Blow-up,global existence and exponential decay estimates for a class of quasilinear parabolic problems

This paper deals with a class of nonlinear parabolic problems in divergence form whose solutions, without appropriate data restrictions, might blow up at some finite time. The purpose of this paper is to establish conditions on the data sufficient to guarantee blow-up of solution at some finite time τ$\tau$, conditions to ensure that the solution remains bounded as well as conditions to derive some explicit exponential decay bounds for the solution and its derivatives.     

Bounded-from-below solutions of the Hamilton-Jacobi equation for optimal control problems with exit times: vanishing lagrangians,eikonal equations,and shape-from-shading

We study the Hamilton-Jacobi equation for undiscounted exit time control problems with general nonnegative Lagrangians using the dynamic programming approach. We prove theorems characterizing the value function as the unique bounded-from-below viscosity solution of the Hamilton-Jacobi equation that is null on the target. The result applies to problems with the property that all trajectories satisfying a certain integral condition must stay in a bounded set. We allow problems for which the Lagrangian is not uniformly bounded below by positive constants, in which the hypotheses of the known uniqueness results for Hamilton-Jacobi equations are not satisfied. We apply our theorems to eikonal equations from geometric optics, shape-from-shading equations from image processing, and variants of the Fuller Problem.     

Concentrating solutions for a planar elliptic problem involving nonlinearities with large exponent

We consider the boundary value problem Δu+up=0 in a bounded, smooth domain Ω in R² with homogeneous Dirichlet boundary condition and p a large exponent. We find topological conditions on Ω which ensure the existence of a positive solution up concentrating at exactly m points as p→∞. In particular, for a nonsimply connected domain such a solution exists for any given m?1.     

Hair-triggered instability of radial steady states, spread and extinction in semilinear heat equations

We first study the initial value problem for a general semilinear heat equation. We prove that every bounded nonconstant radial steady state is unstable if the spatial dimension is low (n?10) or if the steady state is flat enough at infinity: the solution of the heat equation either becomes unbounded as t approaches the lifespan, or eventually stays above or below another bounded radial steady state, depending on if the initial value is above or below the first steady state; moreover, the second steady state must be a constant if n?10.Using this instability result, we then prove that every nonconstant radial steady state of the generalized Fisher equation is a hair-trigger for two kinds of dynamical behavior: extinction and spreading. We also prove more criteria on initial values for these types of behavior. Similar results for a reaction-diffusion system modeling an isothermal autocatalytic chemical reaction are also obtained.     

Positive solutions to logistic type equations with harvesting

We use comparison principles, variational arguments and a truncation method to obtain positive solutions to logistic type equations with harvesting both in RN and in a bounded domain Ω⊂RN, with N?3, when the carrying capacity of the environment is not constant. By relaxing the growth assumption on the coefficients of the differential equation we derive a new equation which is easily solved. The solution of this new equation is then used to produce a positive solution of our original problem.     

Periodic parabolic problems with concave and convex nonlinearities

Let be a smooth bounded domain, let a, b be two functions that are possibly discontinuous and unbounded with a ≥ 0 in and b > 0 in a set of positive measure and let 0 < p < 1 < q. We prove that there exists some 0 < Λ < ∞ such that the nonlinear Dirichlet periodic parabolic problem in has a positive solution for all 0 < λ < Λ and that there is no positive solution if λ > Λ. In some cases we also show the existence of a minimal solution for all 0 < λ < Λ and that the solution u _λ can be chosen such that λ → u _λ is differentiable and increasing. We also give some upper and lower estimates for such a Λ. All results remain true for the analogous elliptic problems. Partially supported by CONICET, Secyt-UNC, ANPCYT and Agencia Cordoba Ciencia     

Semiclassical measure for the solution of the dissipative Helmholtz equation

We study the semiclassical measure for the solution of the high-frequency Helmholtz equation in Rn with non-constant absorption index and a source term concentrated on a bounded submanifold of Rn. The potential is not assumed to be non-trapping, but trapped trajectories have to go through the region where the absorption index is positive. In that case, the solution is microlocally written around any point away from the source as a sum (finite or infinite) of lagrangian distributions.     

The mathematics of scattering by unbounded,rough, inhomogeneous layers

In this paper we study, via variational methods, a boundary value problem for the Helmholtz equation modelling scattering of time harmonic waves by a layer of spatially varying refractive index above an unbounded rough surface on which the field vanishes. In particular, in the 2D case with TE polarization, the boundary value problem models the scattering of time harmonic electromagnetic waves by an inhomogeneous conducting or dielectric layer above a perfectly conducting unbounded rough surface, with the magnetic permeability a fixed positive constant in the medium. Via analysis of an equivalent variational formulation, we show that this problem is well-posed in two important cases: when the frequency is small enough; and when the medium in the layer has some energy absorption. In this latter case we also establish exponential decay of the solution with depth in the layer. An attractive feature is that all constants in our estimates are bounded by explicit functions of the index of refraction and the geometry of the scatterer.     

Elliptic and parabolic equations with measurable coefficients in weighted Sobolev spaces

We consider both divergence and non-divergence parabolic equations on a half space in weighted Sobolev spaces. All the leading coefficients are assumed to be only measurable in the time and one spatial variable except one coefficient, which is assumed to be only measurable either in the time or the spatial variable. As functions of the other variables the coefficients have small bounded mean oscillation (BMO) semi-norms. The lower-order coefficients are allowed to blow up near the boundary with a certain optimal growth condition. As a corollary, we also obtain the corresponding results for elliptic equations.     

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.     

Existence and estimate of large solutions for an elliptic system

In this paper, an elliptic system with boundary blow-up is considered in a smooth bounded domain. By constructing certain upper solution and subsolution, we show the existence of positive solutions and give a global estimate. Furthermore, the boundary behavior of positive solutions is also discussed.     

Complete hyperexpansivity, subnormality and inverted boundedness conditions

Athavale introduced in [3] the notion of a completely hyperexpansive operator. In this paper some results concerning powers of completely (alternatingly) hyperexpansive operators (not necessarily bounded) are extended tok-hyperexpansive ones. A semispectral measure is associated with a subnormal contraction as well as with a completely hyperexpansive operator, and an operator version of the Levy-Khinchin representation is obtained. Passing to the Naimark dilation of the semispectral measure, such an operator is related to a positive contraction in a natural way. New characterizations of a completely hyperexpansive operator and a subnormal contraction are given. The power bounded completely hyperexpansive operators are characterized. All these are illustrated using weighted shifts.     

Convergence to equilibrium for a parabolic problem with mixed boundary conditions in one space dimension

We prove that any bounded non-negative solution of a degenerate parabolic problem with Neumann or mixed boundary conditions converges to a stationary solution.     

On second-order periodic elliptic operators in divergence form

We consider second-order, strongly elliptic, operators with complex coefficients in divergence form on . We assume that the coefficients are all periodic with a common period. If the coefficients are continuous we derive Gaussian bounds, with the correct small and large time asymptotic behaviour, on the heat kernel and all its H?lder derivatives. Moreover, we show that the first-order Riesz transforms are bounded on the -spaces with . Secondly if the coefficients are H?lder continuous we prove that the first-order derivatives of the kernel satisfy good Gaussian bounds. Then we establish that the second-order derivatives exist and satisfy good bounds if, and only if, the coefficients are divergence-free or if, and only if, the second-order Riesz transforms are bounded. Finally if the third-order derivatives exist with good bounds then the coefficients must be constant. Received in final form: 28 February 2000 / Published online: 17 May 2001     

The global attractor of a competitor–competitor–mutualist reaction–diffusion system with time delays

The aim of this paper is to investigate the asymptotic behavior of time-dependent solutions of a three-species reaction–diffusion system in a bounded domain under a Neumann boundary condition. The system governs the population densities of a competitor, a competitor–mutualist and a mutualist, and time delays may appear in the reaction mechanism. It is shown, under a very simple condition on the reaction rates, that the reaction–diffusion system has a unique constant positive steady-state solution, and for any nontrivial nonnegative initial function the corresponding time-dependent solution converges to the positive steady-state solution. An immediate consequence of this global attraction property is that the trivial solution and all forms of semitrivial solutions are unstable. Moreover, the state–state problem has no nonuniform positive solution despite possible spatial dependence of the reaction and diffusion. All the conclusions for the time-delayed system are directly applicable to the system without time delays and to the corresponding ordinary differential system with or without time delays.     

Uniqueness and stability in determining the speed of propagation of second-order hyperbolic equation with variable coefficients

One of the basic inverse problems in an anisotropic media is the determination of coefficients in a bounded domain with a single measurement. We consider the problem of finding the coefficient of the second derivatives in a second-order hyperbolic equation with variable coefficients.

Under a weak regularity assumption and a geometrical condition on the metric, we prove the uniqueness in a multidimensional hyperbolic inverse problem with a single measurement. Moreover we show that our uniqueness results yield the Lipschitz stability estimate in L ² space for solution to the inverse problem under consideration.     

Regularity, monotonicity and symmetry of positive solutions of m-Laplace equations

We consider the Dirichlet problem for positive solutions of the equation −Δ_m(u)=f(u) in a bounded smooth domain Ω, with f locally Lipschitz continuous, and prove some regularity results for weak solutions. In particular when f(s)>0 for s>0 we prove summability properties of , and Sobolev's and Poincaré type inequalities in weighted Sobolev spaces with weight |Du|^m−2. The point of view of considering |Du|^m−2 as a weight is particularly useful when studying qualitative properties of a fixed solution. In particular, exploiting these new regularity results we can prove a weak comparison principle for the solutions and, using the well known Alexandrov-Serrin moving plane method, we then prove a general monotonicity (and symmetry) theorem for positive solutions u of the Dirichlet problem in bounded (and symmetric in one direction) domains when f(s)>0 for s>0 and m>2. Previously, results of this type in general bounded (and symmetric) domains had been proved only in the case 1<m<2.     

Exponential stability for the wave equations with local Kelvin–Voigt damping

We consider the wave equations with local viscoelastic damping distributed around the boundary of a bounded open set We show that the energy of the wave equations goes uniformly and exponentially to zero for all initial data of finite energy. This author supported partially the National Natural Sciences Foundation grant 10271111. Received: February 8, 2005; revised: July 3, 2005     

Gradient estimates for Dirichlet parabolic problems in unbounded domains

We consider autonomous parabolic Dirichlet problems in a regular unbounded open set Ω⊂R^N involving second-order operator A with (possibly) unbounded coefficients. We determine new conditions on the coefficients of A yielding global gradient estimates for the bounded classical solution.     

Oscillatory integrals generated by the Ostrovsky equation

The Ostrovsky equation governs the propagation of long nonlinear surface waves in the presence of rotation. It is related to the Korteweg-de Vries (KdV) and the Kadomtsev-Petviashvili models. KdV can be obtained from the equation in question when the rotation parameter γ equals zero. A fundamental solution of the Cauchy problem for the linear Ostrovsky equation is presented in the form of an oscillatory Fourier integral. Another integral representation involving Airy and Bessel functions is derived for it. It is shown that its asymptotic expansion as γ → 0 contains the KdV fundamental solution as the zero term. The Airy transform is used to establish some of its properties. Higher-order asymptotics for γ → 0 on a bounded time interval are obtained for both the fundamental solution and the solution of the linear Cauchy problem for the Ostrovsky equation. Received: November 23, 2004; revised: March 13, 2005 Research is supported by US Department of Defense, under grant No. DAAD19-03-1-0204