On a cell division equation with a linear growth rate

Abstract

We consider an initial–boundary value problem that involves a partial differential equation with a functional term. The problem is motivated by a cell division model for size structured cell cohorts in which growth and division occur. Although much is known about the large time asymptotic behaviour of solutions to these problems for constant growth rates, general solution techniques are rare. We analyse the case where the growth rate is linear and the division rate is a monomial, and we develop a method to determine the general solution for a general class of initial data. The large time dynamics of solutions for this case are significantly different from the constant growth rate case. We show that solutions approach a time-dependent attracting solution that is periodic in the time variable. doi:10.1017/S1446181117000591