Computer-assisted proofs for the many steady states of a chemotaxis model with local sensing

We study the steady states of a system of cross-diffusion equations arising from the modeling of chemotaxis with local sensing, where the motility is a decreasing function of the concentration of the chemical. In order to capture the many different equilibria that sometimes co-exist, we use computer-assisted proofs: Given an approximate solution obtained numerically, we apply a fixed-point argument in a small neighborhood of this approximate solution to prove the existence of an exact solution nearby. This allows us to rigorously study the steady states of this cross-diffusion system much more extensively than what previously possible with purely pen-and-paper techniques. Our computer-assisted argument makes use of Fourier series decomposition, which is common in the literature, but usually restricted to systems with polynomial nonlinearities. This is not the case for the model considered in this paper, and we develop a new way of dealing with some nonpolynomial nonlinearities in the context of computer-assisted proofs with Fourier series. •Existence proof and precise description of many co-existing steady states for a chemotaxis model.•Management of non-linearities and propagation of errors in rigorous numerics.•Computer-assisted proofs for cross-diffusion systems.