A free boundary problem for the Fisher-KPP equation with a given moving boundary

Abstract

We study free boundary problem of Fisher-KPP equation ut = uxx + u(1 - u), t > 0, ct < x < h(t). The number c > 0 is a given constant, h(t) is a free boundary which is determined by the Stefan-like condition. This model may be used to describe the spreading of a non-native species over a one dimensional habitat. The free boundary x = h(t) represents the spreading front. In this model, we impose zero Dirichlet condition at left moving boundary x = ct. This means that the left boundary of the habitat is a very hostile environment and that the habitat is eroded away by the left moving boundary at constant speed c. In this paper we will give a trichotomy result, that is, for any initial data, exactly one of the three behaviors, vanishing, spreading and transition, happens. This result is related to the results appear in the free boundary problem for the Fisher-KPP equation with a shifting-environment, which was considered by Du, Wei and Zhou [11]. However the vanishing in our problem is different from that in [11] because in our vanishing case, the solution is not global-in-time.