Schauder estimates for a class of second order elliptic operators on a cube

We consider a class of second order elliptic operators on a d-dimensional cube S_d. We prove that if the coefficients are of class C^k+δ(S_d), with k=0,1 and δ∈(0,1), then the corresponding elliptic problem admits a unique solution u belonging to C^k+2+δ(S_d) and satisfying non-standard boundary conditions involving only second order derivatives.     

A splitting method for the nonlinear Schrödinger equation

We introduce a splitting method for the semilinear Schrödinger equation and prove its convergence for those nonlinearities which can be handled by the classical well-posedness L²(Rd)-theory. More precisely, we prove that the scheme is of first order in the L²(Rd)-norm for H²(Rd)-initial data.     

The asymptotic behavior of globally smooth solutions of the multidimensional isentropic hydrodynamic model for semiconductors

In this paper we study the asymptotic behavior of globally smooth solutions of the Cauchy problem for the multidimensional isentropic hydrodynamic model for semiconductors in R^d. We prove that smooth solutions (close to equilibrium) of the problem converge to a stationary solution exponentially fast as t→+∞.     

Well-posedness of the martingale problem for some degenerate diffusion processes occurring in dynamics of populations

In this paper we establish the well-posedness in C([0,∞);[0,1]^d), for each starting point x∈[0,1]d, of the martingale problem associated with a class of degenerate elliptic operators which arise from the dynamics of populations as a generalization of the Fleming-Viot operator. In particular, we prove that such degenerate elliptic operators are closable in the space of continuous functions on [0,1]^d and their closure is the generator of a strongly continuous semigroup of contractions.     

Asymptotics of Green functions and Martin boundaries for elliptic operators with periodic coefficients

We give the asymptotics at infinity of a Green function for an elliptic equation with periodic coefficients on R^d. Basic ingredients in establishing the asymptotics are an integral representation of the Green function and the saddle point method. We also completely determine the Martin compactification of R^d with respect to an elliptic equation with periodic coefficients by using the exact asymptotics at infinity of the Green function.     

Anderson localization and Lifshits tails for random surface potentials

We consider Schrödinger operators on L²(R^d) with a random potential concentrated near the surface R^d₁×{0}⊂R^d. We prove that the integrated density of states of such operators exhibits Lifshits tails near the bottom of the spectrum. From this and the multiscale analysis by Boutet de Monvel and Stollmann [Arch. Math. 80 (2003) 87-97] we infer Anderson localization (pure point spectrum and dynamical localization) for low energies. Our proof of Lifshits tails relies on spectral properties of Schrödinger operators with partially periodic potentials. In particular, we show that the lowest energy band of such operators is parabolic.     

Schauder estimates for a degenerate second order elliptic operator on a cube

In the present article we are concerned with a class of degenerate second order differential operators LA,b defined on the cube d[0,1], with d?1. Under suitable assumptions on the coefficients A and b (among them the assumption of their Hölder regularity) we show that the operator LA,b defined on C²(d[0,1]) is closable and its closure is m-dissipative. In particular, its closure is the generator of a C₀-semigroup of contractions on C(d[0,1]) and C²(d[0,1]) is a core for it. The proof of such result is obtained by studying the solvability in Hölder spaces of functions of the elliptic problem λu(x)−LA,bu(x)=f(x), x∈d[0,1], for a sufficiently large class of functions f.     

Global existence, asymptotic behavior and blow-up of solutions for coupled Klein-Gordon equations with damping terms

This paper studies the Cauchy problem for the coupled system of nonlinear Klein-Gordon equations with damping terms. We first state the existence of standing wave with ground state, based on which we prove a sharp criteria for global existence and blow-up of solutions when E(0)<d. We then introduce a family of potential wells and discuss the invariant sets and vacuum isolating behavior of solutions for 0<E(0)<d and E(0)≤0, respectively. Furthermore, we prove the global existence and asymptotic behavior of solutions for the case of potential well family with 0<E(0)<d. Finally, a blow-up result for solutions with arbitrarily positive initial energy is obtained.     

Viscosity solutions to second order partial differential equations on Riemannian manifolds

We prove comparison, uniqueness and existence results for viscosity solutions to a wide class of fully nonlinear second order partial differential equations F(x,u,du,d²u)=0 defined on a finite-dimensional Riemannian manifold M. Finest results (with hypothesis that require the function F to be degenerate elliptic, that is nonincreasing in the second order derivative variable, and uniformly continuous with respect to the variable x) are obtained under the assumption that M has nonnegative sectional curvature, while, if one additionally requires F to depend on d²u in a uniformly continuous manner, then comparison results are established with no restrictive assumptions on curvature.     

Generating transformation semigroups using endomorphisms of preorders, graphs, and tolerances

Let Ω^Ω be the semigroup of all mappings of a countably infinite set Ω. If U and V are subsemigroups of Ω^Ω, then we write U≈V if there exists a finite subset F of Ω^Ω such that the subsemigroup generated by U and F equals that generated by V and F. The relative rank of U in Ω^Ω is the least cardinality of a subset A of Ω^Ω such that the union of U and A generates Ω^Ω. In this paper we study the notions of relative rank and the equivalence ≈ for semigroups of endomorphisms of binary relations on Ω.The semigroups of endomorphisms of preorders, bipartite graphs, and tolerances on Ω are shown to lie in two equivalence classes under ≈. Moreover such semigroups have relative rank 0, 1, 2, or d in Ω^Ω where d is the minimum cardinality of a dominating family for N^N. We give examples of preorders, bipartite graphs, and tolerances on Ω where the relative ranks of their endomorphism semigroups in Ω^Ω are 0, 1, 2, and d.We show that the endomorphism semigroups of graphs, in general, fall into at least four classes under ≈ and that there exist graphs where the relative rank of the endomorphism semigroup is 2^ℵ₀.     

The Topological Tverberg Theorem and winding numbers

The Topological Tverberg Theorem claims that any continuous map of a (q-1)(d+1)-simplex to R^d identifies points from q disjoint faces. (This has been proved for affine maps, for d?1, and if q is a prime power, but not yet in general.)The Topological Tverberg Theorem can be restricted to maps of the d-skeleton of the simplex. We further show that it is equivalent to a “Winding Number Conjecture” that concerns only maps of the (d-1)-skeleton of a (q-1)(d+1)-simplex to R^d. “Many Tverberg partitions” arise if and only if there are “many q-winding partitions.”The d=2 case of the Winding Number Conjecture is a problem about drawings of the complete graphs K_3q-2 in the plane. We investigate graphs that are minimal with respect to the winding number condition.     

On the existence of positive solutions and their continuous dependence on functional parameters for some class of elliptic problems

We discuss the existence and the dependence on functional parameters of solutions of the Dirichlet problem for a kind of the generalization of the balance of a membrane equation. Since we shall propose an approach based on variational methods, we treat our equation as the Euler-Lagrange equation for a certain integral functional J. We will not impose either convexity or coercivity of the functional. We develop a duality theory which relates the infimum on a special set X of the energy functional associated with the problem, to the infimum of the dual functional on a corresponding set X^d. The links between minimizers of both functionals give a variational principle and, in consequence, their relation to our boundary value problem. We also present the numerical version of the variational principle. It enables the numerical characterization of approximate solutions and gives a measure of a duality gap between primal and dual functional for approximate solutions of our problem.     

Asymptotic behaviour of nonlocal reaction-diffusion equations

The existence of a global attractor in L²(Ω) is established for a reaction-diffusion equation on a bounded domain Ω in R^d with Dirichlet boundary conditions, where the reaction term contains an operator F:L²(Ω)→L²(Ω) which is nonlocal and possibly nonlinear. Existence of weak solutions is established, but uniqueness is not required. Compactness of the multivalued flow is obtained via estimates obtained from limits of Galerkin approximations. In contrast with the usual situation, these limits apply for all and not just for almost all time instants.     

Doubly nonlinear evolution equations governed by time-dependent subdifferentials in reflexive Banach spaces

We prove the existence of solutions of the Cauchy problem for the doubly nonlinear evolution equation: dv(t)/dt+V_∂φt(u(t))∋f(t), v(t)∈H_∂ψ(u(t)), 0<t<T, where H_∂ψ (respectively, V_∂φt) denotes the subdifferential operator of a proper lower semicontinuous functional ψ (respectively, φt explicitly depending on t) from a Hilbert space H (respectively, reflexive Banach space V) into (−∞,+∞] and f is given. To do so, we suppose that V?H≡H^∗?V^∗ compactly and densely, and we also assume smoothness in t, boundedness and coercivity of φt in an appropriate sense, but use neither strong monotonicity nor boundedness of H_∂ψ. The method of our proof relies on approximation problems in H and a couple of energy inequalities. We also treat the initial-boundary value problem of a non-autonomous degenerate elliptic-parabolic problem.     

The Dirichlet-to-Neumann operator on rough domains

We consider a bounded connected open set Ω⊂Rd whose boundary Γ has a finite (d−1)-dimensional Hausdorff measure. Then we define the Dirichlet-to-Neumann operator D₀ on L₂(Γ) by form methods. The operator −D₀ is self-adjoint and generates a contractive C₀-semigroup S=(St)_t>0 on L₂(Γ). We show that the asymptotic behaviour of St as t→∞ is related to properties of the trace of functions in H¹(Ω) which Ω may or may not have.     

On the cube problem of Las Vergnas

We prove a conjecture of Las Vergnas in dimensions d7: The matroid of the d-dimensional cube C ^d has a unique reorientation class. This extends a result of Las Vergnas, Roudneff and Salaün in dimension 4. Moreover, we determine the automorphism group G ^d of the matroid of the d-cube C ^d for arbitrary dimension d, and we discuss its relation to the Coxeter group of C ^d . We introduce matroid facets of the matroid of the d-cube in order to evaluate the order of G ^d . These matroid facets turn out to be arbitrary pairs of parallel subfacets of the cube. We show that the Euclidean automorphism group W ^d is a proper subgroup of the group G ^d of all matroid symmetries of the d-cube by describing genuine matroid symmetries for each Euclidean facet. A main theorem asserts that any one of these matroid symmetries together with the Euclidean Coxeter symmetries generate the full automorphism group G ^d . For the proof of Las Vergnas' conjecture we use essentially these symmetry results together with the fact that the reorientation class of an oriented matroid is determined by the labeled lower rank contractions of the oriented matroid. We also describe the Folkman-Lawrence representation of the vertex figure of the d-cube and a contraction of it. Finally, we apply our method of proof to show a result of Las Vergnas, Roudneff, and Salaün that the matroid of the 24-cell has a unique reorientation class, too.     

Paraproducts and Hankel operators of Schatten class via p-John-Nirenberg Theorem

We give an interpolation-free proof of the known fact that a dyadic paraproduct is of Schatten-von Neumann class S_p, if and only if its symbol is in the dyadic Besov space B_p^d. Our main tools are a product formula for paraproducts and a “p-John-Nirenberg-Theorem” due to Rochberg and Semmes.We use the same technique to prove a corresponding result for dyadic paraproducts with operator symbols.Using an averaging technique by Petermichl, we retrieve Peller's characterizations of scalar and vector Hankel operators of Schatten-von Neumann class S_p for 1<p<∞. We then employ vector techniques to characterise little Hankel operators of Schatten-von Neumann class, answering a question by Bonami and Peloso.Furthermore, using a bilinear version of our product formula, we obtain characterizations for boundedness, compactness and Schatten class membership of products of dyadic paraproducts.     

A non-local regularization of first order Hamilton-Jacobi equations

In this paper, we investigate the regularizing effect of a non-local operator on first-order Hamilton-Jacobi equations. We prove that there exists a unique solution that is C² in space and C¹ in time. In order to do so, we combine viscosity solution techniques and Green's function techniques. Viscosity solution theory provides the existence of a W^1,∞ solution as well as uniqueness and stability results. A Duhamel's integral representation of the equation involving the Green's function permits to prove further regularity. We also state the existence of C^∞ solutions (in space and time) under suitable assumptions on the Hamiltonian. We finally give an error estimate in L^∞ norm between the viscosity solution of the pure Hamilton-Jacobi equation and the solution of the integro-differential equation with a vanishing non-local part.     

Best constant in critical Sobolev inequalities of second-order in the presence of symmetries

Let (M,g) be a smooth compact Riemannian manifold. We first give the value of the best first constant for the critical embedding H²(M)?L^2?(M) for second-order Sobolev spaces of functions invariant by some subgroup of the isometry group of (M,g). We also prove that we can take ?=0 in the corresponding inequality under some geometric assumptions. As an application we give a sufficient condition for the existence of a smooth positive symmetric solution to a critical equation with a symmetric Paneitz-Branson-type operator. A sufficient condition for the existence of a nodal solution to such an equation is also derived. We eventually prove a multiplicity result for such an equation.