Experimental determination of the concentration Probability Density Function for a saltating particle layerDétermination expérimentale de la densité de probabilité de concentration d'une couche de particules en saltation

A horizontal saltation layer of glass particles in air was investigated experimentally in a wind tunnel. Particle concentrations are measured by light scattering diffusion and image processing and all the statistical characteristics were evaluated and thus the probability density function. Our experimental results confirm that the mean concentration decreases exponentially with height, the mean Eulerian dispersion height H being a characteristic lengthscale and that the instantaneous concentration distribution $\stackrel{?}{c}(\overrightarrow{x},t)$ is a random variable following quite well a lognormal distribution. To cite this article: X. Zhang et al., C. R. Mecanique 334 (2006).     

Global Semigroup of Conservative Solutions of the Nonlinear Variational Wave Equation

We prove the existence of a global semigroup for conservative solutions of the nonlinear variational wave equation u _tt − c(u)(c(u)u _x ) _x  = 0. We allow for initial data u| _{t = 0} and u _t | _t=0 that contain measures. We assume that 0 < k^-1 \leqq c(u) \leqq k{0 < \kappa^{-1} \leqq c(u) \leqq \kappa}. Solutions of this equation may experience concentration of the energy density (u_t²+c(u)²u_x²)dx{(u_t^2+c(u)^2u_x^2){\rm d}x} into sets of measure zero. The solution is constructed by introducing new variables related to the characteristics, whereby singularities in the energy density become manageable. Furthermore, we prove that the energy may focus only on a set of times of zero measure or at points where c′(u) vanishes. A new numerical method for constructing conservative solutions is provided and illustrated with examples.     

The energy-integral method: application to linear hyperbolic heat-conduction problems

This paper utilizes the energy-integral method to obtain approximate analytic solutions to a linear hyperbolic heat-conduction problem for a semi-infinite one-dimensional medium. As for the mathematical formulation of the problem, a time-dependent relaxation model for the energy flux is assumed, leading to a hyperbolic differential equation which is solved under suitable initial and boundary conditions. In fact, analytical expressions are derived for uniform as well as varying initial conditions along with (a) prescribed surface temperature, or (b) prescribed heat flux at the surface boundary. The case when a heat source (or sink) of certain type takes place has also been discussed. Comparison of the approximate analytic solutions obtained by the energy-integral method with the corresponding available or obtainable exact analytic solutions are made; and the accuracy of the approximate solutions is generally acceptable.Nomenclature A,C constants - a ₀(t),a ₁(t),...,a _n (t) arbitrary time-dependent coefficients, equation (3.2) - b thermal propagation speed - C _p specific heat of solid at constant pressure - g(x) given function, equation (5.1) - h(t) specified function of time - I _n modified Bessel function of the first kind - K thermal conductivity - j,n positive constants - P _n (x,t) polynomial of degreen - q(x,t) heat flux - Q(t),R(t),H(t),E(t) see equations (3.9), (II.d), (4.10), (4.12), respectively - (t) thermal penetration depth - (t,) approximate thermal penetration depth - T(x,t) temperature distribution - t time - y dimensionless time, equation (3.17) - V(y) dimensionless surface heat flux - W(y) dimensionless surface temperature - U-(t) unit-step function - G(x;t,) Green's function - x spatial variable - ()₀ surface value (atx=0) Greek symbols thermal diffusivity - density of solid - parameter, see equations (3.11) and (3.13) - parameter depending onn and - specified parameter, equations (4.5a) and (5.12b) - (t),(t) given functions of time, equations (4.6) and (5.5b) - , dummy variables - relaxation time - energy integral - (y),(y) specified functions ofy; equations (3.22) and (4.19)     

A complete expression of the asymptotic solution of differential equation with three-turning points

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Carleman Estimate for Elliptic Operators with Coefficients with Jumps at an Interface in Arbitrary Dimension and Application to the Null Controllability of Linear Parabolic Equations

In a bounded domain of R ⁿ⁺¹, n ≧ 2, we consider a second-order elliptic operator, ${A=-{\partial_{x_0}^2} - \nabla_x \cdot (c(x) \nabla_x)}In a bounded domain of R ⁿ⁺¹, n ≧ 2, we consider a second-order elliptic operator, A=-?_x0² - ?_x ·(c(x) ?_x){A=-{\partial_{x_0}^2} - \nabla_x \cdot (c(x) \nabla_x)}, where the (scalar) coefficient c(x) is piecewise smooth yet discontinuous across a smooth interface S. We prove a local Carleman estimate for A in the neighborhood of any point of the interface. The “observation” region can be chosen independently of the sign of the jump of the coefficient c at the considered point. The derivation of this estimate relies on the separation of the problem into three microlocal regions and the Calderón projector technique. Following the method of Lebeau and Robbiano (Comm Partial Differ Equ 20:335–356, 1995) we then prove the null controllability for the linear parabolic initial problem with Dirichlet boundary conditions associated with the operator ?_t - ?_x ·(c(x) ?_x){{\partial_t - \nabla_x \cdot (c(x) \nabla_x)}} .     

Flow in Random Porous Media

Flow in a porous medium with a random hydraulic conductivity tensor K(x) is analyzed when the mean conductivity tensor (x) is a non-constant function of position x. The results are a non-local expression for the mean flux vector (x) in terms of the gradient of the mean hydraulic head (x), an integrodifferential equation for (x), and expressions for the two point covariance functions of q(x) and (x). When K(x) is a Gaussian random function, the joint probability distribution of the functions q(x) and (x) is determined.     

Two-phase geothermal flows with conduction and the connection with Buckley-Leverett theory

Two-phase flows of boiling water and steam in geothermal reservoirs satisfy a pair of conservation equations for mass and energy which can be combined to yield a hyperbolic wave equation for liquid saturation changes. Recent work has established that in the absence of conduction, the geothermal saturation equation is, under certain conditions, asymptotically identical with the Buckley-Leverett equation of oil recovery theory. Here we summarise this work and show that it may be extended to include conduction. In addition we show that the geothermal saturation wave speed is under all conditions formally identical with the Buckley-Leverett wave speed when the latter is written as the saturation derivative of a volumetric flow.Roman Letters C(P, S,q) geothermal saturation wave speed [ms^–1] (14) - c _t (P, S) two-phase compressibility [Pa^–1] (10) - D(P, S) diffusivity [m s^–2] (8) - E(P, S) energy density accumulation [J m^–3] (3) - g gravitational acceleration (positive downwards) [ms^–2] - h _w (P),h _w (P) specific enthalpies [J kg^–1] - J _M (P, S,P) mass flow [kg m^–2 s^–1] (5) - J _E (P, S,P) energy flow [J m^–2s^–1] (5) - k absolute permeability (constant) [m²] - k _w (S),k _s (S) relative permeabilities of liquid and vapour phases - K formation thermal conductivity (constant) [Wm^–1 K^–1] - L lower sheetC<0 in flow plane - m, c gradient and intercept - M(P, S) mass density accumulation [kg m^–3] (3) - O flow plane origin - P(x,t) pressure (primary dependent variable) [Pa] - q volume flow [ms^–1] (6) - S(x, t) liquid saturation (primary dependent variable) - S ^*(x,t) normalised saturation (Appendix) - t time (primary independent variable) [s] - T temperature (degrees Kelvin) [K] - T _sat(P) saturation line temperature [K] - TdT _sat/dP saturation line temperature derivative [K Pa^–1] (4) - T _c ,T _D convective and diffusive time constants [s] - u _w (P),u _s (P),u _r (P) specific internal energies [J kg^–1] - U upper sheetC > 0 in flow plane - U(x,t) shock velocity [m s^–1] - x spatial position (primary independent variable) [m] - X representative length - x, y flow plane coordinates - z depth variable (+z vertically downwards) [m] Greek Letters _P , _S remainder terms [Pa s^–1], [s^–1] - double-valued saturation region in the flow plane - h =h _s –h _w latent heat [J kg^–1] - = _w – _s density difference [kg m^–3] - line envelope - =D _K /D ₀ diffusivity ratio - porosity (constant) - _w (P), _s (P), _t (P, S) dynamic viscosities [Pa s] - v _w (P),v _s (P) kinematic viscosities [m²s^–1] - v ₀ =kh/KT kinematic viscosity constant [m² s^–1] - ₀ =v ₀ dynamic viscosity constant [m² s^–1] - _w (P), _s (P) density [kg m^–3] Suffixes r rock matrix - s steam (vapour) - w water (liquid) - t total - av average - 0 without conduction - K with conduction     

Nonlinear rheological behavior of a concentrated spherical silica suspension

Linear and nonlinear viscoelastic properties were examined for a 50 wt% suspension of spherical silica particles (with radius of 40 nm) in a viscous medium, 2.27/1 (wt/wt) ethylene glycol/glycerol mixture. The effective volume fraction of the particles evaluated from zero-shear viscosities of the suspension and medium was 0.53. At a quiescent state the particles had a liquid-like, isotropic spatial distribution in the medium. Dynamic moduli G^* obtained for small oscillatory strain (in the linear viscoelastic regime) exhibited a relaxation process that reflected the equilibrium Brownian motion of those particles. In the stress relaxation experiments, the linear relaxation modulus G(t) was obtained for small step strain (0.2) while the nonlinear relaxation modulus G(t, ) characterizing strong stress damping behavior was obtained for large (>0.2). G(t, ) obeyed the time-strain separability at long time scales, and the damping function h() (–G(t, )/G(t)) was determined. Steady flow measurements revealed shear-thinning of the steady state viscosity () for small shear rates (< ^–1; = linear viscoelastic relaxation time) and shear-thickening for larger (>^–1). Corresponding changes were observed also for the viscosity growth and decay functions on start up and cessation of flow, + (t, ) and _– (t, ). In the shear-thinning regime, the and dependence of ₊(t,) and _–(t,) as well as the dependence of () were well described by a BKZ-type constitutive equation using the G(t) and h() data. On the other hand, this equation completely failed in describing the behavior in the shear-thickening regime. These applicabilities of the BKZ equation were utilized to discuss the shearthinning and shear-thickening mechanisms in relation to shear effects on the structure (spatial distribution) and motion of the suspended particles.Dedicated to the memory of Prof. Dale S. Parson     

Uniqueness of positive radial solutions of △u+g(r)u+h(r)u p =0 in Rn

Positive radial solutions of a semilinear elliptic equation u+g(r)u+h(r)u ^p =0, where r=|x|, xR ⁿ , and p>1, are studied in balls with zero Dirichlet boundary condition. By means of a generalized Pohoaev identity which includes a real parameter, the uniqueness of the solution is established under quite general assumptions on g(r) and h(r). This result applies to Matukuma's equation and the scalar field equation and is shown to be sharp for these equations.     

Nonlinear viscoelastic properties and change in entanglement structure of linear polymer

Simultaneous measurements of stress relaxation and differential dynamic modulus were made at 268 K over a time scale of 10 to 10⁴⁵ s for nearly monodisperse polybutadiene (M _w =2.2x10⁵, 1,2-structure 70%, M _e =3600) and also one having coarse cross-linking (M _c =29000). Static shear strain ranged from 0.1 to 2.0. In a long-time region (t> _k ), the relaxation modulus G (; t) could be expressed by the product G (0; t) h (y). The observed h() agreed well with the Doi-Edwards theory without use of IA approximation. Both the cured and uncured samples showed initial drop of the differential storage modulus G (), ; t) followed by gradual recovery, but did not attain the value before shearing G (, ; t) for the uncured sample showed smaller values than that for the cured one in the whole measured time scale at the higher strain, confirming the two origins of nonlinear viscoelasticity of well entangled polymer; induced chain anisotropy and induced decrement in entanglement density. G (, ; t) curves for the cured sample agreed well with the BKZ predictions. But the curves for the uncured sample agreed well with the BKZ prediction only at the time scale of t< _k . BKZ prediction showed significant upward deviations at t> _k . Such the differences are discussed in terms of the two origins.Dedicated to Prof. John D. Ferry on the occasion of his 85th birthday.     

Algebraic-Delay Differential Systems, State-Dependent Delay, and Temporal Order of Reactions

Systems of the form

Nonlocal dispersion in media with continuously evolving scales of heterogeneity

General nonlocal diffusive and dispersive transport theories are derived from molecular hydrodynamics and associated theories of statistical mechanical correlation functions, using the memory function formalism and the projection operator method. Expansion approximations of a spatially and temporally nonlocal convective-dispersive equation are introduced to derive linearized inverse solutions for transport coefficients. The development is focused on deriving relations between the frequency-and wave-vector-dependent dispersion tensor and measurable quantities. The resulting theory is applicable to porous media of fractal character.Nomenclature C _v (t) particle velocity correlation function - C _v ,(t) particle fluctuation velocity correlation function - C _j (x,t) current correlation function - D(x,t) dispersion tensor - D(x,t) fluctuation dispersion tensor - f ₀(x,p) equilibrium phase probability distribution function - f(x, p;t) nonequilibrium phase probability distribution function - G(x,t) conditional probability per unit volume of finding a particle at (x,t) given it was located elsewhere initially - (k,t) Fourier transform ofG(x,t) - G(x,t) fluctuation conditional probability per unit volume of finding a particle at (x,t) given it was located elsewhere initially - k wave vector - K(t) memory function - L Liouville operator - m mass - p(t) particle momentum coordinate - P = (0)( , (0)) projection operator - Q =I-P projection operator - s real Laplace space variable - S(k, ) time-Fourier transform of(k,t) - t time - v(t) particle velocity vector - v(t) particle fluctuation velocity vector - V phase space velocity - time-Fourier variable - ^(itn)(k) frequency moment of(k,t) - x(t) particle displacement coordinate - x(t) particle displacement fluctuation coordinate - friction coefficient - (t) normalized correlation function General Functions () Dirac delta function - () Gamma function Averages ₀ Equilibrium phase-space average - Nonequilibrium phase-space average - (,) L ² inner product with respect tof ₀     

Orientational anisotropy for Rouse eigenmodes during creep and recovery process

The Rouse model is a well established model for nonentangled polymer chains and its dynamic behavior under step strain has been fully analyzed in the literature. However, to the knowledge of the authors, no analysis has been made for the orientational anisotropy for the Rouse eigenmodes during the creep and creep recovery processes. For completeness of the analysis of the Rouse model, this anisotropy is calculated from the Rouse equation of motion. The calculation is simple and straightforward, but the result is intriguing in a sense that respective Rouse eigenmodes do not exhibit the single Voigt-type retardation. Instead, each Rouse eigenmode has a distribution in the retardation time. This behavior, reflecting the interplay among the Rouse eigenmodes of different orders under the constant stress condition, is quite different from the behavior under rate-controlled flow (where each eigenmode exhibits retardation/relaxation associated with a single characteristic time).List of abbreviations and symbols a Average segment size at equilibrium - A_p(t) Normalized orientational anisotropy for the p-th Rouse eigenmode defined by Eq. (14) - p-th Fourier component of the Brownian force (=x, y) - F_B(n,t) Brownian force acting on n-th segment at time t - G(t) Relaxation modulus - J(t) Creep compliance - J_R(t) Recoverable creep compliance - k_B Boltzmann constant - N Segment number per Rouse chain - Q_j(t) Orientational anisotropy of chain sections defined by Eq. (21) - r(n,t) Position of n-th segment of the chain at time t - S(n,t) Shear orientation function (S(n,t)=a^–2<u_x(n,t)u_y(n,t)>) - T Absolute temperature - u(n,t) Tangential vector of n-th segment at time t (u = r/n) - V(r(n,t)) Flow velocity of the frictional medium at the position r(n,t) - X_p(t), Y_p(t), and Z_p(t) x-, y-, and z-components of the amplitudes of p-th Rouse eigenmode at time t - Strain rate being uniform throughout the system - Segmental friction coefficient - ₀ Zero-shear viscosity - _p Numerical coefficients determined from Eq. (25) - Gaussian spring constant ( = 3k_BT/a²) - Number of Rouse chains per unit volume - (t) Shear stress of the system at time t - _steady Shear stress in the steadily flowing state - _R Longest viscoelastic relaxation time of the Rouse chain     

Lattice gas simulation of Darcy flow with memory-free collisions

A lattice gas algorithm is proposed for the simulation of water flow in the unsaturated zone. Microscopic dynamics of a two-dimensional model system are defined. Up to four fluid particles occupy the sites of a square lattice. At each time step, the particles are sent to neighbouring sites according to probabilistic rules which depend on the permeability and the potential but not on the input velocities of the particles. On the macroscopic scale, the flow is described by a diffusion term and a Darcy term. Several extensions including higher dimension are discussed.List of Symbols c ⁽ⁿ⁾ constant in the definition of the rejection probabilityP forn = 1,2,3 particles at a site 0 c ⁽ⁿ⁾ 1 - D diffusion constant - D vertical extent of the system, measured in cells - E _i vector connecting a site to its neighbour in directioni - i direction of a nearest neighbour site,i = 1,..., 4 - j direction of a nearest neighbour site,j = 1,..., 4 - j mass transport (fluid flow),j = v - j ^x x-component of the flowj - k(x) spatial dependence of the permeability, user defined under the constraint 0 k 1 - k () the part of the permeability which depends on the degree of saturation (seek) - k ⁽ⁿ⁾ (x) effective permeability at a sitex that holdsn particles - L horizontal extent of the system, measured in cells - l _mac macroscopic length scale, e.g. one meter - l _mic microscopic length scale (one lattice constant) - m integer number of time steps - n (x) number of particles at the lattice sitex - N _A total number of particles on all A-sites - P probability for rejection of a randomly selected direction or set of directions - p arithmetic mean of the probability for a site to receive a particle from a particular neighbour (the average is taken over the four neighbours) - p _i ⁽ⁿ⁾ probability that one out ofn particles at a site is sent in directioni - p _ij ⁽²⁾ probability that the two particles at a site are sent in directionsi andj - t time - t _mac macroscopic time scale, e.g. one day - t _mic microscopic time scale (one time step) - v fluid velocity - x space vector, mostly two-dimensional:x = (x, y) - x horizontal component ofx - y vertical component ofx - quotient of microscopic and macroscopic time scales,t _mic /t _mac - quotient of microscopic and macroscopic length scales,l _mic /l _mac - _i p + _i is the probability that a particle is received from the neighbour atx +E _i - K(X, ) effective permeability,k =k(x)k () - correlation length - degree of saturation, used synonymously with density (homogeneous porosity) - ₀ value of a homogeneous particle density - ø(x) external potential (user defined), ø = ^gr + ^mat - ø(x) arithmetic mean of the external potential at the four sites surroundingx - ø _i external potential at the sitex +E _i - total potential, = ø + ^den - ^gr(x) gravitational potential - ^mat(x) matrix potential - ^den() density-dependent potential - _n potential depending on the occupation number - ⁽ⁿ⁾ (x) probability that sitex is occupied byn particles - ₀ ^{(n) (n)} in a system with homogeneous particle density - mac macroscopic - mic microscopic     

Two-phase brine mixtures in the geothermal context and the polymer flood model

Two-phase mixtures of hot brine and steam are important in geothermal reservoirs under exploitation. In a simple model, the flows are described by a parabolic equation for the pressure with a derivative coupling to a pair of wave equations for saturation and salt concentration. We show that the wave speed matrix for the hyperbolic part of the coupled system is formally identical to the corresponding matrix in the polymer flood model for oil recovery. For the class ofstrongly diffusive hot brine models, the identification is more than formal, so that the wave phenomena predicted for the polymer flood model will also be observed in geothermal reservoirs.Roman Symbols A,B coefficient matrices (5) - c(x,t) salt concentration (primary dependent variable) - C(p, s, c, q _t) wave speed matrix (6) - f source term (5) - g acceleration due to gravity (constant) - h _b(p, c) brine specific enthalpy - h _v(p) vapour specific enthalpy - j conservation flux (1) - k absolute permeability (constant) - k _b(s), k_v(s) relative permeabilities of the brine and vapour phases - K conductivity - p(x,t) pressure (primary dependent variable) - q volume flux (Darcy velocity) (3) - s(x,t) brine saturation (primary dependent variable) - t time (primary independent variable) - T=T _sat(p) saturation temperature - u _b(p, c) brine specific internal energy - u _m T rock matrix specific internal energy - u _v(p) vapour specific internal energy - U(x, t) shock velocity - x space (primary independent variable) Greek Symbols porosity (constant) - _b(p, c) brine dynamic viscosity - _v(p) vapour dynamic viscosity - (p, s, c) conservation density (1) - _b(p, c) brine density - _v(p) vapour density Suffixes b brine - m rock matrix - t total - v vapour - S salt - M mass - E energy     

Entire Solutions with Merging Fronts to Reaction–Diffusion Equations

We deal with a reaction–diffusion equation u _t = u _xx + f(u) which has two stable constant equilibria, u = 0, 1 and a monotone increasing traveling front solution u = φ(x + ct) (c > 0) connecting those equilibria. Suppose that u = a (0 < a < 1) is an unstable equilibrium and that the equation allows monotone increasing traveling front solutions u = ψ₁(x + c ₁ t) (c ₁ < 0) and ψ₂(x + c ₂ t) (c ₂ > 0) connecting u = 0 with u = a and u = a with u = 1, respectively. We call by an entire solution a classical solution which is defined for all . We prove that there exists an entire solution such that for t≈ − ∞ it behaves as two fronts ψ₁(x + c ₁ t) and ψ₂(x + c ₂ t) on the left and right x-axes, respectively, while it converges to φ(x + ct) as t→∞. In addition, if c > − c ₁, we show the existence of an entire solution which behaves as ψ₁( − x + c ₁ t) in and φ(x + ct) in for t≈ − ∞.     

Chaotic phenomena in the dynamic buckling of an elastic-plastic column under an impact

The present study is concerned with the dynamic anomalous response of an elastic-plastic column struck axially by a massm with an initial velocityv ₀. This simple example is considered in order to clarify the influence of the impact characteristics and the material plastic properties on the dynamic buckling phenomenon and particularly on the final vibration amplitudes of the column when it shakes down to a wholly elastic behaviour. The material is assumed to have a linear strain hardening with a plastic with a plastic reloading allowed. These material properties are the reason a number of elastic-plastic cycles to be realized prior to any wholly elastic stable behaviour, which causes different amounts of energy to be absorbed due to the plastic deformations.The column exhibits two types of behaviour over the range of the impact masses — a quasi-periodic and a chaotic response. The chaotic behaviour is caused by the multiple equilibrium states of the column when any small changes in the loading parameters cause small changes in the plastic strains which result in large changes in the response behaviour. The two types of behaviour are represented by displacement-time and phase-plane diagrams. The sensitivity to the load parameters is illustrated by the calculation of a Lyapunov-like exponent. Poincaré maps are shown for three particular cases.Notation c elastic wave propagation speed - m impact mass - m _c column mass - s step of the spatial discretization - t time - u(x,t) axial displacement - v ₀ initial velocity - w ₀(x) initial imperfections - w(x,t)+w ₀(x) total lateral displacements - x axial axis - z axis along the column thickness - A cross-section areahb - E Young's modulus - E _t hardening modulus (Figure 2) - M(x,t) bending moment - N(x,t) axial force - impact mass ratiom/m _c - (x,z) strain - Lyapunov-like exponent - material density - (x,z) stress     

Energy Flow in Formally Gradient Partial Differential Equations on Unbounded Domains

As an example of an extended, formally gradient dynamical system, we consider the damped hyperbolic equation u _tt+u _t=u+F(x, u) in R ^N , where F is a locally Lipschitz nonlinearity. Using local energy estimates, we study the semiflow defined by this equation in the uniformly local energy space H¹ _ul(R ^N )×L² _ul(R ^N ). If N2, we show in particular that there exist no periodic orbits, except for equilibria, and we give a lower bound on the time needed for a bounded trajectory to return in a small neighborhood of the initial point. We also prove that any nonequilibrium point has a neighborhood which is never visited on average by the trajectories of the system, and we conclude that any bounded trajectory converges on average to the set of equilibria. Some counter-examples are constructed, which show that these results cannot be extended to higher space dimensions.     

Third-order systems: Periodicity conditions

Recently a third-order existence theorem has been proven to establish the sufficient conditions of periodicity for the most general third-order ordinary differential equation

x+f(t,x,x^′,x^″)=0

Special Fast Diffusion with Slow Asymptotics: Entropy Method and Flow on a Riemannian Manifold

We consider the asymptotic behaviour of positive solutions u(t, x) of the fast diffusion equation ${u_t=\Delta (u^{m}/m)= {\rm div}\,(u^{m-1} \nabla u)}We consider the asymptotic behaviour of positive solutions u(t, x) of the fast diffusion equation u_t=D(u^m/m) = div (u^m-1 ?u){u_t=\Delta (u^{m}/m)= {\rm div}\,(u^{m-1} \nabla u)} posed for x ? \mathbb R^d{x\in\mathbb R^d}, t > 0, with a precise value for the exponent m = (d − 4)/(d − 2). The space dimension is d ≧ 3 so that m < 1, and even m = −1 for d = 3. This case had been left open in the general study (Blanchet et al. in Arch Rat Mech Anal 191:347–385, 2009) since it requires quite different functional analytic methods, due in particular to the absence of a spectral gap for the operator generating the linearized evolution. The linearization of this flow is interpreted here as the heat flow of the Laplace– Beltrami operator of a suitable Riemannian Manifold (\mathbb R^d,g){(\mathbb R^d,{\bf g})}, with a metric g which is conformal to the standard \mathbb R^d{\mathbb R^d} metric. Studying the pointwise heat kernel behaviour allows to prove suitable Gagliardo–Nirenberg inequalities associated with the generator. Such inequalities in turn allow one to study the nonlinear evolution as well, and to determine its asymptotics, which is identical to the one satisfied by the linearization. In terms of the rescaled representation, which is a nonlinear Fokker–Planck equation, the convergence rate turns out to be polynomial in time. This result is in contrast with the known exponential decay of such representation for all other values of m.