Krylov implicit integration factor WENO method for SIR model with directed diffusion

Abstract

SIR models with directed diffusions are important in describing the population movement. However, efficient numerical simulations of such systems of fully nonlinear second order partial differential equations (PDEs) are challenging. They are often mixed type PDEs with ill-posed or degenerate components. The solutions may develop singularities along with time evolution. Stiffness due to nonlinear diffusions in the system gives strict constraints in time step sizes for numerical methods. In this paper, we design efficient Krylov implicit integration factor (IIF) Weighted Essentially Non-Oscillatory (WENO) method to solve SIR models with directed diffusions. Numerical experiments are performed to show the good accuracy and stability of the method. Singularities in the solutions are resolved stably and sharply by the WENO approximations in the scheme. Unlike a usual implicit method for solving stiff nonlinear PDEs, the Krylov IIF WENO method avoids solving large coupled nonlinear algebraic systems at every time step. Large time step size computations are achieved for solving the fully nonlinear second-order PDEs, namely, the time step size is proportional to the spatial grid size as that for solving a pure hyperbolic PDE. Two biologically interesting cases are simulated by the developed scheme to study the finite-time blow-up time and location or discontinuity locations in the solution of the SIR model.