An exact self-similar solution is used to investigate current sheet formation at a magnetic neutral line in incompressible Hall magnetohydrodynamics. The collapse to a current sheet is modelled as a finite-time singularity in the solution for electric current density at the neutral line. We establish that a finite-time collapse to the current sheet can occur in Hall magnetohydrodynamics, and we find a criterion for the finite-time singularity in terms of the initial conditions. We derive an asymptotic solution for the singularity formation and a formula for the singularity formation time. The analytical results are illustrated by numerical solutions, and we also investigate an alternative similarity reduction. Finally, we generalise our solution to incorporate resistive, viscous and electron inertia terms.

We consider eigenvalue perturbation bounds for Hermitian matrices, which are associated with problems arising in various computational science and engineering applications. New bounds are discussed that are sharper than some existing ones, including the well-known Weyl bound. Two numerical examples are investigated, to illustrate our theoretical presentation.

We numerically study a thermal-diffusive model for smouldering combustion under microgravity with convective heat losses. In accordance with previous experimental observations, it is well known that porous materials burning against a gaseous oxidiser under microgravity exhibit various finger-like char patterns due to the destabilising effect of oxidiser transport. There is a close resemblance between the pattern-forming dynamics observed in the experiments with the mechanism of thermal-diffusive instability, similar to that occurring in low Lewis number premixtures. At large values of the Lewis number, the finger-like pattern coalesces and propagates as a stable front reminiscent of the pattern behaviour at large Péclet numbers in diffusion-limited systems. The significance of the order of the chemical kinetics for the coexistence of both upstream and downstream smoulder waves is also considered.

We consider a theoretical model for the spread of avian influenza in a poultry population. An avian influenza epidemic model incorporating spatial spread as a diffusive process is discussed, where the infected individuals are restricted from moving to prevent spatial transmission but infection occurs when susceptible individuals come into contact with infected individuals or the virus is contracted from the contaminated environment (e.g. through water or food). The infection is assumed to spread radially and isotropically. After a stability and phase plane analysis of the equivalent system of ordinary differential equations, it is shown that an analytical solution can be obtained in the form of a travelling wave. We outline the methodology for finding such analytical solutions using a travelling wave coordinate when the wave is assumed to move at constant speed. Numerical simulations also produce the travelling wave solution, and a comparison is made with some predictions based on empirical data reported in the literature.

The shift-and-invert Arnoldi method is a most effective approach to compute a few eigenpairs of a large non-Hermitian Toeplitz matrix pencil, where the Gohberg-Semencul formula can be used to obtain the Toeplitz inverse. However, two large non-Hermitian Toeplitz systems must be solved in the first step of this method, and the cost becomes prohibitive if the desired accuracy for this step is high — especially for some ill-conditioned problems. To overcome this difficulty, we establish a relationship between the errors in solving these systems and the residual of the Toeplitz eigenproblem. We consequently present a practical stopping criterion for their numerical solution, and propose an inexact shift-and-invert Arnoldi algorithm for the generalised Toeplitz eigenproblem. Numerical experiments illustrate our theoretical results and demonstrate the efficiency of the new algorithm.

A general fractional Taylor formula and its computation for insufficiently smooth functions are discussed. The Aitken delta square method and epsilon algorithm are implemented to compute the critical orders of the local fractional derivatives, from which more critical orders are recovered by analysing the regular pattern of the fractional Taylor formula. The Richardson extrapolation method is used to calculate the local fractional derivatives with critical orders. Numerical examples are provided to verify the theoretical analysis and the effectiveness of our approach.

A numerical comparison of finite difference (FD) and finite element (FE) methods for a stochastic ordinary differential equation is made. The stochastic ordinary differential equation is turned into a set of ordinary differential equations by applying polynomial chaos, and the FD and FE methods are then implemented. The resulting numerical solutions are all non-negative. When orthogonal polynomials are used for either continuous or discrete processes, numerical experiments also show that the FE method is more accurate and efficient than the FD method.