twisted nematic under the influence of an in-plane magnetic field. Mol. Cryst. Liq. Cryst 435, 277/[937]–286/[946] (2005)], we study the magnetic field twist-Fréedericksz transition for a nematic liquid crystal of positive diamagnetic anisotropy with strong anchoring and pre-twist boundary conditions. Despite the pre-twist, the system still possesses z_2 symmetry and a symmetry- breaking pitchfork bifurcation, which occurs at a critical magnetic-field strength that, as we prove, is above the threshold for the classical twist-Fréedericksz transition (which has no pre-twist). It was observed numerically by Millar and McKay that this instability occurs precisely at the point at which the ground-state solution loses its monotonicity (with respect to the position coordinate across the cell gap). We explain this surprising observation using a rigorous phase-space analysis.
- Unimodality of steady size distributions of growing cell populationsPublication . Costa, Fernando Pestana da; Grinfeld, Michael; McLeod, J. B.We consider an equation for the evolution of growing and dividing cells, and show, using a result of Kato and McLeod, that the probability density function for the stationary size distribution is necessarily unimodal.
- Uniqueness in the Freedericksz transition with weak anchoringPublication . Costa, Fernando Pestana da; Grinfeld, Michael; Mottram, Nigel J.; Pinto, João TeixeiraIn this paper we consider a boundary value problem for a quasilinear pendulum equation with non-linear boundary conditions that arises in a classical liquid crystals setup, the Freedericksz transition, which is the simplest opto-electronic switch, the result of competition between reorienting effects of an applied electric field and the anchoring to the bounding surfaces. A change of variables transforms the problem into the equation xττ = −f (x) for τ ∈ (−T , T ), with boundary conditions xτ = ±βT f (x) at τ = ∓T , for a convex non-linearity f . By analysing an associated inviscid Burgers’ equation, we prove uniqueness of monotone solutions in the original non-linear boundary value problem. This result has been for many years conjectured in the liquid crystals literature, e.g. in [E.G. Virga, Variational Theories for Liquid Crystals, Appl. Math. Math. Comput., vol. 8, Chapman & Hall, London, 1994] and in [I.W. Stewart, The Static and Dynamic Continuum Theory of Liquid Crystals: A Mathematical Introduction, Taylor & Francis, London, 2003].
- A mathematical study of a bistable nematic liquid crystal devicePublication . Costa, Fernando Pestana da; Grinfeld, Michael; Mottram, Nigel J.; Pinto, João TeixeiraWe consider a model of a bistable nematic liquid crystal device based on the Ericksen– Leslie theory. The resulting mathematical object is a parabolic PDE with nonlinear dynamic boundary conditions. We analyze well-posedness of the problem and global existence of solutions using the theory developed by Amann. Furthermore, using phaseplane methods, we give an exhaustive description of the steady state solutions and hence of the switching capabilities of the device.