An energy-decreasing rearrangement of level sets preserving the domain and volume constraints

Let Ω⊂R² be a bounded and regular domain, u∈C³(Ω) and V⊂Ω a domain where the subset K₀ of points where the curvature of the t-level sets of u is zero admits a regular t-parameterization. We exhibit a local correction of u in a neighborhood of a particular point x^∗∈K₀⊂V such that the volume ∫f(u) is preserved and the Dirichlet integral ∫²|∇u| decreases. Consequently, a certain monotonic property is deduced for constrained minimizers in H¹(Ω). Our result can be applied to classical variational and free-boundary problems.     

Convergence to strong nonlinear diffusion waves for solutions to p-system with damping on quadrant

In this paper, we consider the so-called p-system with linear damping on quadrant. We show that for a certain class of given large initial data (v₀(x),u₀(x)), the corresponding initial-boundary value problem admits a unique global smooth solution (v(x,t),u(x,t)) and such a solution tends time-asymptotically, at the Lp (2?p?∞) optimal decay rates, to the corresponding nonlinear diffusion wave which satisfies (1.9) provided the corresponding prescribed initial error function (V₀(x),U₀(x)) lies in (H³(R⁺)∩L¹(R⁺))×(H²(R⁺)∩L¹(R⁺)).     

Local existence of solutions to some degenerate parabolic equation associated with the p-Laplacian

The existence of local (in time) solutions of the initial-boundary value problem for the following degenerate parabolic equation: ut(x,t)−Δpu(x,t)−|u|^q−2u(x,t)=f(x,t), (x,t)∈Ω×(0,T), where 2?p<q<+∞, Ω is a bounded domain in RN, is given and Δp denotes the so-called p-Laplacian defined by Δpu:=∇⋅(|∇u|^p−2∇u), with initial data u₀∈Lr(Ω) is proved under r>N(q−p)/p without imposing any smallness on u₀ and f. To this end, the above problem is reduced into the Cauchy problem for an evolution equation governed by the difference of two subdifferential operators in a reflexive Banach space, and the theory of subdifferential operators and potential well method are employed to establish energy estimates. Particularly, Lr-estimates of solutions play a crucial role to construct a time-local solution and reveal the dependence of the time interval [0,T₀] in which the problem admits a solution. More precisely, T₀ depends only on Lr|u₀| and f.     

Eigenvalue problems for second-order nonlinear dynamic equations on time scales

This paper is concerned with the existence and nonexistence of positive solutions of the second-order nonlinear dynamic equation uΔΔ(t)+λa(t)f(u(σ(t)))=0, t∈[0,1], satisfying either the conjugate boundary conditions u(0)=u(σ(1))=0 or the right focal boundary conditions u(0)=uΔ(σ(1))=0, where a and f are positive. We show that there exists a λ^∗>0 such that the above boundary value problem has at least two, one and no positive solutions for 0<λ<λ^∗, λ=λ^∗ and λ>λ^∗, respectively. Furthermore, by using the semiorder method on cones of the Banach space, we establish an existence and uniqueness criterion for positive solution of the problem. In particular, such a positive solution uλ(t) of the problem depends continuously on the parameter λ, i.e., uλ(t) is nondecreasing in λ, limλ→⁰⁺‖uλ‖=0 and limλ→+∞‖uλ‖=+∞.     

Classification of type I and type II behaviors for a supercritical nonlinear heat equation

We study blow-up of radially symmetric solutions of the nonlinear heat equation ut=Δu+|u|^p−1u either on RN or on a finite ball under the Dirichlet boundary conditions. We assume and that the initial data is bounded, possibly sign-changing. Our first goal is to establish various characterizations of type I and type II blow-ups. Among many other things we show that the following conditions are equivalent: (a) the blow-up is of type II; (b) the rescaled solution w(y,s) converges to either φ^∗(y) or −φ^∗(y) as s→∞, where φ^∗ denotes the singular stationary solution; (c) u(x,T)/φ^∗(x) tends to ±1 as x→0, where T is the blow-up time.Our second goal is to study continuation beyond blow-up. Among other things we show that if a blow-up is of type I and incomplete, then its limit L¹ continuation becomes smooth immediately after blow-up, and that type I blow-up implies “type I regularization,” that is, (t−T)^1/(p−1)‖u(⋅,t)L^∞_‖ is bounded as t↘T. We also give various criteria for complete and incomplete blow-ups.     

A nonlocal convection-diffusion equation

In this paper we study a nonlocal equation that takes into account convective and diffusive effects, ut=J∗u−u+G∗(f(u))−f(u) in Rd, with J radially symmetric and G not necessarily symmetric. First, we prove existence, uniqueness and continuous dependence with respect to the initial condition of solutions. This problem is the nonlocal analogous to the usual local convection-diffusion equation ut=Δu+b⋅∇(f(u)). In fact, we prove that solutions of the nonlocal equation converge to the solution of the usual convection-diffusion equation when we rescale the convolution kernels J and G appropriately. Finally we study the asymptotic behaviour of solutions as t→∞ when f(u)=|u|^q−1u with q>1. We find the decay rate and the first-order term in the asymptotic regime.     

Structure of boundary blow-up solutions for quasi-linear elliptic problems II: small and intermediate solutions

The structure of positive boundary blow-up solutions to quasi-linear elliptic problems of the form −Δ_pu=λf(u), u=∞ on ∂Ω, 1<p<∞, is studied in a bounded smooth domain , for a class of nonlinearities f∈C¹((0,∞)?{z₂})∩C⁰[0,∞) satisfying f(0)=f(z₁)=f(z₂)=0 with 0<z₁<z₂, f<0 in (0,z₁)∪(z₂,∞), f>0 in (z₁,z₂). Large, small and intermediate solutions are obtained for λ sufficiently large. It is known from Part I (see Structure of boundary blow-up solutions for quasilinear elliptic problems, part (I): large and small solutions, preprint), that the large solution is the unique large solution to the problem. We will see that the small solution is also the unique small solution to the problem while there are infinitely many intermediate solutions. Our results are new even for the case p=2.     

Dynamical systems method (DSM) for selfadjoint operators

Let A be a selfadjoint linear operator in a Hilbert space H. The DSM (dynamical systems method) for solving equation Av=f consists of solving the Cauchy problem , u(0)=u₀, where Φ is a suitable operator, and proving that (i) ∃u(t)∀t>0, (ii) ∃u(∞), and (iii) A(u(∞))=f. It is proved that if equation Av=f is solvable and u solves the problem , u(0)=u₀, where a>0 is a parameter and u₀ is arbitrary, then lima→0limt→∞u(t,a)=y, where y is the unique minimal-norm solution of the equation Av=f. Stable solution of the equation Av=f is constructed when the data are noisy, i.e., fδ is given in place of f, ‖fδ−f‖?δ. The case when a=a(t)>0, , a(t)↘0 as t→∞ is considered. It is proved that in this case limt→∞u(t)=y and if fδ is given in place of f, then limt→∞u(tδ)=y, where tδ is properly chosen.     

Nodal solutions for singularly perturbed equations with critical exponential growth

The existence and concentration behavior of nodal solutions are established for the equation −?²Δu+V(z)u=f(u) in Ω, where Ω is a domain in R², not necessarily bounded, V is a positive Hölder continuous function and f∈C¹ is an odd function having critical exponential growth.     

Quenching for nonlinear degenerate parabolic problems

For the problem given by u_τ=(ξ^ru^mu_ξ)_ξ/ξ^r+f(u) for 0<ξ<a, 0<τ<Λ≤∞, u(ξ,0)=u₀(ξ) for 0≤ξ≤a, and u(0,τ)=0=u(a,τ) for 0<τ<Λ, where a and m are positive constants, r is a constant less than 1, f(u) is a positive function such that lim_u→c⁻f(u)=∞ for some positive constant c, and u₀(ξ) is a given function satisfying u₀(0)=0=u₀(a), this paper studies quenching of the solution u.     

Global solutions and blow-up phenomena to a shallow water equation

A nonlinear shallow water equation, which includes the famous Camassa-Holm (CH) and Degasperis-Procesi (DP) equations as special cases, is investigated. The local well-posedness of solutions for the nonlinear equation in the Sobolev space Hs(R) with is developed. Provided that does not change sign, u₀∈Hs () and u₀∈L¹(R), the existence and uniqueness of the global solutions to the equation are shown to be true in u(t,x)∈C([0,∞);Hs(R))∩C¹([0,∞);Hs−1(R)). Conditions that lead to the development of singularities in finite time for the solutions are also acquired.     

The complexity of the minimum cost homomorphism problem for semicomplete digraphs with possible loops

For digraphs D and H, a mapping f:V(D)→V(H) is a homomorphism of D to H if uv∈A(D) implies f(u)f(v)∈A(H). For a fixed digraph H, the homomorphism problem is to decide whether an input digraph D admits a homomorphism to H or not, and is denoted as HOM(H).An optimization version of the homomorphism problem was motivated by a real-world problem in defence logistics and was introduced in Gutin, Rafiey, Yeo and Tso (2006) [13]. If each vertex u∈V(D) is associated with costs c_i(u),i∈V(H), then the cost of the homomorphism f is ∑_u∈V(D)c_f(u)(u). For each fixed digraph H, we have the minimum cost homomorphism problem forH and denote it as MinHOM(H). The problem is to decide, for an input graph D with costs c_i(u),u∈V(D),i∈V(H), whether there exists a homomorphism of D to H and, if one exists, to find one of minimum cost.Although a complete dichotomy classification of the complexity of MinHOM(H) for a digraph H remains an unsolved problem, complete dichotomy classifications for MinHOM(H) were proved when H is a semicomplete digraph Gutin, Rafiey and Yeo (2006) [10], and a semicomplete multipartite digraph Gutin, Rafiey and Yeo (2008) [12] and [11]. In these studies, it is assumed that the digraph H is loopless. In this paper, we present a full dichotomy classification for semicomplete digraphs with possible loops, which solves a problem in Gutin and Kim (2008) [9].     

Periodic solutions for doubly nonlinear evolution equations

We discuss the existence of periodic solution for the doubly nonlinear evolution equation A(u^′(t))+∂?(u(t))∋f(t) governed by a maximal monotone operator A and a subdifferential operator ∂? in a Hilbert space H. As the corresponding Cauchy problem cannot be expected to be uniquely solvable, the standard approach based on the Poincaré map may genuinely fail. In order to overcome this difficulty, we firstly address some approximate problems relying on a specific approximate periodicity condition. Then, periodic solutions for the original problem are obtained by establishing energy estimates and by performing a limiting procedure. As a by-product, a structural stability analysis is presented for the periodic problem and an application to nonlinear PDEs is provided.     

On a backward Cauchy problem associated with continuous spectrum operator

The nonlinear backward Cauchy problem

u_t+Au(t)=f(u(t)),u(T)=φ,     

Minimum cost homomorphisms to semicomplete multipartite digraphs

For digraphs D and H, a mapping f:V(D)→V(H) is a homomorphism ofDtoH if uv∈A(D) implies f(u)f(v)∈A(H). For a fixed directed or undirected graph H and an input graph D, the problem of verifying whether there exists a homomorphism of D to H has been studied in a large number of papers. We study an optimization version of this decision problem. Our optimization problem is motivated by a real-world problem in defence logistics and was introduced recently by the authors and M. Tso.Suppose we are given a pair of digraphs D,H and a cost c_i(u) for each u∈V(D) and i∈V(H). The cost of a homomorphism f of D to H is ∑_u∈V(D)c_f(u)(u). Let H be a fixed digraph. The minimum cost homomorphism problem for H, MinHOMP(H), is stated as follows: For input digraph D and costs c_i(u) for each u∈V(D) and i∈V(H), verify whether there is a homomorphism of D to H and, if it does exist, find such a homomorphism of minimum cost. In our previous paper we obtained a dichotomy classification of the time complexity of when H is a semicomplete digraph. In this paper we extend the classification to semicomplete k-partite digraphs, k≥3, and obtain such a classification for bipartite tournaments.     

Mathematical and numerical study of a system of conservation laws

The system of equations (f (u))_t − (a(u)v + b(u))_x = 0 and u_t − (c(u)v + d(u))_x = 0, where the unknowns u and v are functions depending on , arises within the study of some physical model of the flow of miscible fluids in a porous medium. We give a definition for a weak entropy solution (u, v), inspired by the Liu condition for admissible shocks and by Krushkov entropy pairs. We then prove, in the case of a natural generalization of the Riemann problem, the existence of a weak entropy solution only depending on x/t. This property results from the proof of the existence, by passing to the limit on some approximations, of a function g such that u is the classical entropy solution of u_t − ((cg + d)(u))_x = 0 and simultaneously w = f (u) is the entropy solution of w_t − ((ag + b)(f⁽⁻¹⁾(w)))_x = 0. We then take v = g(u), and the proof that (u, v) is a weak entropy solution of the coupled problem follows from a linear combination of the weak entropy inequalities satisfied by u and f (u). We then show the existence of an entropy weak solution for a general class of data, thanks to the convergence proof of a coupled finite volume scheme. The principle of this scheme is to compute the Godunov numerical flux with some interface functions ensuring the symmetry of the finite volume scheme with respect to both conservation equations.     

A finite difference solution to a two-dimensional parabolic inverse problem

In this paper, we consider the problem of finding u = u(x, y, t) and p = p(t) which satisfy u_t = u_xx + u_yy + p(t)u + ? in R × [0, T], u(x, y, 0) = f(x, y), (x, y) ∈ R = [0, 1] × [0, 1], u is known on the boundary of R and u(x^∗, y^∗, t) = E(t), 0 < t ? T, where E(t) is known and (x^∗, y^∗) is a given point of R. Through a function transformation, the nonlinear two-dimensional diffusion problem is transformed into a linear problem, and a backward Euler scheme is constructed. It is proved by the maximum principle that the scheme is uniquely solvable, unconditionally stable and convergent in L_∞ norm. The convergence orders of u and p are of O(τ + h²). The impact of initial data errors on the numerical solution is also considered. Numerical experiments are presented to illustrate the validity of the theoretical results.     

The heterogeneous Allen-Cahn equation in a ball: Solutions with layers and spikes

Let u? be a single layered radially symmetric unstable solution of the Allen-Cahn equation −?²Δu=u(u−a(|x|))(1−u) over the unit ball with Neumann boundary conditions. Based on our estimate of the small eigenvalues of the linearized eigenvalue problem at u? when ? is small, we construct solutions of the form u?+v?, with v? non-radially symmetric and close to zero in the unit ball except near one point x₀ such that |x₀| is close to a nondegenerate critical point of a(r). Such a solution has a sharp layer as well as a spike.     

Long time classical solutions of a nonlinear wave equation

The existence and uniqueness of long time classical solutions of the Cauchy problem u_{t t}+μu_t = div(a(u)▽u), where a(u) = 1+u and μ ≥ 0, are studied for the case of two space dimensions. Let the initial data u(0,.) = φ and u_t(0,.) = ψ be supported compactly on R². Then for every T > 0, such a solution exists on [0,T] whenever (φ,ψ) is small enough in H⁴ (R²) x H³(R²). A result on the asymptotic relation between the maximal T and the size of the initial data is given.