Generalized principal eigenvalues for heterogeneous road–field systems

Abstract

This paper develops the notion and properties of the generalized principal eigenvalue for an elliptic system coupling an equation in a plane with one on a line in this plane, together with boundary conditions that express exchanges taking place between the plane and the line. This study is motivated by the reaction–diffusion model introduced by Berestycki, Roquejoffre and Rossi [The influence of a line with fast diffusion on Fisher–KPP propagation, J. Math. Biol. 66(4–5) (2013) 743–766] to describe the effect on biological invasions of networks with fast diffusion imbedded in a field. Here we study the eigenvalue associated with heterogeneous generalizations of this model. In a forthcoming work [Influence of a line with fast diffusion on an ecological niche, preprint (2018)] we show that persistence or extinction of the associated nonlinear evolution equation is fully accounted for by this generalized eigenvalue. A key element in the proofs is a new Harnack inequality that we establish for these systems and which is of independent interest.