Principal Spectral Theory of Time-Periodic Nonlocal Dispersal Cooperative Systems and Applications

SIAM Journal on Mathematical Analysis, Volume 56, Issue 3, Page 4040-4083, June 2024.
Abstract. This paper is concerned with the principal spectral theory of time-periodic cooperative systems with nonlocal dispersal and Neumann boundary condition. First we present a sufficient condition for the existence of principal eigenvalues by using the theory of resolvent positive operators with their perturbations. Then we establish the monotonicity of principal eigenvalues with respect to the frequency and investigate the limiting properties of principal eigenvalues as the frequency tends to zero or infinity. We also study the effects of dispersal rates and dispersal ranges on the principal eigenvalues, and the difficulty is that principal eigenvalues of time-periodic cooperative systems with Neumann boundary conditions are not monotone with respect to the domain. Finally, we apply our theory to a man-environment-man epidemic model and consider the impacts of dispersal rates, frequency, and dispersal ranges on the basic reproduction number and positive time-periodic solutions.