We prove the existence and uniqueness, for wave speeds sufficiently large, of monotone traveling wave solutions connecting stable to unstable spatial equilibria for a class of @math -dimensional lattice differential equations with unidirectional coupling. This class of lattice equations includes some spatial discretizations for hyperbolic conservation laws with a source term as well as a subclass of monotone systems. We obtain a variational characterization of the critical wave speed above which monotone traveling wave solutions are guaranteed to exist. We also discuss non-monotone waves, and the coexistence of monotone and non-monotone waves.
Abstract This work proves the existence and multiplicity results of monotonic traveling wave solutions for some lattice differential equations by using the monotone iteration method. Our results include the model of cellular neural networks (CNN). In addition to the monotonic traveling wave solutions, non-monotonic and oscillating traveling wave solutions in the delay type of CNN are also obtained. It is shown that many of the asymptotic properties of the Fisher model for population genetics and population ecology can also be derived for a class of models in which time is discrete and space may or may not be discrete. This allows one to discuss the behavior of models in which the data consist of occasional counts on survey tracts, as well as that of computer models.  A class of integral recursion models for the growth and spread of a synchronized single-species population is studied. It is well known that if there is no overcompensation in the fecundity function, the recursion has an asymptotic spreading speed c*, and that this speed can be characterized as the speed of the slowest non-constant traveling wave solution. A class of integral recursions with overcompensation which still have asymptotic spreading speeds can be found by using the ideas introduced by Thieme (J Reine Angew Math 306:94–121, 1979) for the study of space-time integral equation models for epidemics. The present work gives a large subclass of these models with overcompensation for which the spreading speed can still be characterized as the slowest speed of a non-constant traveling wave. To illustrate our results, we numerically simulate a series of traveling waves. The simulations indicate that, depending on the properties of the fecundity function, the tails of the waves may approach the carrying capacity monotonically, may approach the carrying capacity in an oscillatory manner, or may oscillate continually about the carrying capacity, with its values bounded above and below by computable positive numbers.