Paper 3, Section I, E

Mathematical Biology
Part II, 2021

The population density n(a,t)n(a, t) of individuals of age aa at time tt satisfies the partial differential equation

nt+na=d(a)n(a,t)\frac{\partial n}{\partial t}+\frac{\partial n}{\partial a}=-d(a) n(a, t)

with the boundary condition

n(0,t)=0b(a)n(a,t)dan(0, t)=\int_{0}^{\infty} b(a) n(a, t) d a

where b(a)b(a) and d(a)d(a) are, respectively, the per capita age-dependent birth and death rates.

(a) What is the biological interpretation of the boundary condition?

(b) Solve equation (1) assuming a separable form of solution, n(a,t)=A(a)T(t)n(a, t)=A(a) T(t).

(c) Use equation (2) to obtain a necessary condition for the existence of a separable solution to the full problem.

(d) For a birth rate b(a)=βeλab(a)=\beta e^{-\lambda a} with λ>0\lambda>0 and an age-independent death rate dd, show that a separable solution to the full problem exists and find the critical value of β\beta above which the population density grows with time.