Approximation of Flat <Emphasis Type="Italic">W</Emphasis><Superscript>2,2</Superscript> Isometric Immersions by Smooth Ones

Let \({S\subset\mathbb{R}^2}\) be a bounded Lipschitz domain and denote by \({W^{2,2}_{\text{iso}}(S; \mathbb{R}^3)}\) the set of mappings \({u\in W^{2,2}(S;\mathbb{R}^3)}\) which satisfy \({(\nabla u)^T(\nabla u) = Id}\) almost everywhere. Under an additional regularity condition on the boundary \({\partial S}\) (which is satisfied if \({\partial S}\) is piecewise continuously differentiable), we prove that the strong W ^2,2 closure of \({W^{2,2}_{\text{iso}}(S; \mathbb{R}^3)\cap C^{\infty}(\overline{S};\mathbb{R}^3)}\) agrees with \({W^{2,2}_{\text{iso}}(S; \mathbb{R}^3)}\).     

Exponential Decay of the Vorticity in the Steady-State Flow of a Viscous Liquid Past a Rotating Body

We construct a Sobolev homeomorphism in dimension \({n \geqq 4,\,f \in W^{1,1}((0, 1)^n,\mathbb{R}^n)}\) such that \({J_f = {\rm det} Df > 0}\) on a set of positive measure and J _f  < 0 on a set of positive measure. It follows that there are no diffeomorphisms (or piecewise affine homeomorphisms) f _k such that \({f_k\to f}\) in \({W^{1,1}_{\rm loc}}\).     

Steady Nearly Incompressible Vector Fields in Two-Dimension: Chain Rule and Renormalization

Given bounded vector field \({b : {\mathbb{R}^{d}} \to {\mathbb{R}^{d}}}\), scalar field \({u : {\mathbb{R}^{d}} \to {\mathbb{R}}}\), and a smooth function \({\beta : {\mathbb{R}} \to {\mathbb{R}}}\), we study the characterization of the distribution \({{\rm div}(\beta(u)b)}\) in terms of div b and div(ub). In the case of BV vector fields b (and under some further assumptions), such characterization was obtained by L. Ambrosio, C. De Lellis and J. Malý, up to an error term which is a measure concentrated on the so-called tangential set of b. We answer some questions posed in their paper concerning the properties of this term. In particular, we construct a nearly incompressible BV vector field b and a bounded function u for which this term is nonzero. For steady nearly incompressible vector fields b (and under some further assumptions), in the case when d = 2, we provide complete characterization of div(\({\beta(u)b}\)) in terms of div b and div(ub). Our approach relies on the structure of level sets of Lipschitz functions on \({{\mathbb{R}^{2}}}\) obtained by G. Alberti, S. Bianchini and G. Crippa. Extending our technique, we obtain new sufficient conditions when any bounded weak solution u of \({\partial_t u + b \cdot \nabla u=0}\) is renormalized, that is when it also solves \({\partial_t \beta(u) + b \cdot \nabla \beta(u)=0}\) for any smooth function \({\beta \colon{\mathbb{R}} \to {\mathbb{R}}}\). As a consequence, we obtain new a uniqueness result for this equation.     

Local Fixed Point Indices of Iterations of Planar Maps

Let \({f: U\rightarrow {\mathbb R}^2}\) be a continuous map, where U is an open subset of \({{\mathbb R}^2}\). We consider a fixed point p of f which is neither a sink nor a source and such that {p} is an isolated invariant set. Under these assumption we prove, using Conley index methods and Nielsen theory, that the sequence of fixed point indices of iterations \({\{{\rm ind}(f^n,p)\}_{n=1}^\infty}\) is periodic, bounded from above by 1, and has infinitely many non-positive terms, which is a generalization of Le Calvez and Yoccoz theorem (Annals of Math., 146, 241–293 (1997)) onto the class of non-injective maps. We apply our result to study the dynamics of continuous maps on 2-dimensional sphere.     

Gradient Bounds for Elliptic Problems Singular at the Boundary

Let Ω be a bounded smooth domain in \({{R}^N, N \geqq 2}\), and let us denote by d(x) the distance function d(x, ?Ω). We study a class of singular Hamilton–Jacobi equations, arising from stochastic control problems, whose simplest model is

$ - \alpha \Delta u+ u + \frac{\nabla u \cdot B (x)}{d (x)}+ c(x) |\nabla u|^2=f (x) \quad {\rm in}\,\Omega, $

where f belongs to \({W^{1,\infty}_{\rm loc} (\Omega)}\) and is (possibly) singular at \({\partial \Omega, c\in W^{1,\infty} (\Omega)}\) (with no sign condition) and the field \({B\in W^{1,\infty} (\Omega)^N}\) has an outward direction and satisfies \({B\cdot \nu\geqq \alpha}\) at ?Ω (ν is the outward normal). Despite the singularity in the equation, we prove gradient bounds up to the boundary and the existence of a (globally) Lipschitz solution. We show that in some cases this is the unique bounded solution. We also discuss the stability of such estimates with respect to α, as α vanishes, obtaining Lipschitz solutions for first order problems with similar features. The main tool is a refined weighted version of the classical Bernstein method to get gradient bounds; the key role is played here by the orthogonal transport component of the Hamiltonian.

     

Entire Solutions to Equivariant Elliptic Systems with Variational Structure

We consider the system Δu ? W _u (u) = 0, where \({u : \mathbb{R}^n \to \mathbb{R}^n}\) , for a class of potentials \({W : \mathbb{R}^n \to \mathbb{R}}\) that possess several global minima and are invariant under a general finite reflection group G. We establish existence of nontrivial G-equivariant entire solutions connecting the global minima of W along certain directions at infinity.     

Beltrami Fields with a Nonconstant Proportionality Factor are Rare

We consider the existence of Beltrami fields with a nonconstant proportionality factor f in an open subset U of \({\mathbb{R}^3}\). By reformulating this problem as a constrained evolution equation on a surface, we find an explicit differential equation that f must satisfy whenever there is a nontrivial Beltrami field with this factor. This ensures that there are no nontrivial regular solutions for an open and dense set of factors f in the C^k topology, \({k\geqq 7}\). In particular, there are no nontrivial Beltrami fields whenever f has a regular level set diffeomorphic to the sphere. This provides an explanation of the helical flow paradox of Morgulis et al. (Commun Pure Appl Math 48:571–582, 1995).     

Asymmetric Domain Walls of Small Angle in Soft Ferromagnetic Films

We focus on a special type of domain wall appearing in the Landau–Lifshitz theory for soft ferromagnetic films. These domain walls are divergence-free \({\mathbb{S}^2}\)-valued transition layers that connect two directions \({m_\theta^\pm \in \mathbb{S}^2}\) (differing by an angle \({2\theta}\)) and minimize the Dirichlet energy. Our main result is the rigorous derivation of the asymptotic structure and energy of such “asymmetric” domain walls in the limit \({\theta \downarrow 0}\). As an application, we deduce that a supercritical bifurcation causes the transition from symmetric to asymmetric walls in the full micromagnetic model.     

New Derived from Anosov Diffeomorphisms with Pathological Center Foliation

In this paper we focused our study on derived from Anosov diffeomorphisms (DA diffeomorphisms ) of the torus \(\mathbb {T}^3,\) it is, an absolute partially hyperbolic diffeomorphism on \(\mathbb {T}^3\) homotopic to a linear Anosov automorphism of the \(\mathbb {T}^3.\) We can prove that if \(f: \mathbb {T}^3 \rightarrow \mathbb {T}^3 \) is a volume preserving DA diffeomorphism homotopic to a linear Anosov A,  such that the center Lyapunov exponent satisfies \(\lambda ^c_f(x) > \lambda ^c_A > 0,\) with x belongs to a positive volume set, then the center foliation of f is non absolutely continuous. We construct a new open class U of non Anosov and volume preserving DA diffeomorphisms, satisfying the property \(\lambda ^c_f(x) > \lambda ^c_A > 0\) for \(m-\)almost everywhere \(x \in \mathbb {T}^3.\) Particularly for every \(f \in U,\) the center foliation of f is non absolutely continuous.     

Temporal Homogenization of Linear ODEs,with Applications to Parametric Super-Resonance and Energy Harvest

We consider the temporal homogenization of linear ODEs of the form \({\dot{x}=Ax+\epsilon P(t)x+f(t)}\), where P(t) is periodic and \({\epsilon}\) is small. Using a 2-scale expansion approach, we obtain the long-time approximation \({x(t)\approx {\rm exp}(At) \left( \Omega(t)+\int_0^t {\rm exp}(-A \tau) f(\tau) {\rm d}\tau \right)}\), where \({\Omega}\) solves the cell problem \({\dot{\Omega}=\epsilon B \Omega + \epsilon F(t)}\) with an effective matrix B and an explicitly-known F(t). We provide necessary and sufficient conditions for the accuracy of the approximation (over a \({{\mathcal{O}}(\epsilon^{-1})}\) time-scale), and show how B can be computed (at a cost independent of \({\epsilon}\)). As a direct application, we investigate the possibility of using RLC circuits to harvest the energy contained in small scale oscillations of ambient electromagnetic fields (such as Schumann resonances). Although a RLC circuit parametrically coupled to the field may achieve such energy extraction via parametric resonance, its resistance R needs to be smaller than a threshold \({\kappa}\) proportional to the fluctuations of the field, thereby limiting practical applications. We show that if n RLC circuits are appropriately coupled via mutual capacitances or inductances, then energy extraction can be achieved when the resistance of each circuit is smaller than \({n\kappa}\). Hence, if the resistance of each circuit has a non-zero fixed value, energy extraction can be made possible through the coupling of a sufficiently large number n of circuits (\({n\approx 1000}\) for the first mode of Schumann resonances and contemporary values of capacitances, inductances and resistances). The theory is also applied to the control of the oscillation amplitude of a (damped) oscillator.     

Stability of Traveling Waves of Nonlinear Schrödinger Equation with Nonzero Condition at Infinity

We study effective elastic behavior of the incompatibly prestrained thin plates, where the prestrain is independent of thickness and uniform through the plate’s thickness h. We model such plates as three-dimensional elastic bodies with a prescribed pointwise stress-free state characterized by a Riemannian metric G, and seek the limiting behavior as \({h \to 0}\). We first establish that when the energy per volume scales as the second power of h, the resulting \({\Gamma}\) -limit is a Kirchhoff-type bending theory. We then show the somewhat surprising result that there exist non-immersible metrics G for whom the infimum energy (per volume) scales smaller than h². This implies that the minimizing sequence of deformations carries nontrivial residual three-dimensional energy but it has zero bending energy as seen from the limit Kirchhoff theory perspective. Another implication is that other asymptotic scenarios are valid in appropriate smaller scaling regimes of energy. We characterize the metrics G with the above property, showing that the zero bending energy in the Kirchhoff limit occurs if and only if the Riemann curvatures R₁₂₁₃, R₁₂₂₃ and R₁₂₁₂ of G vanish identically. We illustrate our findings with examples; of particular interest is an example where \({G_{2 \times 2}}\), the two-dimensional restriction of G, is flat but the plate still exhibits the energy scaling of the Föppl–von Kármán type. Finally, we apply these results to a model of nematic glass, including a characterization of the condition when the metric is immersible, for \({G = Id_{3} + \gamma n \otimes n}\) given in terms of the inhomogeneous unit director field distribution \({ n \in \mathbb{R}^3}\).     

Multiple Solutions for a Class of Nonhomogeneous Fractional Schrödinger Equations in $$\mathbb {R}^{N}$$

This paper is concerned with the following fractional Schrödinger equation

$$\begin{aligned} \left\{ \begin{array}{ll} (-\Delta )^{s} u+u= k(x)f(u)+h(x) \text{ in } \mathbb {R}^{N}\\ u\in H^{s}(\mathbb {R}^{N}), \, u>0 \text{ in } \mathbb {R}^{N}, \end{array} \right. \end{aligned}$$

where \(s\in (0,1),N> 2s, (-\Delta )^{s}\) is the fractional Laplacian, k is a bounded positive function, \(h\in L^{2}(\mathbb {R}^{N}), h\not \equiv 0\) is nonnegative and f is either asymptotically linear or superlinear at infinity. By using the s-harmonic extension technique and suitable variational methods, we prove the existence of at least two positive solutions for the problem under consideration, provided that \(|h|_{2}\) is sufficiently small.

     

Uniqueness of Positive Ground State Solutions of the Logarithmic Schrödinger Equation

We prove the uniqueness of positive ground state solutions of the problem \({ {\frac {d^{2}u}{dr^{2}}} + {\frac {n-1}{r}}{\frac {du}{dr}} + u \ln(|u|) = 0}\), \({u(r) > 0~\forall r \ge 0}\), and \({(u(r),u'(r)) \to (0, 0)}\) as \({r \to \infty}\). This equation is derived from the logarithmic Schrödinger equation \({{\rm i}\psi_{t} = {\Delta} \psi + u \ln \left(|u|^{2}\right)}\), and also from the classical equation \({{\frac {\partial u}{\partial t}} = {\Delta} u +u \left(|u|^{p-1}\right) -u}\). For each \({n \ge 1}\), a positive ground state solution is \({ u_{0}(r) = \exp \left(-{\frac{r^2}{4}} + {\frac{n}{2}}\right),~0 \le r < \infty}\). We combine \({u_{0}(r)}\) with energy estimates and associated Ricatti equation estimates to prove that, for each \({n \in \left[1, 9 \right]}\), \({u_{0}(r)}\) is the only positive ground state. We also investigate the stability of \({u_{0}(r)}\). Several open problems are stated.     

New Periodic Solutions for Newtonian n-Body Problems with Dihedral Group Symmetry and Topological Constraints

In this paper, we prove the existence of a family of new non-collision periodic solutions for the classical Newtonian n-body problems. In our assumption, the \({n=2l \geqq 4}\) particles are invariant under the dihedral rotation group D_l in \({\mathbb{R}^3}\) such that, at each instant, the n particles form two twisted l-regular polygons. Our approach is the variational minimizing method and we show that the minimizers are collision-free by level estimates and local deformations.     

Planar Vector Fields with a Given Set of Orbits

We determine all the \({\mathcal{C}^1}\) planar vector fields with a given set of orbits of the form y ? y(x) = 0 satisfying convenient assumptions. The case when these orbits are branches of an algebraic curve is also study. We show that if a quadratic vector field admits a unique irreducible invariant algebraic curve \({g(x, y) = \sum_{j=0}^S a_j(x) y^{S-j}= 0}\) with S branches with respect to the variable y, then the degree of the polynomial g is at most 4S.     

Focusing Quantum Many-body Dynamics: The Rigorous Derivation of the 1D Focusing Cubic Nonlinear Schrödinger Equation

We consider the dynamics of N bosons in 1D. We assume that the pair interaction is attractive and given by \({N^{\beta-1}V(N^{\beta}.) where }\) where \({\int V \leqslant 0}\). We develop new techniques in treating the N-body Hamiltonian so that we overcome the difficulties generated by the attractive interaction and establish new energy estimates. We also prove the optimal 1D collapsing estimate which reduces the regularity requirement in the uniqueness argument by half a derivative. We derive rigorously the 1D focusing cubic NLS with a quadratic trap as the \({N \rightarrow \infty}\) limit of the N-body dynamic and hence justify the mean-field limit and prove the propagation of chaos for the focusing quantum many-body system.     

Multiple Periodic Solutions of an Equation with State-Dependent Delay

Given \({N \in \mathbb N}\) we prove the existence, for parameter values in a certain range, of N distinct periodic solutions of a state-dependent delay equation studied by Walther (Differ Integral Equ 15:923–944, 2002).