Welcome!

I am a Ph.D. candidate in Mathematics at the University of Minnesota, working under the supervision of Arnd Scheel. I received my B.S. in Mathematics from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

My research lies at the intersection of dynamical systems and partial differential equations. Specifically, I study pattern formation in reaction-diffusion systems with applications to biological phenomena.

Nan Li

Recent Projects

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Dynamical Bestiary: Swift-Hohenberg Equation

Python notebook for the Swift-Hohenberg equation. Explores pattern formations using numerical continuation and direct simulation methods.

Dynamical Bestiary: Cahn-Hilliard Equation

Python notebook for the Cahn-Hilliard equation. Explores pattern formations using numerical continuation and direct simulation methods.

Dynamical Bestiary: Kuramoto-Sivashinsky Equation

Python notebook for the Kuramoto-Sivashinsky equation. Explores pattern formations using numerical continuation and direct simulation methods.

Dynamical Bestiary: Allen-Cahn Equation

Python notebook for the Allen-Cahn equation. Explores pattern formations using numerical continuation and direct simulation methods.

Dynamical Bestiary: FitzHugh-Nagumo Equation

Python notebook for the FitzHugh-Nagumo equation. Explores pattern formations using numerical continuation methods.

Dynamical Bestiary: Bratu Equation

Python notebook for the Bratu equation. Explores pattern formations using numerical continuation methods.

Recent Publications

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Preprint - 2025

Instability of anchored spirals in geometric flows

We investigate existence, stability, and instability of anchored rotating spiral waves in a model for geometric curve evolution. We find existence in a parameter regime limiting on a purely eikonal curve evolution. We study stability and instability both theoretically in this limiting regime and numerically, finding both oscillatory, at first convective instability, and saddle-node bifurcations. Our results in particular shed light onto instability of spiral waves in reaction-diffusion systems caused by an instability of wave trains against transverse modulations.

PDF Paper
London Mathematical Society Lecture Note Series - 2024

Anchored spirals in the driven curvature flow approximation

We study existence, asymptotics, and stability of spiral waves in a driven curvature approximation, supplemented with an anchoring condition on a circle of finite radius. We analyze the motion of curves written as graphs in polar coordinates, finding spiral waves as rigidly rotating shapes. The existence analysis reduces to a planar ODE and asymptotics are given through center manifold expansions. In the limit of a large core, we find rotation frequencies and corrections starting form a problem without curvature corrections. Finally, we demonstrate orbital stability of spiral waves by exploiting a comparison principle inherent to curvature driven flow.

Orbita Mathematicae - 2022

Counting compatible indexing systems for $C_{p^n}$

We count the number of compatible pairs of indexing systems for the cyclic group $C_{p^n}$. Building on work of Balchin--Barnes--Roitzheim, we show that this sequence of natural numbers is another family of Fuss--Catalan numbers. We count this two different ways: showing how the conditions of compatibility give natural recursive formulas for the number of admissible sets and using an enumeration of ways to extend indexing systems by conceptually simpler pieces.