From the Boltzmann Equations¶to the Equations of¶Incompressible Fluid Mechanics, II

We consider here the problem of deriving rigorously from renormalized solutions of Boltzmann's equation, globally in time, for general initial conditions and without any additional assumption, solutions of Stokes' equations (together with the strong Boussinesq relation). We also obtain similar results for Euler equations where, however, we need to make an assumption on the high velocities of the solutions of Boltzmann's equation.     

On the Influence of the Kinetic Energy¶on the Stability of Equilibria¶of Natural Lagrangian Systems

Natural Lagrangian systems (T,Π) on R ² described by the equation are considered, where is a positive definite quadratic form in and Π(q) has a critical point at 0. It is constructively proved that there exist a C ^∞ potential energy Π and two C ^∞ kinetic energies T and such that the equilibrium q(t)≡ 0 is stable for the system (T,Π) and unstable for the system . Equivalently, it is established that for C ^∞ natural systems the kinetic energy can influence the stability. In the analytic category this is not true. Accepted: October 20, 1999     

Network Approximation in the Limit of¶Small Interparticle Distance of the¶Effective Properties of a High-Contrast¶Random Dispersed Composite

We consider a high-contrast two-phase composite such as a ceramic/polymer composite or a fiberglass composite. Our objective is to determine the dependence of the effective conductivity (or the effective dielectric constant or the effective shear modulus) of the composite on the random locations of the inclusions (ceramic particles or fibers) when the concentration of the inclusions is high. We consider a two-dimensional model and show that the continuum problem can be approximated by a discrete random network (graph). We use variational techniques to provide rigorous mathematical justification for this approximation. In particular, we have shown asymptotic equivalence of the effective constant for the discrete and continuum models in the limit when the relative interparticle distance goes to zero. We introduce the geometrical interparticle distance parameter using Voronoi tessellation, and emphasize the relevance of this parameter due to the fact that for irregular (non-periodic) geometries it is not uniquely determined by the volume fraction of the inclusions. We use the discrete network to compute numerically. For this purpose we employ a computer program which generates a random distribution of disks on the plane. Using this distribution we obtain the corresponding discrete network. Furthermore, the computer program provides the distribution of fluxes in the network which is based on Keller's formula for two closely spaced disks. We compute the dependence of on the volume fraction of the inclusions V for monodispersed composites and obtaine results which are consistent with the percolation theory predictions. For polydispersed composites (random inclusions of two different sizes) the dependence is not simple and is determined by the relative volume fraction V _r of large and small particles. We found some special values of V _r for which the effective coefficient is significantly decreased. The computer program which is based on our network model is very efficient and it allows us to collect the statistical data for a large number of random configurations.     

An Existence Theorem¶for the Navier-Stokes Flow¶in the Exterior of a Rotating Obstacle

We consider the three-dimensional Navier-Stokes initial value problem in the exterior of a rotating obstacle. It is proved that a unique solution exists locally in time if the initial velocity possesses the regularity L^1/2. This regularity assumption is the same as that in the famous paper of Fujita &; Kato. An essential step for the proof is the deduction of a certain smoothing property together with estimates near t˸ of the semigroup, which is not an analytic one, generated by the operator \Cal Lu = -P[\De u+(\om×x)·\na u-\om×u]\Cal Lu= -P\left[\De u+(\om\times x)\cdot\na u-\om\times u\right] in the space L², where y stands for the angular velocity of the rotating obstacle and P denotes the projection associated with the Helmholtz decomposition.     

Isentropic Approximation¶of the Compressible Euler System¶in One Space Dimension

Using the stability results of Bressan & Colombo [BC] for strictly hyperbolic 2 × 2 systems in one space dimension, we prove that the solutions of isentropic and non-isentropic Euler equations in one space dimension with the respective initial data (ρ₀, u ₀) and (ρ₀, u ₀, &\theta;₀=ρ₀ ^{γ− 1}) remain close as soon as the total variation of (ρ₀, u ₀) is sufficiently small. Accepted April 25, 2000?Published online November 24, 2000     

Spinodal Decomposition for the¶Cahn-Hilliard Equation in Higher Dimensions:¶Nonlinear Dynamics

This paper addresses the phenomenon of spinodal decomposition for the Cahn-Hilliard equation

On Global Infinite Energy Solutions¶to the Navier-Stokes Equations¶in Two Dimensions

This paper studies the bidimensional Navier–Stokes equations with large initial data in the homogeneous Besov space . As long as r,q < +∞, global existence and uniqueness of solutions are proved. We also prove that weak–strong uniqueness holds for the d-dimensional equations with data in L ²(? ^d ) for d/r+ 2/q≥ 1.     

Variational Problems¶on Multiply Connected Thin Strips I:¶Basic Estimates and Convergence¶of the Laplacian Spectrum

Let M be a planar embedded graph whose arcs meet transversally at the vertices. Let ?(?) be a strip-shaped domain around M, of width ? except in a neighborhood of the singular points. Assume that the boundary of ?(?) is smooth. We define comparison operators between functions on ?(?) and on M, and we derive energy estimates for the compared functions. We define a Laplace operator on M which is in a certain sense the limit of the Laplace operator on ?(?) with Neumann boundary conditions. In particular, we show that the p-th eigenvalue of the Laplacian on ?(?) converges to the p-th eigenvalue of the Laplacian on M as ? tends to 0. A similar result holds for the magnetic Schrödinger operator.     

Heteroclinic Orbits and Bernoulli Shift¶for the Elliptic Collision Restricted¶Three-Body Problem

We consider two mass points of masses m ₁=m ₂= moving under Newton's law of gravitational attraction in a collision elliptic orbit while their centre of mass is at rest. A third mass point of mass m ₃≈ 0, moves on the straight line L, perpendicular to the line of motion of the first two mass points and passing through their centre of mass. Since m ₃≈ 0, the motion of the masses m ₁ and m ₂ is not affected by the third mass, and from the symmetry of the motion it is clear that m ₃ will remain on the line L. So the three masses form an isosceles triangle whose size changes with the time. The elliptic collision restricted isosceles three-body problem consists in describing the motion of m ₃. In this paper we show the existence of a Bernoulli shift as a subsystem of the Poincaré map defined near a loop formed by two heteroclinic solutions associated with two periodic orbits at infinity. Symbolic dynamics techniques are used to show the existence of a large class of different motions for the infinitesimal body. Accepted July 6, 2000?Published online February 14, 2001     

Universal Attractors¶for the Navier-Stokes Equations¶of Compressible and Heat-Conductive Fluid¶in Bounded Annular Domains in ℝn

This paper is concerned with the dynamics for the Navier-Stokes equations for a polytropic viscous heat-conductive ideal gas in bounded annular domains Ω _n in ? ⁿ (n= 2, 3). One of the important features of this problem is that the metric spaces H ⁽¹⁾ and H ⁽²⁾ we work with are two incomplete metric spaces, as can be seen from the constraints θ >0 and u> 0, withθ and u being absolute temperature and specific volume respectively. For any constants δ₁, δ₂, δ₃, δ₄, δ₅ satisfying certain conditions, two sequences of closed subspaces H ^{( i )} _δ?H ^{( i )} (i= 1,2) are found, and the existence of two (maximal) universal attractors in H ⁽¹⁾ _δ and H ⁽²⁾ _δ is proved.     

Variational Problems¶on Multiply Connected Thin Strips II:¶Convergence of the Ginzburg-Landau

Let M be a planar embedded graph whose arcs meet transversally at the vertices; Let ?(M) be a strip-shaped domain around M, of width M except in a neighborhood of the singular points. Assume that the boundary of ?(M) is smooth. We consider the Ginzburg-Landau energy functional for superconductivity on ?(M). We prove that its minimizers converge in a suitable sense to the minimizers of a simpler functional on M. The supercurrents in ?(M) are shown to converge to one-dimensional currents in M.     

In the Chapman-Enskog Expansion¶the Burnett Coefficients Satisfy¶the Universal Relation ω3+ω4+θ3= 0

The Chapman–Enskog expansion when applied to a gas of spherical molecules yields formal expressions for the stress deviator P and energy-flux vector q, P=μP ⁽¹⁾+μ² P ⁽²⁾+…, q=μq ⁽¹⁾+μ² q ⁽²⁾+…. The Burnett terms P ⁽²⁾, q ⁽²⁾ depend on 11 coefficients ω _i , 1≦i≦6, θ&; _i , 1≦i≦ 5. This paper shows that ω₃+ω₄+θ₃= 0.     

Stability of Periodic Solutions¶of Conservation Laws with Viscosity:¶Analysis of the Evans Function

Nonclassical conservation laws with viscosity arising in multiphase fluid and solid mechanics exhibit a rich variety of traveling-wave phenomena, including homoclinic (pulse-type) and periodic solutions along with the standard heteroclinic (shock, or front-type) solutions. Here, we investigate stability of periodic traveling waves within the abstract Evans-function framework established by R. A. Gardner. Our main result is to derive a useful stability index analogous to that developed by Gardner and Zumbrun in the traveling-front or -pulse context, giving necessary conditions for stability with respect to initial perturbations that are periodic on the same period T as the traveling wave; moreover, we show that the periodic-stability index has an interpretation analogous to that of the traveling-front or -pulse index in terms of well-posedness of an associated Riemann problem for an inviscid medium, now to be interpreted as allowing a wider class of measure-valued solutionsor, alternatively, in terms of existence and nonsingularity of a local “mass map” from perturbation mass to potential time-asymptotic T-periodic states. A closely related calculation yields also a complementary long-wave stability criterion necessary for stability with respect to periodic perturbations of arbitrarily large period NT, N → ∞. We augment these analytical results with numerical investigations analogous to those carried out by Brin in the traveling-front or -pulse case, approximating the spectrum of the linearized operator about the wave.The stability index and long-wave stability criterion are explicitly evaluable in the same planar, Hamiltonian cases as is the index of Gardner and Zumbrun, and together yield rigorous results of instability similar to those obtained previously for pulse-type solutions; this is established through a novel dichotomy asserting that the two criteria are in certain cases logically exclusive. In particular, we obtain results bearing on the nature and mechanism for formation of highly oscillatory Turing-like patterns observed numerically by Frid and Liu and ?ani? and Peters in models of multiphase flow. Specifically, for the van der Waals model considered by Frid and Liu, we show instability of all periodic waves such that the period increases with amplitude in the one-parameter family of nearby periodic orbits, and in particular of large- and small-amplitude waves; for the standard, double-well potential, this yields instability of all periodic waves.Likewise, for a quadratic-flux model like that considered by ?ani? and Peters, we show instability of large-amplitude waves of the type lying near observed patterns, and of all small-amplitude waves; our numerical results give evidence that intermediate-amplitude waves are unstable as well. These results give support for an alternative mechanism for pattern formation conjectured by Azevedo, Marchesin, Plohr, and Zumbrun, not involving periodic waves.     

Stability of Periodic Solutions¶of Conservation Laws with Viscosity:¶Pointwise Bounds on the Green Function

We investigate stability of periodic traveling-wave solutions of systems of conservation laws with viscosity within the abstract Evans function framework established by R. A. Gardner. Our main result, generalizing the work of Zumbrun and Howard in the traveling-front or -pulse setting, is to establish sharp pointwise bounds on the Green function for the linearized evolution equations, provided that an appropriate Evans function condition applies to the linearized operator about the wave. This condition is equivalent to a spectral stability criterion introduced by Schneider in the context of periodic reaction-diffusion waves. An immediate consequence is that strong spectral stability (in the sense of Schneider) implies linearized L¹ → L ^p asymptotic stability for all p > 1. On the other hand, we show that the strict version of Schneider's condition genericallyfails in the conservation law setting, leading to complicated new “metastable” behavior reminiscent of that seen for degenerate, neutrally stable families in the traveling-front or -pulse case. Our results apply also to the reaction-diffusion setting, sharpening (at the linearized level) results obtained by Schneider using weighted-norm and Bloch-decomposition methods.As in the traveling-front or -pulse case, the basic approach is to mimic in the Laplace-transform setting the elementary Fourier-transform analysis of the constant-coefficient case. However, the technical issues involved are rather different in the two cases. Somewhat surprisingly, we find the analogy to the constant-coefficient case to be rather stronger in the periodic-coefficient case, permitting a more standard approach involving the explicit construction of “continuous” spectral measure as in the self-adjoint case. This is equivalent to the method of Zumbrun and Howard in this special case.     

A Variational Approximation Scheme for¶Three-Dimensional Elastodynamics¶with Polyconvex Energy

We construct a variational approximation scheme for the equations of three-dimensional elastodynamics with polyconvex stored energy. The scheme is motivated by some recently discovered geometric identities (Qin [18]) for the null Lagrangians (the determinant and cofactor matrix), and by an associated embedding of the equations of elastodynamics into an enlarged system which is endowed with a convex entropy. The scheme decreases the energy, and its solvability is reduced to the solution of a constrained convex minimization problem. We prove that the approximating process admits regular weak solutions, which in the limit produce a measure-valued solution for polyconvex elastodynamics that satisfies the classical weak form of the geometric identities. This latter property is related to the weak continuity properties of minors of Jacobian matrices, here exploited in a time-dependent setting. Accepted November 18, 2000?Published online April 23, 2001     

Existence and Uniqueness of Solutions¶of an Asymptotic Equation¶Arising from a Variational Wave Equation¶with General Data

We establish here the global existence and uniqueness of admissible (both dissipative and conservative) weak solutions to a canonical asymptotic equation () for weakly nonlinear solutions of a class of nonlinear variational wave equations with any L ²(ℝ) initial datum. We use the method of Young measures and mollification techniques. Accepted April 25, 2000?Published online November 16, 2000     

A Variational Formulation of¶Rate-Independent Phase Transformations¶Using an Extremum Principle

We propose a rate-independent, mesoscopic model for the hysteretic evolution of phase transformations in shape-memory alloys. The model uses the deformation and phase-indicator function as basic unknowns and the potentials for the elastic energy and for the dissipation as constitutive laws. Using the associated functionals, admissible processes are defined to be the ones which are stable at all times and which satisfy the energy inequality.This concept leads to a natural time-incremental method which consists in a minimization problem. The mesoscopic model is obtained by a relaxation procedure. It leads to new functionals involving the cross-quasiconvexification of the elastic stored-energy density. For a special case involving two phases of linearized elastic materials we show that the incremental problem provides existence of admissible processes for the time-continuous problem, if we let the time-step go to 0. Dedicated to Erwin Stein on the occasion of his seventiethbirthday     

Unique Global Solvability for¶Initial-Boundary Value Problems¶in One-Dimensional Nonlinear Thermoviscoelasticity

The balance laws of mass, momentum and energy are considered for a broad class of one-dimensional nonlinear thermoviscoelastic materials. For the initial-boundary value problem corresponding to pinned endpoints held at constant temperature, we establish existence and uniqueness of temporally global classical solutions for initial data of unrestricted size. Our approach also applies to all boundary conditions involving pinned or stress-free endpoints which are either held at constant temperature or insulated. An additional and novel feature of the theory is that solid-like and gaseous materials are treated in a unified way. Accepted: June 24, 1999     

Homogenization of Polycrystalline¶Aggregates

The effective elastic properties of a polycrystalline material depend on the single crystal elastic constants of the crystallites comprising the polycrystal and on the manner in which the crystallites are arranged. In this paper we apply the techniques of homogenization to put the problem of determining effective elastic constants in a precise mathematical framework that permits us to derive an expression for the effective elasticity tensor. We also study how the homogenized elasticity tensor changes as the probability characterizing the ensemble changes. Under the assumption that the field of orientations of the crystallographic axes of the crystallites is an independent random field, we show that our theory is compatible with the formulation used in texture analysis. In particular, we are able to prove that the physical assumption made by [10] in his study of weakly-textured polycrystals holds true. In addition, we establish some elementary bounds on the material constants that characterize the effective elasticity tensor of weakly-textured orthorhombic aggregates of cubic crystallites. Accepted: (June 15, 1999)     

Travelling Fronts and Entire Solutions¶of the Fisher-KPP Equation in ℝN

This paper is devoted to time-global solutions of the Fisher-KPP equation in ℝ ^N :