Modeling the Bifurcation Dynamics of Rumor Propagation in the Spatial Environment

Abstract

The harm caused by rumors is immeasurable. Studying the dynamic characteristics of rumors can help control their spread. In this paper, we propose a nonsmooth rumor model with a nonlinear propagation rate. First, we utilize the positive invariant regions to prove the boundedness of solutions. Second, we analyze the conditions for the existence of equilibrium points in both the left and right systems. Additionally, we confirm the occurrence of saddle-node bifurcation in the left system. Next, by considering the influence of spatial diffusion, we establish the conditions for Turing instability. Then we discuss the conditions for spatial homogeneous and inhomogeneous Hopf bifurcations in the left and right systems, respectively. We differentiate between supercritical and subcritical bifurcations using the Lyapunov coefficient. Furthermore, we examine the conditions for the existence of discontinuous Hopf bifurcation at the demarcation point. Finally, in the numerical simulation section, we validate our theorems on Turing patterns. We also investigate the impact of parameter changes on rumor propagation and conclude that an increase in the psychological inhibitory factor significantly reduces the rate of rumor propagation, providing an effective strategy for curbing rumors. To that end, we fit actual data to our system and the results are excellent, confirming the validity of the system.