KPP transition fronts in a one-dimensional two-patch habitat.

Abstract

This paper is concerned with the existence of transition fronts for a one-dimensional two patch model with KPP reaction terms. Density and flux conditions are imposed at the interface between the two patches. We first construct a pair of suitable super- and sub solutions by making full use of information of the leading edges of two KPP fronts and gluing them through the interface conditions. Then, an entire solution obtained thanks to a limiting argument is shown to be a transition front moving from one patch to the other one. This propagating solution admits asymptotic past and future speeds, and it connects two different fronts, each associated with one of the two patches. The paper thus provides the first example of a transition front for a KPP-type two-patch model with interface conditions.