Optimal location of resources and Steiner symmetry in a population dynamics model in heterogeneous environments

Abstract

The subject of this paper is inspired by \cite{CC} and \cite{CCP}. In \cite{CC} the authors investigate the dynamics of a population in a heterogeneous environment by means of diffusive logistic equations. An important part of their study consists in finding sufficient conditions which guarantee the survival of the species. Mathematically, this task leads to the weighted eigenvalue problem $-\Delta u =\lambda m u $ in a bounded smooth domain $\Omega\subset \mathbb{R}^N$, $N\geq 1$, under homogeneous Dirichlet boundary conditions, where $\lambda \in \mathbb{R}$ and $m\in L^\infty(\Omega)$. The domain $\Omega$ represents the environment and $m(x)$, called the local growth rate, says where the favourable and unfavourable habitats are located. Then, the authors in \cite{CC} consider a class of weights $m(x)$ corresponding to environments where the total sizes of favourable and unfavourable habitats are fixed, but their spatial arrangement is allowed to change; they determine the best choice among them for the population to survive.\\ In our paper we give an alternative proof and develop a refinement of the result above, moreover we prove a Steiner symmetry result.