Reaction–Diffusion Equations with Nonlinear Boundary Delay

We consider dissipative scalar reaction–diffusion equations that include the ones of the form u _t–u=f(u(t)), subjected to boundary conditions that include small delays, that is, we consider boundary conditions of the form u/n _a=g(u(t), u(t–r)). We show the global existence and uniqueness of solutions in a convenient fractional power space, and furthermore, we show that, for r sufficiently small, all bounded solutions are asymptotic to the set of equilibria as t tends to infinity.     

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≈ − ∞.     

Radial Solutions of¶Superlinear Equations on ℝN¶Part II: The Forced Case

We study the effect of a forcing term in the context of the search of multiple nodal solutions u∈h ¹(? ^N ) to a class of elliptic equations of type¶?Δu(x)=f(|x|,u(x))+h(|x|), x∈? ^N ,¶where f(|x|≡0 and f is superlinear but subcritical at infinity.     

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.     

Homogenization for¶Stochastic Hamilton-Jacobi Equations

Homogenization asks whether average behavior can be discerned from partial differential equations that are subject to high-frequency fluctuations when those fluctuations result from a dependence on two widely separated spatial scales. We prove homogenization for certain stochastic Hamilton-Jacobi partial differential equations; the idea is to use the subadditive ergodic theorem to establish the existence of an average in the infinite scale-separation limit. In some cases, we also establish a central limit theorem. Accepted: (April 23, 1999)     

Multiplicity Results for some Nonlinear¶Schrödinger Equations with Potentials

Multiple semiclassical standing waves for a class of nonlinear Schrödinger equations with potentials are found by means of a perturbative variational method.     

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.     

Threshold Behavior and Non-quasiconvergent Solutions with Localized Initial Data for Bistable Reaction–Diffusion Equations

We consider bounded solutions of the semilinear heat equation \(u_t=u_{xx}+f(u)\) on \(R\), where \(f\) is of the unbalanced bistable type. We examine the \(\omega \)-limit sets of bounded solutions with respect to the locally uniform convergence. Our goal is to show that even for solutions whose initial data vanish at \(x=\pm \infty \), the \(\omega \)-limit sets may contain functions which are not steady states. Previously, such examples were known for balanced bistable nonlinearities. The novelty of the present result is that it applies to a robust class of nonlinearities. Our proof is based on an analysis of threshold solutions for ordered families of initial data whose limits at infinity are not necessarily zeros of \(f\).     

On Dirichlet Problem for a Class of Delayed Reaction–Diffusion Equations with Spatial Non-locality

We consider a very general class of delayed reaction–diffusion equations in which the reaction term can be non-monotone as well as spatially non-local. By employing comparison technique and a dynamical system approach, we study the global asymptotic behavior of solutions to the equation subject to the homogeneous Dirichlet condition. Established are threshold results and global attractiveness of the trivial steady state, as well as the existence, uniqueness and global attractiveness of a positive steady state solution to the problem. As illustrations, we apply our main results to the local delayed diffusive Mackey–Glass equation and the nonlocal delayed diffusive Nicholson blowfly equation, leading to some very sharp results for these two particular models.     

Higher Regularity of H?lder Continuous Solutions of Parabolic Equations with Singular Drift Velocities

Motivated by an equation arising in magnetohydrodynamics, we prove that H?lder continuous weak solutions of a nonlinear parabolic equation with singular drift velocity are classical solutions. The result is proved using the space?Ctime Besov spaces introduced by Chemin and Lerner (J Differ Equ 121(2):314?C328, 1995), combined with energy estimates, without any minimality assumption on the H?lder exponent of the weak solutions.     

Asymptotic Stability of Solitons¶for Subcritical Generalized KdV Equations

We prove in this paper the asymptotic completeness of the family of solitons in the energy space for generalized Korteweg-de Vries equations in the subcritical case (this includes in particular the KdV equation and the modified KdV equation). This result is obtained as a consequence of a rigidity theorem on the flow close to a soliton up to a scaling and a translation, which has its own interest. The proofs use some tools introduced in a previous paper to prove similar results in the case of critical generalized KdV equation. Accepted December 1, 2000?Published online April 3, 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.     

L1 Continuous Dependence Property¶for Systems of Conservation Laws

This paper is concerned with the uniqueness and L¹ continuous dependence of entropy solutions for nonlinear hyperbolic systems of conservation laws. We study first a class of linear hyperbolic systems with discontinuous coefficients: Each propagating shock wave may be a Lax shock, or a slow or fast undercompressive shock, or else a rarefaction shock. We establish a result of L¹ continuous dependence upon initial data in the case where the system does not contain rarefaction shocks. In the general case our estimate takes into account the total strength of rarefaction shocks. In the proof, a new time-decreasing, weighted L¹ functional is obtained via a step-by-step algorithm. To treat nonlinear systems, we introduce the concept of admissible averaging matrices which are shown to exist for solutions with small amplitude of genuinely nonlinear systems. Interestingly, for many systems of continuum mechanics, they also exist for solutions with arbitrary large amplitude. The key point is that an admissible averaging matrix does not exhibit rarefaction shocks. As a consequence, the L¹ continuous dependence estimate for linear systems can be extended to nonlinear hyperbolic systems using a wave-front tracking technique.     

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     

Theory of Extended Solutions¶for Fast-Diffusion Equations¶in Optimal Classes of Data.¶Radiation from Singularities

This paper is devoted to constructing a general theory of nonnegative solutions for the equation called “the fast-diffusion equation” in the literature. We consider the Cauchy problem taking initial data in the set ?⁺ of all nonnegative Borel measures, which forces us to work with singular solutions which are not locally bounded, not even locally integrable. A satisfactory theory can be formulated in this generality in the range 1 > m > m _c = max {(N? 2)/N,0}, in which the limits of classical solutions are also continuous in ? ^N as extended functions with values in ?₊∪{∞}. We introduce a precise class of extended continuous solutions ? _c and prove (i) that the initial-value problem is well posed in this class, (ii) that every solution u(x,t) in ? _c has an initial trace in ?⁺, and (iii) that the solutions in ? _c are limits of classical solutions. Our results settle the well-posedness of two other related problems. On the one hand, they solve the initial-and-boundary-value problem in ?× (0,∞) in the class of large solutions which take the value u=∞ on the lateral boundary x∈??, t>0. Well-posedness is established for this problem for m _c < m > 1 when ? is any open subset of ? ^N and the restriction of the initial data to ? is any locally finite nonnegative measure in ?. On the other hand, by using the special solutions which have the separate-variables form, our results apply to the elliptic problem Δf=f ^q posed in any open set ?. For 1 > q > N/(N? 2)₊ this problem is well posed in the class of large solutions which tend to infinity on the boundary in a strong sense. As is well known, initial data with such a generality are not allowed for m≧ 1. On the other hand, the present theory fails in several aspects in the subcritical range 0> m≦m _c , where the limits of smooth solutions need not be extended-continuously.     

Hyperbolic Conservation Laws¶with Umbilic Degeneracy

We continue to study hyperbolic systems of conservation laws with umbilic degeneracy. We further extend our compactness framework established earlier to other canonical classes of quadratic flux systems with an isolated umbilic point. With the aid of this compactness framework, we establish the compactness of solution operators and the long-time behavior of entropy solutions in L ^∞ with large initial data, and we prove the convergence of the viscosity method, as well as the Lax-Friedrichs scheme and the Godunov scheme, for a canonical class of nonlinear hyperbolic systems with umbilic degeneracy.     

Steady States of Fokker–Planck Equations: III. Degenerate Diffusion

This is the third paper in a series concerning the study of steady states of a Fokker–Planck equation in a general domain in \({\mathbb R}^n\) with \(L^{p}_{loc}\) drift term and \(W^{1,p}_{loc}\) diffusion term for any \(p>n\). In this paper, we give some existence results of stationary measures of the Fokker–Planck equation under Lyapunov conditions which allow the degeneracy of diffusion.     

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     

Maxwell’s Equations with Vector Hysteresis

Electromagnetic processes in magnetic materials are described by Maxwells equations. In ferrimagnetic insulators, assuming that D = E, we have the equationIn ferromagnetic metals, neglecting displacement currents and assuming Ohms law, we instead getAlternatively, under quasi-stationary conditions, for either material we can also deal with the magnetostatic equations:(Here f_ext and J_ext are prescribed time-dependent fields.) In any of these settings, the dependence of M on H is represented by a constitutive law accounting for hysteresis: M= (H), being a vector extension of the relay model. This is characterized by a rectangular hysteresis loop in a prescribed x-dependent direction, and accounts for high anisotropy and nonhomogeneity. The discontinuity in this constitutive relation corresponds to the possible occurrence of free boundaries.Weak formulations are provided for Cauchy problems associated with the above equations; existence of a solution is proved via approximation by time-discretization, derivation of energy-type estimates, and passage to the limit. An analogous representation is given for hysteresis in the dependence of P on E in ferroelectric materials. A model accounting for coupled ferrimagnetic and ferroelectric hysteresis is considered, too.Acknowledgement This research was partly supported by the project Free boundary problems in applied sciences of Italian M.I.U.R.. I gratefully acknowledge the useful suggestions from the reviewers.