Regularity in the obstacle problem for parabolic non-divergence operators of Hörmander type

In this paper we continue the study initiated in [15] concerning the obstacle problem for a class of parabolic non-divergence operators structured on a set of vector fields X={_X1,…,_Xq}$X=\{X_1,\dots ,X_q\}$ in Rⁿ${\mathbf{R}}^n$ with C^∞$C^{\infty }$-coefficients satisfying Hörmander?s finite rank condition, i.e., the rank of Lie[_X1,…,_Xq]$\mathrm{Lie}[X_1,\dots ,X_q]$ equals n   at every point in Rⁿ${\mathbf{R}}^n$. In [15] we proved, under appropriate assumptions on the operator and the obstacle, the existence and uniqueness of strong solutions to a general obstacle problem. The main result of this paper is that we establish further regularity, in the interior as well as at the initial state, of strong solutions. Compared to [15] we in this paper assume, in addition, that there exists a homogeneous Lie group G=(Rⁿ,°,_δλ)$\mathbf{G}=({\mathbf{R}}^n,°,{\delta }_{\lambda })$ such that _X1,…,_Xq$X_1,\dots ,X_q$ are left translation invariant on G and such that _X1,…,_Xq$X_1,\dots ,X_q$ are _δλ${\delta }_{\lambda }$-homogeneous of degree one.     

Regularity for a class of strongly degenerate quasilinear operators

We prove a Harnack inequality and regularity for solutions of a quasilinear strongly degenerate elliptic equation. We assume the coefficients of the structure conditions to belong to suitable Stummel–Kato classes.     

Extrapolation discontinuous Galerkin method for ultraparabolic equations

Ultraparabolic equations arise from the characterization of the performance index of stochastic optimal control relative to ultradiffusion processes; they evidence multiple temporal variables and may be regarded as parabolic along characteristic directions. We consider theoretical and approximation aspects of a temporally order and step size adaptive extrapolation discontinuous Galerkin method coupled with a spatial Lagrange second-order finite element approximation for a prototype ultraparabolic problem. As an application, we value a so-called Asian option from mathematical finance.     

Regularity of invariant measures for a class of perturbed Ornstein-Uhlenbeck operators

In the framework of [5] we prove regularity of invariant measures for a class of Ornstein-Uhlenbeck operators perturbed by a drift which is not necessarily bounded or Lipschitz continuous. Regularity here means that is absolutely continuous with respect to the Gaussian invariant measure of the unperturbed operator with the square root of the Radon-Nikodym density in the corresponding Sobolev space of order 1.Partially supported by the International Science Foundation (Grant M 38000), the Russian Foundation of Fundamental Research (Grant 94-01-01556), and EC-Science Project SC1^*CT92-0784.Partially supported by the Italian National Project MURST Problemi nonlineari nell'AnalisiPartially supported by the DFG(SFB-256-Bonn, SFB-343-Bielefeld) and EC-Science Project SC1^*CT92-0784.     

Regularity for obstacle problems in infinite dimensional Hilbert spaces

In this paper we study fully nonlinear obstacle-type problems in Hilbert spaces. We introduce the notion of Q-elliptic equation and prove existence, uniqueness, and regularity of viscosity solutions of Q-elliptic obstacle problems. In particular we show that solutions of concave problems with semiconvex obstacles are in the space .     

An optimal control problem for microwave heating

In this paper, we study an optimization problem for a microwave/induction heating process. The cost function is defined such that the temperature profile at the final stage has a relative uniform distribution in the field. The control variable is the applied electric field on the boundary. We show that there exists an optimal electric field which minimizes the cost function. Moreover, a necessary condition for a special case is also derived.     

An initial boundary-value problem for model electromagnetoelasticity system

In this paper we consider an initial boundary-value problem related to the electrodynamics of vibrating elastic media. The aim is to prove an existence and uniqueness result for a model describing the nonlinear interactions of the electromagnetic and elastic waves. We assume that the motion of the continuum occurs at velocities that are much smaller than the propagation velocity of the electromagnetic waves through the elastic medium. The model under study consists of two coupled differential equations, one of them is the hyperbolic equation (an analog of the Lamé system) and another one is the parabolic equation (an analog of the diffusion Maxwell system). One stability result is proved too.     

Regularity of weak solution to Maxwell's equations and applications to microwave heating

In this paper we first study the regularity of weak solution for time-harmonic Maxwell's equations in a bounded anisotropic medium Ω. It is shown that the weak solution to the linear degenerate system, , is Hölder continuous under the minimum regularity assumptions on the complex coefficients γ(x) and ξ(x). We then study a coupled system modeling a microwave heating process. The dynamic interaction between electric and temperature fields is governed by Maxwell's equations coupled with an equation of heat conduction. The electric permittivity, electric conductivity and magnetic permeability are assumed to be dependent of temperature. It is shown that under certain conditions the coupled system has a weak solution. Moreover, regularity of weak solution is studied. Finally, existence of a global classical solution is established for a special case where the electric wave is assumed to be propagating in one direction.     

The first initial–boundary-value problem for a nonlinear model of the electrodynamics of vibrating elastic media

The first initial–boundary-value problem for nonlinear differential equations describing the interactions of a vibrating electroconductive body and the electromagnetic field is studied. We assume that the motion of the body occurs at velocities that are much smaller than the velocity of propagation of the electromagnetic waves through the elastic medium. The model under study consists of two coupled differential equations; one of them is the hyperbolic equation (an analogue of the Lamé system) and the other is the parabolic equation (an analogue of the diffusion Maxwell system). We prove an existence and uniqueness result. The proof is based on the classical Faedo–Galerkin method.     

Global identifiability for an inverse problem for the Schrödinger equation in a magnetic field

Partially supported by NSF Grant DMS-9123742     

Pointwise estimates for a class of non-homogeneous Kolmogorov equations

We consider a class of ultraparabolic differential equations that satisfy the Hörmander’s hypoellipticity condition and we prove that the weak solutions to the equation with measurable coefficients are locally bounded functions. The method extends the Moser’s iteration procedure and has previously been employed in the case of operators verifying a further homogeneity assumption. Here we remove that assumption by proving some potential estimates and some ad hoc Sobolev type inequalities for solutions.     

Global well-posedness for a class of 2D Boussinesq systems with fractional dissipation

The incompressible Boussinesq equations not only have many applications in modeling fluids and geophysical fluids but also are mathematically important. The well-posedness and related problem on the Boussinesq equations have recently attracted considerable interest. This paper examines the global regularity issue on the 2D Boussinesq equations with fractional Laplacian dissipation and thermal diffusion. Attention is focused on the case when the thermal diffusion dominates. We establish the global well-posedness for the 2D Boussinesq equations with a new range of fractional powers of the Laplacian.     

On the singular set of the parabolic obstacle problem

This paper is devoted to regularity results and geometric properties of the singular set of the parabolic obstacle problem with variable right-hand side. Making use of a monotonicity formula for singular points, we prove the uniqueness of blow-up limits at singular points. These results apply to parabolic obstacle problem with variable coefficients.     

Regularity of Hölder continuous solutions of the supercritical quasi-geostrophic equation

We present a regularity result for weak solutions of the 2D quasi-geostrophic equation with supercritical (α<1/2$\alpha <1/2$) dissipation α(−Δ)${(-\mathrm{\Delta })}^{\alpha }$: If a Leray–Hopf weak solution is Hölder continuous θ∈Cδ(R²)$\theta \in C^{\delta }({\mathbb{R}}^2)$ with δ>1−2α$\delta >1-2\alpha$ on the time interval [t₀,t]$[t_0,t]$, then it is actually a classical solution on (t₀,t]$(t_0,t]$.     

Regularity of trajectory attractor and upper semicontinuity of global attractor for a 2D non-Newtonian fluid

There are two results within this paper. The one is the regularity of trajectory attractor and the trajectory asymptotic smoothing effect of the incompressible non-Newtonian fluid on 2D bounded domains, for which the solution to each initial value could be non-unique. The other is the upper semicontinuity of global attractors of the addressed fluid when the spatial domains vary from Ωm to Ω=R×(−L,L), where is an expanding sequence of simply connected, bounded and smooth subdomains of Ω such that Ωm→Ω as m→+∞. That is, let A and Am be the global attractors of the fluid corresponding to Ω and Ωm, respectively, we establish that for any neighborhood O(A) of A, the global attractor Am enters O(A) if m is large enough.     

Regularity criteria for the 3D generalized MHD equations in terms of vorticity

We prove regularity criteria for the 3D generalized MHD equations. These criteria impose assumptions on the vorticity only. In addition, we also prove a result of global existence for smooth solution under some special conditions.