Poisson-Nernst-Planck Systems for Narrow Tubular-Like Membrane Channels

We study global asymptotic behavior of Poisson-Nernst-Planck (PNP) systems for flow of two ion species through a narrow tubular-like membrane channel. As the radius of the cross-section of the three-dimensional tubular-like membrane channel approaches zero, a one-dimensional limiting PNP system is derived. This one-dimensional limiting system differs from previously studied one-dimensional PNP systems in that it encodes the defining geometry of the three-dimensional membrane channel. To justify this limiting process, we show that the global attractors of the three-dimensional PNP systems are upper semi-continuous as the radius of the channel tends to zero.