Dissertation guidance -- Non-linear Diff. Eqs and Photosynthesis

[wel]

Hi everyone.
I am doing research about what happens to light energy after it has been absorbed by a leaf but before it has been used in the photosysnthetic reactions. For that I need to use system of 3 nonlinear ordinary differential equations.

My dissertation title is : A hybrid numerical scheme for a system of nonlinear ordinary differential equations.
A Model from the paper: A simple model of light use in Photosystem II
Background of model: Dynamic flow of light energy through photosystem II under light changing condtions.This is my first time writing dissertation, so i am having problem how to structure my project because some how i have to link up dissertation title and model of paper together properly. how can i use system of nonlinear ordinary differential equations in simple model of light use in Photosystem II? it can be either with numerical results or analytic solutions.

Has someone done this kind of research before? any good reference/books will be useful for me.

 

[jedishrfu]

Have you looked for similar papers or asked your prof for some advice?

The arxiv.org is a good place to find scientific papers. There is a section on Qualitative Biology where people talk about modeling various kinds of biological systems:

http://www.mnh.si.edu/vtp/1-desktop/

 

[wel]

I can not find any scientific papers from your link. A paper is from thins model: simple model of light use in Photosystem II.

Reference: A. Porcar-Castell, J. Back, E. Juurola, and P. Hari. Dynamics of the energy flow through photosystem ii under changing light conditions: a model approach. Functional Plant Biol-
ogy, 33(3) : pp229 pp239; 2006.

 

[jedishrfu]

sorry wrong link but I hope you enjoyed your virtual visit to Natl Museum of History. The corrected links are:

www.arxiv.org/

or more specifically:

http://arxiv.org/list/q-bio.SC/recent

 

[Matrix0]

Hi there,

Your research sounds very interesting and complex! Non-linear differential equations are a powerful tool in studying dynamic systems, such as the flow of light energy in photosynthesis. To answer your question, there are a few ways you can incorporate the system of nonlinear ordinary differential equations into your model of light use in Photosystem II.

One approach could be to use numerical methods, such as the Runge-Kutta method, to solve the differential equations and generate numerical results. This would allow you to simulate and visualize the flow of light energy under different light conditions. Another approach could be to find an analytical solution to the differential equations, which would provide a more theoretical understanding of the system.

In terms of structuring your project, it may be helpful to first outline the main goals and objectives of your research. From there, you can break down your dissertation into different sections, such as an introduction to the topic, a literature review of previous research, a description of your model and methodology, and your results and conclusions. You can then link your dissertation title and model by explaining how your hybrid numerical scheme contributes to the understanding of light energy flow in Photosystem II.

As for references and books, some helpful resources may include "Nonlinear Ordinary Differential Equations: An Introduction for Scientists and Engineers" by Dominic Jordan and Peter Smith, and "Nonlinear Dynamics and Chaos" by Steven Strogatz.

Best of luck with your research!